News

4D VR Application for Computer Game Showcased in GIES 2022

IC supported Dr Joyce LAU, a Post-doctoral Fellow from PolyU's Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (RS), to develop a computer game for carrying out physical exercies in a 4-dimensional virtual reality environment. Upon completion of specific tasks, the system releases aroma accordingly. It attracts the participants to be more active in the game. The development was exhibited in Gerontech and Innovation Expo cum Summit (GIES) 2022 in November 2022. It was well-received by the professionals, academics and Government officials. They tried the system and projected possible future applications for the elderlies.

Student Project awarded "Best Usability" Award in gSIC 2022

A student team led by IC received the “Best Usability” award in the Design Category of the 15th International Convention on Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Global Student Innovation Challenge (gSIC) 2022 Hong Kong SAR held in August 2022 with their project “PolyCARE”. A total of 23 teams from different countries and cities participated in the competition. PolyCARE is a smart human-like robot designed and fabricated by PolyU students under the supervision and guidance of IC. PolyCARE can carry out public hygiene monitoring such as face mask detection, social distancing and body temperature measurement. It can also be used as an intelligent personal assistant as well as companion to patients by monitoring patient’s health data and vital signs, conducting remote medical consultation and detecting emotions. The student team generated the idea of fabricating a care robot in times of pandemic when they saw the manpower in care industry was facing a serious shortage and many patients were suffering from psychological health issues.

IC supported iCREATe 2022

IC supported the 15th International Convention on Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology 2022 (i-CREATe 2022). The objectives of i-CREATe are to provide a common platform for researchers/academics, practitioners, end-users/caregivers, industry players and policy makers to interact and share knowledge, information and experiences in assistive and rehabilitation technologies; to promote awareness, acceptance and adaptation of assistive and rehabilitation technologies in ASEAN; and to encourage and strengthen research, education and commercialization of assistive and rehabilitation technologies in ASEAN.  The event included paper presentation and the Student Innovation Challenge. Dr CHEUNG Ching-ching, Senior Engineering Manager of IC was invited to serve as Moderator of the Student Innovation Challenge.  A visit to IC's Smart Elderly Home was also arranged for the participants.

Outstanding achievement in knowledge transfer hailed by PolyU

Congratulations to the Space Project Team who was presented the President’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Knowledge Transfer 2021! Led by Ir Prof K. L. Yung, BBS, Sir Sze-yuen Chung Professor in Precision Engineering; Chair Professor of Precision Engineering and Associate Head, Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, the team has successfully transferred and applied the technologies and knowledge developed in the series of space tools project for the China Lunar Exploration Missions in local medical and industrial projects. Research and development of space tools is challenging and costly. Yet through the research and development process the project team can always create some sophisticated, remarkable, valuable, innovative technological knowledges across various scientific and engineering disciplines, not only beneficial to the industry but also to the society. The Camera Pointing System (CPS) used in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Programme Phase 2’s Chang’e 3 and 4 soft landing missions and Surface Sampling and Packing System (SPSS) employed in the Phase 3’s Chang’e 5 and 6 sample return missions are not only critical to the success of the missions but their associated technologies developed have also generated inspiring, promising solutions to novel miniaturized internally motorized non-invasive surgical robotic system (NSRS) for different guided surgical operations via natural orifice as well as in-line inspection pipe robot for automatic water mains in-situ pipe cleaning, inspection and repairment. Below are the technologies and knowledge researched and developed: • High Strength Lightweight Materials – payload of space instrument is always a prime concern due to the cost and power consideration, thus lightweight but high strength materials are researched and successfully transferred to the surgical robot and pipe robot to reduce the driving power significantly. • High Precision Motion Technology – the knowledge of sophisticated mechanism and motion control technologies developed for precise motion by the space instruments was transferred to enable the surgical robot and pipe robot move accurately. • Compact Integrated Design – the integrated design technique to minimize the weight and volume of the space instruments was transferred to enhance the maneuverability of the surgical robot and pipe robot in a very limited confined space. • System Miniaturization – the miniaturization technology developed for mechanical and electrical components was transferred to the surgical robot and pipe robot to reduce the sizes, weights and associated power consumption. • Anti-vibration Mechanisms – the design of anti-vibration mechanisms developed for space instruments against shock and vibration during launching, cruise and landing was transferred to the surgical robot and pipe robot to increase the operation stability. • Extreme environment Protection Technology – the thermal and radiation protection technology developed for space instruments to survive in extreme planetary environment was transferred to the surgical robot and pipe robot to withstand the harsh environment of the surroundings inside the human body and water pipe respectively.

IC accredited as a SOLIDWORKS Academic Certification Provider

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Industrial Centre is recently accredited by Dassault Systèmes as a SOLIDWORKS Academic Certification Provider. A comprehensive scheme, including intensive training and examination, is available to department to equip students with basic CAD knowledge to become a Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate (CSWA) – Academic in mechanical design. The certificate is issued by Dassault Systèmes. The certification with SOLIDWORKS enables students to be a proven CAD professional and enhances competitiveness in today's job market.  Computer-aided Design (CAD) is an essential and useful tool to aid engineers to create, modify and optimize engineering design. Professional engineers are all capable to communicate engineering drawings with CAD applications. Engineering communication with CAD applications has long been one of the essential subjects in IC’s learning activities. For more details of the CSWA, please visit:- https://www.polyu.edu.hk/ic/study/accreditation/CSWA.

Launch of Project Base

IC has dedicated a number of work spaces in our different workshops to offer students a temporary project base to focus on their project development and fabrication.  Depending on the workshop nature, facilities and location, a variety of supports such as secured storage, dedicated/shared fabrication workbench, shared hand tools, workstation under CCTV surveillance will be provided. The period of use ranges from 3 months to 9 months* (non-renewable).  Interested students can browse our project base catalogue and submit request to reserve our Project Base.  For more details of our Project Bases, please visit: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/ic/study/project-base/ *please refer to specification of individual base.

IC became the first UGC-funded, CIC-accredited BIM Manager Course Provider

PolyU IC has successfully become the first UGC-funded accredited BIM Manager Course provider under CIC's Accreditation Scheme for BIM Training Courses. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the process of generating and managing building data during its design, construction and during the building or assets life cycle. Typically, the process uses three-dimensional building modelling software to increase productivity of consultants and contractors during the whole asset life cycle. The process produces the Building Information Model database, which encompasses building geometry, spatial relationships, geographic information, quantities and properties of building elements. It is a new way of working using new technology to facilitate project management, better construction process control, cross-disciplinary collaboration, communication with external stakeholders, decision support and risk management. (Courtesy of Construction Industry Council) In 2017, the HKSAR Government decreed that BIM technology must be used in the design and construction of all major government capital works projects with a project estimate of more than HK$30 million that were scheduled to start during or after 2018, and that the use of this technology in private construction projects should also be promoted. This has generated a surge in demand for BIM personnel and training needs. (Courtesy of Construction Industry Council) IC is currently providing CIC certificated BIM management training to a number of PolyU programmes. To enable our students to further excel in the practical application of BIM, IC has invested on the latest software, hardware and facilities. New facilities including CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) and other immersive technologies (such as HTC VIVE and Microsoft HoloLens) are applied to our BIM training to help students to visualize 3D or BIM model in 3D virtual environment. For more details of the BIM training, please visit:- https://www.polyu.edu.hk/ic/study/accreditation/#BIM

Outstanding Achievement of IC and U3DP Recognized by PolyU

The outstanding achievement of IC and U3DP staff members during the pandemic was recognized by PolyU through the President's Awards for Outstanding Achievement (Team Awards - Services) 2019/20. Soon after the coronavirus was first confirmed to have spread to Hong Kong, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and the Hospital Authority (HA) approached PolyU to explore solutions for the serious shortage of eye visors and face shields for frontline medical staff. In view of the urgency, PolyU’s University Research Facility in 3D Printing (U3DP), Hong Kong’s largest research centre in 3D printing in terms of the range and quantity of facilities, and Industrial Centre (IC) immediately joined hands to take on the challenge. In just 10 days, they fabricated 500 reusable eye visor frames, and 200 single-use frames for QEH, using a highly resistant material. At the same time, Professor H. C. Man, Cheng Yick-chi Chair Professor in Manufacturing Engineering, Dean of Faculty of Engineering and Director of U3DP, swiftly put together a team to design a face shield. Ir Sidney Wong, Engineering Manager (IC Additive Manufacturing Stream), coordinated the work between U3DP and IC, while Mr Tab Cheng, Senior Engineer at U3DP, took the lead in the design work. The team took six days to finalise the design after six iterations. The design leveraged PolyU School of Design’s study in the head sizes of Asians to design a face shield that would better fit Chinese wearers. Making use of all of the 3D printers on campus, the team worked round the clock for 11 days to produce more than 1,800 face shields, providing enough for not only the HA, but also the Fire Services Department and the Government Logistics Department. By the end of February, a local manufacturer was engaged for the mass production of the PolyU face shield, ensuring the HA had a daily supply of 10,000 pieces, which rose to 30,000 by the end of March. In preparation for the long battle against COVID-19, the team also designed and produced two types of low-cost reusable face shields, namely “General Use Face Shield” and “Extra Protection Face Shield”, for the PolyU community, non-profit organisations and the public. With the support of a local manufacturer, free samples were distributed to different NGOs, including Po Leung Kuk, Helping Hand, and St James’s Settlement. The team’s work also led to enquiries from 12 overseas parties seeking technical advice and production assistance.   The U3DP & IC team From U3DP Ir Professor H. C. Man (team leader) Director of U3DP Mr Tab K. F. Cheng Senior Engineer Mr Ngai Chi-hang Senior Engineer Dr Zhang Yifan Engineer Dr Esther Ma Associate Engineer Mr Freddy Yuen Chun-fai Assistant Engineer   From IC Ms Cheng Ka-po Senior Engineering Manager Ir Dr C. C. Cheung Senior Engineering Manager Ir Sidney Wong Wing-fai Engineering Manager Mr Ho Kin-man Associate Engineer Mr Paddy Cheong Kung-pan Assistant Engineer   Extracted from: Excel x Impact Spring 2021 - Issue 4

Summer Term Timetable Released

IC Summer Term class timetable (AY2020/2021) is released. Students are invited to get your timetables according to your programme, year and subject from our Study page.  Students have any queries on their timetables are welcome to contact us via email ic@polyu.edu.hk, WhatsApp 6546-6986, Telegram t.me/PolyU_IC or tel 2766-7579.  

Space Instruments for China Space Mission

In support of the Nation’s first lunar sample return mission, a research team led by Professor YUNG Kai-leung of ISE and supported by IC developed and manufactured one of the key systems for this historic undertaking, namely the “Surface Sampling and Packing System” (SSPS), in collaboration with the China Academy of Space Technology. The PolyU-developed system accomplished the tasks of automatic sample collection and packaging on the lunar surface following the soft landing of the Chang’e 5 probe on 1 December 2020. The vehicle carrying the samples is currently on course back to Earth, and is expected to touch down in China’s Inner Mongolia region next week. For details please visit: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/en/media/media-releases/2020/1208_polyu_space_instruments_complete_lunar_sampling_for_chang_e-5/