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Bracing for a long battle against COVID-19: General Use Face Shields designed by PolyU ready for mass production

The situation in Hong Kong has become more critical amid the rise of confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections. Experts have warned that members of the public should prepare for a long fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past few months, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has been closely monitoring the situation and has devised plans to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. In February 2020, PolyU designed and started producing disposable face shields for the Hospital Authority in order to alleviate the immediate need for protective gear amongst frontline medical professionals. PolyU today announced the launch of two new reusable face shields, namely “General Use Face Shield” and “Extra Protection Face Shield”, both of which will soon be available at affordable prices. It is hoped that the face shields could provide enhanced protection for the public in their daily lives and working environment thus minimising the risks of virus transmission in the community. Together with his team, Professor HC MAN, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Director of the University Research Facility in 3D Printing, PolyU, has designed the “General Use Face Shield” for the public. The specially designed face shield, which provides full-face coverage, will help to protect from the spread of droplet-transmitted diseases. Currently, the government urges the public to practise social distancing, but for those who need to go to work or attend an essential event, wearing a face shield would definitely help to reduce the risk of infection. Also, it is important for frontline staff of those service industries which serve their customers in close proximity, and care-givers who take care of elderly people living alone, to wear a face shield in addition to a regular face mask for maximum protection. While for schoolchildren who tend to rub their eyes unintentionally, wearing a face shield would help prevent them from touching their face with their hands and subsequently reduce the risk of them getting infected. Professor Man pointed out that his team has taken into account not only the functionality but also the cost-effectiveness of the material used when designing a face shield for general use. He explained, “Both types of face shield are reusable after cleaning as they are made of lightweight and environmentally-friendly PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) plastic material using the vacuum forming technique, which helps to lower production costs. Our research team used 3D printing technology to develop a prototype and has conducted multiple rounds of tests and modifications. We then invited frontline staff from the social welfare sector to try out the new face shields. We are delighted that our team has received positive feedback from users. In the fight against this months-long pandemic, we hope that these face shields designed will benefit more people in need”. Professor Man expressed gratitude to the social welfare organisations involved for providing valuable feedback, which helped in modifying the designs. He said the design of “General Use Face Shield” and “Extra Protection Face Shield” would not fog up easily, thanks to their unique designs that help to maintain visual clarity, while also providing a comfortable wearing experience for users. The “General Use Face Shield” is suitable for everyone; while the “Extra Protection Face Shield” offers broader protection by covering the forehead and hair. PolyU has handed over the designs to a manufacturer for mass production and is expecting the first delivery in late April 2020. The first batch of face shields will be dispatched to the PolyU community, including staff, students and frontline workers on campus. Donations to various social welfare partners will also be made in due course. Professor Alexander WAI Ping-kong, Deputy President and Provost of PolyU, said, “As the second wave of COVID-19 has swept the globe, it is unlikely that the epidemic will subside in a short time. While we are seeking sustainable measures to cope with the situation, we also have to learn to live with the virus until we have an effective antiviral drug available in the market. We are particularly concerned about the needs of medical professionals with regard to protective gear, and we understand the challenges encountered by the frontline workers in the social welfare sector and service industries. Designing face shields is not rocket science, but PolyU will strive to do whatever we can to contribute to the community and work hand in hand with Hong Kong people to fight against the outbreak with our innovative minds and pragmatic solutions.” Earlier, care-givers and frontline staff of the Christian Family Service Centre and the Hong Kong Christian Service were invited to try out the new face shields. All users expressed appreciation with regard to the comfortable wearing experience, saying that the face shields are especially suitable for staff working long hours. When providing care for their patients, the provision of a face shield would also help set at ease the minds of frontline staff. They hoped that the face shields would be made widely used in the community soon, so that more frontline staff would enjoy a better protection during the epidemic. [From PolyU Media Release] Related News Articles: 理大推全民通用面罩 售價低於50元月底可產3萬個 [東網 (ON.CC)] 港理大設計重用面罩料兩周後推出 [文匯報 (Wen Wei Po)] 理大推市民用防護面罩 可消毒重用逾50次 [香港01 (HK01)]  

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September 2020 Entry

Targeted Taught Postgraduate Programmes Fellowships Scheme

Targeted Taught Postgraduate Programmes Fellowships Scheme offered by the University Grants Committee (UGC) is now available.

PolyU designs a new 3D-printed face shield for HA • Mass production in local factories will help fulfil the imminent needs of medical personnel

In the fight against the coronavirus epidemic, personal protective equipment (PPE) such as face shields and disposable gowns are badly needed in hospitals. With a view to alleviating the imminent need for protective gear amongst frontline medical professionals, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has been collaborating with Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QE) and the Hospital Authority (HA) respectively to design and produce 3D-printed eye shields and face shields. PolyU has mobilised all its 3D printers in its University Research Facility in 3D Printing (U3DP) and in other departments to operate 24 hours a day to produce 700 eye shields and over 800 face shields over the last 10 days.  With support from the local manufacturing industry with which PolyU has strong connections, the production of face shields has been increased to 10,000 pieces per day starting from today, and will reach 30,000 pieces per day by late March. It is hoped that this steady supply of face shields will help meet the imminent needs of Hong Kong's frontline medical personnel. "During the coronavirus outbreak, solidarity is one of the essential elements to battle the disease. The partnership between PolyU, HA/QE and the industry is a good example that embodies the spirit of 'when one place suffers, aid come from all sides'. We join hands to overcome these difficult times together," said Professor Alexander WAI Ping-kong, Vice President (Research Development), Deputy President and Provost designate, PolyU. Dr Vivien CHUANG, HA Chief Manager (Infection, Emergency and Contingency) said, PolyU has made every effort to develop a swift solution for rapidly producing face shields and to help us line up domestic production, thus we can fill up the stockpile of face shields to meet our need during the epidemic.  "I would like to express our deep gratitude to PolyU and all local manufacturers for their full support and active participation to make this meaningful collaboration a successful one." Dr Chuang added. From design, to mould-making, and finally to production took just a fortnight. This is very exceptional in terms of the short time taken in manufacturing a product, and thanks are due to the dedication and seamless support from the industry. "Since the face shield is a one-off disposable item, we chose a less expensive PLA filament material to develop the 3D printed frame and attached it with a plastic clear film. We also leveraged the studies of our School of Design in the comparison of head size between Asians and Westerners in order to design a face shield that better fits Chinese wearers. Designed by PolyU and made in Hong Kong, this is a testament to the competence and capability of the Hong Kong manufacturing industry. We can do it and we must do it. I am especially heartened by our friends in industry who have pledged their support without a second thought," said Professor HC MAN, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Director of University Research Facility in 3D Printing, PolyU. [From PolyU Media Release] Related News Articles: 3D printing at cutting edge of virus protection [中國日報 (China Daily)] The Polytechnic University lab 3D printing face shields for coronavirus-battling Hong Kong hospital workers [南華早報 (South China Morning Post)] 理大研發「香港製造」防護面罩 日產萬件供醫管局 [香港01 (HK01)] 理大3D打印技術 研發新型防護面罩 [東方日報 (Oriental Daily News) / 星島日報 (Sing Tao Daily) / 明報 (Ming Pao Daily News) / 經濟日報 (Hong Kong Economic Times) / 大公報 (Ta Kung Pao) / 文匯報 (Wen Wei Po) / 成報 (Sing Pao) / 晴報 (Sky Post) / 香港仔 (Lion Rock Daily)]

Three PolyU Scholars elected IEEE Fellows 2020

In the fight against the coronavirus epidemic, personal protective equipment (PPE) such as face shields and disposable gownsThree PolyU professors from the Faculty of Engineering are among the newly selected 2020 class of Fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Fellow is the highest grade of membership in IEEE, with the number selected each year not exceeding 0.1% of its total voting members. The PolyU scholars earn the distinction for their outstanding accomplishments in advancing innovation in their respective fields for the benefit of society. Prof. Eric Cheng Department of Electrical Engineering Research focus: electric vehicle technology and switched-capacitor power conversion Prof. Guo Song  Associate Head Department of Computing Research focus: high performance and resilient distributed computing Prof. Tam Hwa-yaw Chair Professor of Photonics and Head Department of Electrical Engineering Research focus: fiber sensing networks for railway predictive maintenance [From excel@PolyU]

PolyU Innovations Garner Four Awards at International Trade Fair for Ideas, Inventions & New Products (iENA) in Germany

The three outstanding innovations of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) showcased at the 71st International Trade Fair for Ideas, Inventions & New Products (iENA) held in Nuremberg, Germany have garnered three Gold Medals and one Special Merit Award.   iENA is one of the most important international trade fairs for the inventor community. The trade fair, held from 31 October to 3 November this year, attracted inventors from research institutions, academic bodies and business enterprises from more than 30 countries to showcase over 800 inventions and product innovations. With a history of over 70 years, iENA has become an annual platform for global inventors, entrepreneurs, investors and developers to seek collaboration and commercialisation of innovations. Among the world-class innovations on display, PolyU's innovations have all been granted awards by iENA's specialist jury in recognition of their remarkable innovative ideas and cutting-edge technologies. The award-winning innovations of PolyU are:- (1)    Atmospheric Acidic Ultrafine Particle Measuring Device Gold Medal and Special Merit Award Principal Investigator: Professor GUO Hai, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Atmospheric acidic ultrafine particles (AUFPs), with a diameter of less than 0.1 µm, may affect human health. Yet, there has been a lack of reliable instruments for measuring AUFP concentration to facilitate the assessment of its influences on health, air quality monitoring, as well as related pollution and epidemiological studies. PolyU's novel device, comprises a diffusion sampler and a quartz crystal microbalance detector with specially treated crystal oscillators, can measure AUFPs concentration in a safe, accurate, reliable way. (2)    Object Detection and Distance Measurement Sensor based on Light Field Imaging Gold Medal Principal Investigator: Dr LI Lihua, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering 3D information of micro objects can be critically useful for medical diagnosis related to live body tissues, or quality control in semi-conductor manufacturing. PolyU has developed a novel imaging system that includes a micro-lens array fabricated with our own ultra-precision machining techniques, as well as a module for converting light into electrons. By applying an algorithm created with deep learning, it can identify a micro object from its 2D digital photos and acquire its light field information in real time for distance measuring or 3D reconstruction. The sensor is compact, portable and attachable on different types of camera lens for precise distance measurement in various ranges, including micro and macro photography. (3)    Dolphin - Effective Indoor Positioning Service Gold Medal Principal Investigator: Mr Gary CM LEUNG, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Pin (a PolyU supported start-up), and Engineering Doctorate student of the Department of Electronic and Information Engineering "Dolphin" uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons and mobile phones with a location algorithm and a co-operative positioning algorithm developed by PolyU to provide indoor positioning and navigation. In areas with insufficient beacon signals, it still functions as it can calculate users' positions by collecting and processing BLE signals from their mobile phones, thus further enhancing the positioning accuracy. The system can also apply big data analytics to identify users' behaviours. Such information enables venue or shop owners or exhibitors to attract new and return customers in the proximity of their venue by sending them relevant advertisements or offers before they reach the venue. iENA was first launched in 1948 in Nuremberg of Germany. Over the past 70 years, about 30,000 inventions have been presented at the trade fair. iENA this year is organized by AFAG Messen und Ausstellungen GmbH, partnered with the Union of Croatian Innovators (UCI), in collaboration with International Federation of Inventors' Association (IFIA), German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA), German Inventor Association (DEV) and the Association of German Engineers (VDI). For details, please visit the organiser's official website:- http://www.iena.de/en/home.html   [From PolyU Media Release] Related News Articles: 德國發明展 理大奪四大獎 [星島日報 (Sing Tao Daily)] 新藍牙技術收窄室內定位誤差 理大博士生研發 配合AR導航認路 [經濟日報 (Hong Kong Economic Times) / 明報 (Ming Pao Daily News) / 東方日報 (Oriental Daily News)]

3D Fingerprint Identification System

Video on “3D Fingerprint Identification System”   [From PolyU Facebook]

eNightLog System for caring Elderly with Dementia

Video on “eNightLog System for caring Elderly with Dementia”   [From PolyU Facebook]

PolyU engineering students win Gold at ASM Technology Award 2019

A team of students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) won the Gold Award for its ingenious robot design at the ASM Technology Award 2019.  The annual event has been organised since 2015 to recognise excellence in technology, showcasing outstanding final year projects of undergraduates from top faculties and schools of engineering in Hong Kong. PolyU's trio - Roy CHOW Hung-ming; Ji-ho SHIN; and Rudra Ajay SOMESHWAR, under the supervision of Dr Henry CHU, Assistant Professor, and Dr Curtis NG, Technical Support Group Leader, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of PolyU, presented their final year project titled "ASME Competition Robot Development & Vision Based Target Alignment" and was honoured with the Gold Award at the competition. This was the fifth time that PolyU participated in the event and the second time that a PolyU team won the championship. The project developed by the PolyU winning team was a semi-automated robot with a unique gripper design for garbage collection with the aid of vision-based alignment. The robot featured a motorised platform for navigating a compact environment, a micro-controller system for wireless communication and control, and a vision-based system for object detection and robot positioning. It was developed in two stages with design inspiration from studying real-life tools such as robotic arms, forklift and dump cart. Initially, the team planned to design a robot for the Student Design Competition organised by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), in which they were challenged to develop a fully functional prototype that can quickly and carefully pick up and return balls back to the starting area. The students then showed how their device could be transformed into an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) for garbage collection using advanced image processing techniques in the ASM Technology Award contest. "The students are eager to learn new knowledge and technology, and able to integrate them into the project to enhance the robot performance and functionality. They have developed new modules for the robot to demonstrate the potential of transforming it for use in real life," said Dr Chu. The other PolyU student project recognised this year was the "Motion Control and Positioning System for Holonomic Wheeled Mobile Robot" by Sammy SHUM Chu of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. He was presented an Outstanding Award at the competition. The entries by PolyU students were among the ten final year projects that had been nominated by five universities in Hong Kong. In addition to PolyU, they included The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The City University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and The University of Hong Kong. Apart from the prizes and certificates of merit, winning teams of the Gold, Silver and Bronze awards and their project supervisors will also be invited to attend an ASM Technology Tour to Europe in recognition of their outstanding performance. [From PolyU Media Release] Related News Article: 理大研機械人收集垃圾奪金獎 [頭條日報 (Headline Daily)]

PolyU signs agreement with HKEIA to advance technology and talent development of Artificial Intelligence

The Faculty of Engineering (FENG) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) signed a Statement of Intent today with the Hong Kong Electronic Industries Association (HKEIA) to collaborate in talent and application development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and to establish an AI Laboratory on PolyU's campus for supporting relevant research in Hong Kong. Sponsored by HKEIA, a leading AI supercomputer platform will be built and operated by PolyU to support and bridge the gap between business and research in AI as well as to provide training to PolyU students and HKEIA members. New research facility with the world's fastest AI supercomputer platform To achieve both parties' research objectives, HKEIA will support the establishment of an AI Laboratory at the FENG and donate HK$3 million for purchasing equipment, including NVIDIA® DGX-2™, which is among the fastest AI supercomputer platforms in the world. It is also the first of its kind to be installed in Hong Kong and Macau. Ir Prof. Alex WAI, Vice President (Research Development) of PolyU, said, "PolyU strives to transfer impactful research into cutting-edge technologies and solutions for the benefit of industry and society. With the establishment of the AI Laboratory, we are confident to further contribute to the research development and application of AI in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area." At the AI Laboratory, PolyU researchers and students will work alongside members of HKEIA to conduct impactful research and help industry develop and deliver practical data-driven models and solutions.   Under the agreement, both parties will organise training in AI for HKEIA members, conduct research with industry stakeholders, encourage collaboration in AI between companies, and hold joint networking and briefing sessions during business missions. Addressing the signing ceremony, Dr NG Chi-ho, Chairman of HKEIA, said "With this collaboration between the industry and the academia, we hope to nurture more entrepreneurs, researchers and management professionals in the field of Artificial Intelligence for Hong Kong." One of the main priorities of the training programmes will be to equip industry professionals and engineers with AI-relevant skills. Joint webinars and seminars, workshops and other events will also be organised to explain AI-based technologies, products, services, and standards in the electronics industry and related sectors. The collaboration between PolyU and HKEIA will meet the fast-growing need for engineering talent and expertise in AI, a critical technology in Hong Kong's plans to promote re-industrialisation and the development of a smart city. [From PolyU Media Release] Related News Articles: 理大夥電子業商會 設人工智能實驗室 [星島日報 (Sing Tao Daily) / 經濟日報 (Hong Kong Economic Times)]