News

Impressive Performance: AAE PhD Students Claim First Runner-Up at the 2025 ICUAS Conference

We are proud to announce that a team of AAE students recently won the first runner-up prize at the 2025 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS'25) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Competition held in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. The competition was inspired by the scenario of multi-robot coordination in complex environments. It challenged participants to develop autonomous UAV systems capable of exploring artificial tags while maintaining robust communication and optimizing energy usage through charging scheduling. The competition was divided into two stages – a preliminary round focused on simulation and system verification, followed by the final round in a real-world setting. The mission required UAVs to identify and count uniquely marked tags scattered throughout a complex map while maintaining indirect communication links (no line-of-sight allowed between UAVs and the base station) and planning efficient recharging schedules. Led by Prof. Wen Chih-Yung, Chair Professor of Aeronautical Engineering, the student team comprising Mr Li Yuzhou, Mr Lo Li-yu, Mr Tan Zheng and Mr Zhang Yifei, competed against 22 other teams from over 18 regions around the world. UAVs were equipped with onboard monocameras and built upon the lightweight Crazyflie platform. The top five teams from Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Armenia, and Poland advanced to the final competition. The mission performance was evaluated based on communication link maintenance, the number of correctly identified tags, and overall completion time. Congratulations to the awardees and participants!   About ICUAS’25 ICUAS’25 UAV is an international competition for research students, co-hosted by the University of North Carolina Charlotte, the University of Denver, IEEE, IEEE Control Systems Society, IEEE Robotics & Automation Society, and the International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems Association, Inc. (ICUAS). It provided an invaluable opportunity for students to showcase their engineering expertise on the global stage and benchmark their skills against the brightest minds in the field of Unmanned Aerial Systems.

AAE’s Winning Team Takes Third Prize at Hong Kong University Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition

We are thrilled to announce that AAE students Mr Li Sijia, Mr Xu Yinhao, Mr Li Xiao, and Mr Siu Sumfu Samuel, formed a talented team and won the Third Prize out of 44 teams at the 11th Hong Kong University Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition with their project “Search and Rescue System Based on Sky-LTE”! This impressive project was supervised by Prof. Ng Kam Hung and Prof. Xu Bing. The team tackled critical challenges in rescuing people who were missing in the mountains by integrating aerial base station technology with small UAVs and advanced communication systems. This enables efficient location tracking and information delivery in complex terrains and no-signal areas. Coming across difficulties such as signal coverage, drone endurance, and adaptation to complex environments, the team developed a highly effective and practical rescue solution, increasing rescue accuracy and efficiency for future innovation! Congratulations to the team and we look forward to their continued success in advancing smart rescue technologies!

AAE Gala 2025

The AAE Gala was successfully held on 6 May 2025! This special event united our department, allowing us to strengthen connections and celebrate the hard work of our students as they progress through the 2025/26 academic year. The evening was filled with engaging mini-games, a delicious buffet dinner, and wonderful company, creating the perfect atmosphere for relaxation and enjoyment. This joyful gathering deepened the bond between students, academic advisors, and faculty members, fostering friendship, mentorship and a sense of community. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who attended and contributed to making this event memorable. We look forward to many more celebrations in the future!

DBF Team Soars to Success: 19th Place at AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition and 1st in Asia!

We are thrilled to share that our remarkable DBF team achieved 19th place out of 112 teams at the 2025 AIAA Design/Build/Fly competition, held from 10 April to 13 April 2025 at the Tucson International Modelplex Park Association (TIMPA) in Tucson, Arizona. This year's mission challenged teams to design, build, and test a plane that releases a smaller glider. The glider had to fly by itself to a specific spot using GPS, without anyone controlling it. To achieve this, we had to solve problems like making sure the glider flies straight and steady, making the GPS navigation work properly, and making sure the glider could do all this completely on its own. In addition, the aircraft had to be strong enough to carry loads weighing several kilograms and withstand other forces, like the impact from landing, vibrations during flight, and strong winds. Despite the fierce global competition, we are proud to announce that our team achieved 1st place in Asia, marking a significant milestone for our journey this year. About AEOLUS: AEOLUS is the official team representing PolyU at the renowned AIAA DBF Competition. Comprising passionate students from AAE, AEOLUS showcases the creativity, teamwork, and technical skills of PolyU’s next generation of aviation talent. The team is committed not only to designing, building, and piloting innovative remote-controlled aircraft, but also to fostering a strong spirit of collaboration, resilience, and personal growth among its members. Through hands-on experience and real-world challenges, AEOLUS cultivates critical thinking, leadership, and problem-solving skills that prepare students to succeed in the ever-evolving aviation and aerospace industries. With each project, AEOLUS aims to inspire the future of aviation engineering in Hong Kong, empowering young minds to push beyond boundaries and embrace innovation. About AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition: The AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition, now in its 29th year, was established in 1996 by the AIAA to provide university students with real-world aircraft design experience. Participants design, fabricate, and demonstrate the flight capabilities of an unmanned, electric-powered, radio-controlled aircraft. The competition emphasizes balanced design, flight handling qualities, affordability, and high performance. Each year, new design requirements and performance objectives are introduced to encourage innovation and technological advancements. The competition offers students a valuable opportunity to apply their knowledge and contribute to the field of aviation.  

AAE Student Excellence: Honouring Innovation at The HKIE LTD Best Students Papers Awards 2024

The Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering is proud to announce that our MPhil student, Mr Meng Qingyang, has been recognized in the HKIE Logistics and Transportation Division (LTD) Best Student Papers Awards 2024. This project focuses on revolutionizing parcel delivery by enabling drones to autonomously deliver packages directly to customers' balconies, addressing challenges related to urban navigation and GNSS instability. By employing advanced multi-sensor technology, the project enhances user convenience and demonstrates high reliability and precision in landing. Mr Meng’s award-winning project, “Last-Centimeter Drone Delivery Project” is supervised by Prof. Huang Hailong. This project focuses on revolutionizing parcel delivery by enabling drones to autonomously deliver packages directly to customers' balconies, addressing challenges related to urban navigation and GNSS instability. By employing advanced multi-sensor technology, the project enhances user convenience and demonstrates high reliability and precision in landing. We are proud of Mr Meng's accomplishments and his significant contributions to advancing engineering solutions in logistics and transportation.   More about HKIE Logistics and Transportation Division (LTD) Best Student Papers Awards 2024 The award aims to celebrate exceptional engineering students from accredited Logistics or Transportation Engineering Degree Programmes in Hong Kong, promoting innovative research and encouraging the pursuit of careers in engineering. Each recipient will receive a certificate and a cash prize of HK$3,000, while a distinction award offers HK$5,000.

Prof. Huang Hailong's Project Recognized at the 50th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva

The research team led by Prof. Huang Hailong, Assistant Professor of the Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering has been awarded a Silver Medal at the 50th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva (Geneva Inventions Expo). This prestigious event saw the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) achieve a total of 36 accolades, showcasing its strong commitment to innovation on the global stage. The project, "Last-centimetre Drone Delivery in Urban Environments," addresses the challenges of drone flight in urban areas where Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) services are often unreliable. This innovation combines advanced hardware and algorithms, enabling drones to autonomously deliver parcels directly to apartment balconies using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology. Key features of this project include: Advanced Perception Algorithm: This allows for precise localization of both the drone and the balcony, significantly enhancing landing accuracy. LiDAR-based Obstacle Detection: The algorithm operates without pre-training, making it versatile and adaptable to various urban scenarios. Robust Control Algorithm: This ensures stability and safety, enabling precise navigation even in challenging conditions like wind. This comprehensive solution integrates cutting-edge technologies for perception, obstacle detection, and control, facilitating seamless parcel delivery and safe drone operation in complex urban environments.

AAE Student Wins Merit Award for the Best URIS Research Project 2024

We are pleased to announce that Mr QIN Qijun, an undergraduate student in the Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering, has been awarded the Merit Award in the Best URIS Research Project Award 2024. This prestigious award recognizes exceptional research projects that demonstrate outstanding achievements in the Undergraduate Research and Innovation Scheme. Mr QIN's project, titled "A High-Definition Map with Traffic Signs Based on LiDAR-Visual-IMU Fusion SLAM Method," was supervised by Prof. WEN Weisong and Prof. HSU Li-ta. The project addresses a significant challenge in autonomous driving and intelligent transportation systems: the generation of high-definition (HD) maps for large-scale urban environments. His innovative approach merges semantic segmentation with SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithms, effectively utilizing data from LiDAR, cameras, and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensors to create detailed 3D color scene. Key features such as lanes, traffic lights, and road signs are extracted and labeled through semantic segmentation, which are then integrated into the 3D scene to produce an HD map rich in labeling information. This recognition is a testament to Mr QIN's hard work and dedication, and we congratulate him on this remarkable achievement. His innovative contributions are paving the way for future advancements in autonomous driving and intelligent transportation systems.

Prof. Huang and Team Triumph in IEEE RAS Automation Cluster Video Competition

We are excited to announce that Prof. Huang Hailong and his team—Mr Cao Hao, Mr Shen Zhipeng, Mr Zhou Guanzhong, Mr Meng Qingyang, and Mr Lan Bowen—have won the prestigious Automation Cluster Video Competition, organized by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. Their project, "Autonomous Delivery in Smart Communities," earned them this recognition for its innovative approach to automation. The winning video can be viewed here. Congratulations to Prof. Huang and the entire team on this outstanding achievement!

Mr ANG Jershon Ainsleigh Entote Secures HKIE Scholarship Renewal for 2024-25

We are pleased to announce that Mr ANG Jershon Ainsleigh Entote received one of the installments of the HKIE Scholarship on 11 January 2025 at the HKIE Prize Presentation Ceremony cum New Members’ Reception. As an awardee of the Scholarship in 2022/23, Jershon has continued to excel in his studies throughout the 2023/24 academic year. He successfully met all the Scholarship's requirements and was honored for his commitment to his engineering education.   The HKIE Scholarship scheme aims to recognize the academic achievements of outstanding full-time engineering undergraduate students and to develop them into future engineers. For details, please HKIE's official website.   Click here for the list of awardees in recent years. Congratulations to Jershon!

AAE Team Clinches 3rd Runner-up in Guangdong Aerospace Research Academy’s eVTOL Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition

We proudly announce our student achievement in securing the 3rd Runner-up position in the Guangdong Aerospace Research Academy’s eVTOL Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. This accomplishment underscores AAE’s commitment to excellence and innovation in the low-altitude economy sector. The awarded project titled “Innovative Structural Health Monitoring for eVTOLs” introduces an advanced eVTOL health monitoring system designed to efficiently detect potential risks during eVTOL flights. This cutting-edge technology not only enhances safety standards but also significantly reduces maintenance costs, revolutionizing the eVTOL industry.   Congratulations to Our Talented Team Members: Mr CHENG Li Mr HU Pei Mr SU Jiangcheng Prof. HUANG Hailong (Supervisor)