News

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)

Dr Fan Li's Team Achieves Third Prize in 2024 "Kunlun Cup"

We are delighted to announce that Dr Fan Li's team has been awarded the Third Prize at the 2024 "Kunlun Cup" NAAS Capability Open Developer Innovation Competition (2024“崑崙杯”-NAAS能力開放創新競賽). This competition, themed "New Cloud Network Power, Intelligently Creating a Winning Future", focuses on using China Telecom's unique cloud network and AI capabilities to address real-life challenges and develop application scenario solutions with significant commercial and social value.   The awarded project, titled "SkyScript: Intelligent Low-Altitude Communication Solution" is led by Dr Fan Li and Yang Tiance, with team members Huang Ruobing, Zhang Zhuorui, Qiao Hongliang, and Zhang Yanjie. This achievement reflects our talented students’ teamwork, AI capability, dedication, creativity, and technical expertise. Congratulations to the winning team! We look forward to their continued success and valuable contributions to the field of aviation engineering.   Read more about 2024 "Kunlun Cup" NAAS Capability Open Developer Innovation Competition at here.  

Dr Huang and his team’s drone delivery project received the Gold Medal at the 4th Asia Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions Hong Kong (AEII)!

We are thrilled to announce that our project, "Last-Centimeter Drone Delivery in Urban Environments", has won the Gold Medal at the 4th Asia Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions Hong Kong (AEII)! It is an Asia’s annual exhibition cum competition exclusively devoted to innovations and inventions from Asia to be hosted in Hong Kong, by partnering with Palexpo, Geneva, organizer of the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva. In 2024, 30 international specialists form a judging panel to judge the inventions exhibited and select the winners. Drone deliveries can hugely increase delivery efficiency and safety, conserve energy and at the same time reduce traffic congestion. The project presents an autonomous drone delivery system the navigates through complex urban environments to deliver parcels directly to customers’ balconies. A huge congratulations to our talented team members: Mr Cao Hao Mr Lan Bowen Mr Meng Qingyang Mr Shen Zhipeng Mr Zhou Guanzhong Dr Huang Hailong (PI) This prestigious award recognizes our innovative approach to revolutionizing urban logistics through drone technology. We are incredibly proud of the team's hard work and dedication! Learn more about the project in the video: Watch here.

PolyU Aviation Researcher Supported by Google to Advance Urban Positioning and Navigation Technologies

Urban navigation has undergone substantial technological advancements in recent decades, enhancing smart living environments while improving human life. With his ongoing research in this impactful field covering location-based services and navigation and positioning technologies, Dr HSU Li-Ta, Associate Head and Associate Professor of the Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering, and Limin Young Scholar in Aerospace Navigation of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has received an unrestricted grant from Google to advance research in Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and sensor fusion technologies. Titled “Research on 3D Mapping Aided GNSS Precise Positioning for Vehicular Applications,” Dr Hsu's awarded project centers on a novel urban positioning and navigation method to be used in mobile phones and intelligent vehicles. In densely built-up urban areas with skyscrapers like Hong Kong, GNSS positioning may be inaccurate as satellite signals are reflected off buildings. The new method utilizes 3D mapping technology to calculate the length and strength of the reflection of signals, thereby achieving a remarkable lane-level positioning accuracy in urban areas.  Dr Hsu has previously worked with Google’s Android Location Team in Mountain View, California as a visiting research scientist. During his visiting, he collaborated closely with industry leaders to enhance mobile positioning technologies by improving the accuracy and reliability of GNSS and sensor fusion. The outcome of his research has been applied to location services on Android devices, benefitting a large number of phone users worldwide. The grant aims to encourage leading researchers in advancing technology with innovation. It willprovide support for Dr Hsu’s pioneering work into GNSS and sensor fusion technologies, addressing the evolving demands for precise and trustworthy positioning technology for better user experiences, and exploring new opportunities for urban applications. Dr Hsu said, “It is a profound honour to receivethis grant. I am grateful for the invaluable experience and support provided by my colleagues at PolyU and collaborators at Google. Working with the experiences I obtained in Android Location Team, in particular, presented me with a unique opportunity to push the boundaries of mobile positioning technology. With the support of this grant, I hope to explore new solutions that can make GNSS technology more robust and accessible for users worldwide.” Dr Hsu was a two-time winner of the PolyU President’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement, in the category of Knowledge Transfer in 2021 and of Teaching in 2023 respectively. The grant further highlights his outstanding research as well as PolyU’s contribution to global urban navigation and mobile positioning technologies.   Reposted from Research and Innovation Office, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [Original post]