The UM–PolyU Joint Research Centre for Robotics and Embodied Intelligence (CREI) was jointly established by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the University of Macau as the first direct academic research platform dedicated to embodied AI between Hong Kong and Macao. Designed to foster deep regional synergy, the Centre builds an “A-shaped” innovation network across the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), effectively linking the scientific strengths of the eastern (Hong Kong) and western (Macao and Hengqin) hubs.
The Centre is co-led by Professor Cheng-Zhong Xu from the University of Macau and Professor Wen-Hua Chen from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. CREI focuses on four key research pillars: physical intelligence, embodied infrastructure, safe robotics, and applied robotics. Operating under a complementary cross-campus model supported by a joint dual-degree PhD programme, large-scale physical testbeds and robotic hardware are hosted at UM, while algorithmic research, theoretical modelling, and software simulation are conducted jointly across both universities.
Among its major initiatives is the planning of a cross-border autonomous driving bus connecting Hengqin and Macao, slated for trial operation by 2028 to mark the 30th anniversary of Macao’s handover to the motherland. Partnering with industry leaders such as Baidu and WeRide, the team is addressing complex hurdles—including border-crossing protocols, mixed-traffic dynamics, and left- and right-hand drive transitions—with future plans to extend routes across the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge into Hong Kong. Concurrently, the Centre is embedding affective AI into robotic systems to develop empathetic companions for elderly care and social driving, alongside the high-dexterity “WuJi” robotic hand with over 20 degrees of freedom for delicate industrial assembly.
CREI has also achieved significant breakthroughs in extreme-environment and specialized robotics, including insect-scale micro-robots for search-and-rescue within the critical post-disaster “golden 72 hours” and flexible robotic arms with variable-stiffness grippers for confined aircraft engine inspections and underwater operations. Looking ahead, the team is transferring its embodied intelligence and tactile-sensing algorithms to deep-space exploration—such as terrain evaluation for extraterrestrial rovers—in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Supported by UM’s upcoming Hengqin campus expansion in 2029, the Centre exemplifies a high-impact translational model of “Macao–Hong Kong R&D, Hengqin commercialisation.”
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