News

PolyU Hosts Its First Technology Achievement Transformation Conference

Dr. Si-Qi Ding Wins 2025 Second Prize for Basic Research in National Building Materials Science and Technology Awards

PolyU CNERC-Rail Team Wins Second Prize at the 2nd International Innovation Competition on Rail Structural Health Monitoring

Delegation from Taizhou CPPCC and Hong Kong Taizhou Entrepreneurs Visit PolyU CNERC-Rail Centre

Prof. Yi-Qing Ni Receives PolyU “Top Patents Filing Award 2024”

The Successful 2nd International Workshop on Intelligent Tropical-Storm-Resilient Systems for Coastal Cities (INTACT 2025) Paves the Way for Future Urban Resilience

21st Century Economic Report Exclusive Interview with Prof. Yi-Qing Ni from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University: AI Empowers Safety Monitoring for High-Speed Rail and Maglev

Prof. Yi-Qing Ni from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University has made remarkable achievcmtats in the field of structural health monitoring. The fiber Bragg grating sensors developed by his team have been applied to major railway lines such as the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Rail and the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway. This technology enables real-time monitoring of key indicators such as wheel flats and track deformation, thereby significantly enhancing the safety and operational efficiency of  high-speed rail services. In 2016, this technology was successfully used in the Singapore MRT and for monitoring structural components of train cars. Line 4 of the Rio Olympic Metro, The total length of tracks under monitoring reach 500 kilometers. Prof. Yi-Qing Ni has also led his team in establishing an object detection system based on images and LiDAR technology, which can accurately identify objects on railway tracks for ensuring the safe operation of trains. The AI-powered intelligent monitoring cloud platform developed by his team allows maintenance personnel to monitor train operation data in real time and to optimize the central control system. This platform has been implemented in the railway networks in Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as Chinese Mainland high-speed rail lines. In the realm of railway noise control, the acoustic metamaterial sound-absorbing barriers and intelligent particle dampers developed by Prof. Ni's team can effectively mitigate the noise generated by rail transit, thereby enhancing passenger comfort. These technologies are currently undergoing testing and trial application in the Hong Kong and Shenzhen MTR. Furthermore, Prof. Ni has been actively promoting the integration of smart materials and AI. The self-sensing concrete he developed is currently undergoing application tests in collaboration with the Shanghai Railway Bureau. He is leading the project "INTACT: Intelligent Tropical Storm Disaster Mitigation System for Coastal Cities" which adopts LiDAR wind measurement technology as the core, for quantitative prediction of the potential destructive force of typhoons on buildings with a view to formulating solution for coping with extreme storms in coastal cities. Prof, Ni stresses the significance of cultivating interdisciplinary talents and recommends civil engineering students learning advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence to better adapt to the future development of the industry.  

Delegation from CRRC Corporation Visiting The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

On 6 June, 2025, a delegation from CRRC Corporation, comprising Mr. Yang Mingming (Deputy Director of CRRC Science and Technology Department), Mr. Zhao Mingyuan (Deputy Director of CRRC Research Institute), Mr. Liu Baibo (Deputy Director of Technology Department, CRRC Research Institute), and Mr. Zhao Jinfeng (General Manager of CRRC Sifang Hong Kong Branch), visited the CNERC-Rail Centre at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Prof. Yi-Qing Ni, Dr. You-Wu Wang (Senior Research Fellow), Dr. Si-Qi Ding (Research Assistant Professor), Dr. Vincent Wai Kei Ao (Research Assistant Professor), and Dr. Wen-Qiang Liu (Research Fellow) warmly received the delegation and gave an introduction of the Centre's cutting-edge research projects and achievements together with development directions in railway related fields. The visiting delegation highly praised the Centre's research capabilities and achievements They expressed strong interest in further cooperation and exchange with the Centre's research teams.

CNERC-Rail Research Seminar: Prof. Jun Yang from Southeast University, China

On May 21, 2025, from 1:45 pm to 2:45 pm, a research seminar entitled “Safety-Critical Control Under Disturbances: Foundation, Method and Robotic Application” was successfully held by CNERC-Rail in Room Z209, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Prof. Jun Yang, from Southeast University, gave a presentation in the seminar. Prof. Jun Yang, a distinguished academician in control systems, robotics, and automation, presented his latest research on safety-critical control for robotics and autonomous systems. His research findings demonstrate the importance of formal methods in ensuring the safety and reliability of control systems, especially under disturbances. He provided an inspiring tutorial on control barrier function (CBF)-based control approaches and introduced on emerging methods for safety-critical disturbance rejection control, with applications in interactive robotics and autonomous cranes for terminal port automation.

Delegation from School of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Lanzhou University Visiting The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

On 16 May, 2025, a delegation from the School of Civil Engineering and Mechanics of Lanzhou University, composing Prof. Ji-Zeng Wang, Prof. Long Li (Associate Professor), Prof. Hua-Ping Wang (Associate Professor,) and Mr. Wang Yang (Research Secretary), visited the CNERC-Rail Centre. Dr. May Su-Mei Wang (Research Assistant Professor) warmly received the delegation and gave a briefing on the significant achievements and the direction of development  in the major research work of the centre. The visiting team admired the Center’s research capabilities and achievements and expressed their strong interest in with the centre's research teams cooperation and exchange.