News

Prof. Weng’s Research Team Secures Funding to Support Rural Climate Resilience Study

Led by Prof. Qihao Weng, a research team from Faculty of Construction and Environment at PolyU has secured funding from the Otto Poon Research Institute for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure (RICRI) of PolyU. Team members include Prof. Shuo Wang and four co-investigators.   Their project addresses the climate resilience of rural infrastructure and communities, focusing on the increasing risks of extreme weather events affecting rural China and Asian populations. This project aims to enhance the resilience of rural communities and populations, reduce vulnerability and risks, and engineering measures in response to global climate change and impacts.  About RICRI:  The Otto Poon Research Institute for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure, established with support from the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation, is PolyU’s strategic research institute dedicated to addressing global climate change challenges. RICRI aims to lead global efforts in developing resilient and sustainable solutions for both urban and rural communities. 

Prof. Qihao Weng Illuminates the Future of Academic Publishing and Spatiotemporal Intelligence at Peking University

On April 21, Prof. Qihao Weng delivered an invited lecture at the Institute of Remote Sensing & GIS, Peking University. His talk, titled “Digital Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Scholarship: Navigating the Publishing Landscape in Times of Revolutionary Changes”, addressed the evolving landscape of academic publishing in the digital age.  The lecture encompassed four key areas: publishing preparation and article structure, peer review processes and editorial decisions, the impact of technological changes on scholarship, and AI ethics in academic publishing. The presentation attracted substantial interest from faculty members and students, underscoring the critical importance of understanding AI’s growing role in academic publishing.  During his visit, Prof. Weng engaged in an in-depth interview with the Institute’s research team. The discussion explored significant developments in the field, including the paradigm shift from traditional remote sensing to spatiotemporal intelligence, AI applications in urban remote sensing, and the emerging low-altitude economy for urban observation in Hong Kong. As a prominent journal editor, Prof. Weng also offered valuable perspectives on current research trends in remote sensing and discussed how large language models are reshaping university teaching practices and faculty responsibilities.  

High School Students Begin Research Journey in Urban Phenology and AI Research

The JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations and the Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics (RCAIG) hosted an engaging half-day research activity on 22 March 2025, welcoming two local high school students as part of the Junior Research Mentoring Programme (JRMP) 2025. This initiative, organized by the Global Engagement Office of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, connects high school students with mentors across various research disciplines, offering young minds the opportunity to engage in advanced academic research. During their participation in the project “Phenology and biodiversity in cities with AI”, Andrew Weng (Hong Kong International School) and Kwan Wing Tung (Shung Tak Catholic English College) received guidance from a research team. Under the direction of Prof. Qihao Weng, Director of RCAIG, the students worked with Dr Pir Mohammad, Mengying Cao and Ziyun Yan. The session featured a lab tour and a presentation by Ziyun Yan on vegetation phenology, supported by Dr Mohammad and Mengying Cao. This programme allows students to deepen their research interests and provides them with hands-on exposure to advanced academic research at PolyU.

PolyU Scholar Sheds Light on Heatwave Measurement and Heat Stress Variations in Asia

Prof. Qihao Weng, Director of JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations and the Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and his team, has recently featured in Croucher News  of Croucher Foundation  for their two significant research papers. The papers examine methods for measuring dangerous heatwave situation and analyze its spatial patterns across Asian regions under both historical and various future climate scenarios. Prof. Weng’s research highlights the challenges of existing methods of measuring heatwave severity across divers geographic and climatic regions. Published in Nexus, the study examines six commonly used heat indices and their limitations in identifying the condition of dangerous heat wave situation in low humid regions, emphasizing the critical need to include humidity and indoor conditions in heatwave assessments. A companion paper published Habitat International heat stress variations across divers climatic regions of Asia, revealing significant disparities between urban and rural population exposure to heat stress areas, particularly in Northern India and Eastern China region. “Policymakers must prioritize investments to protect vulnerable communities by developing infrastructure and mitigation strategies”, Prof. Weng told Croucher News. He also emphasized public awareness, recommending that people stay informed through government forecasting platforms and take necessary precautions during extreme heat wave events. Full article on Croucher News: https://croucher.org.hk/en/news/hong-kong-study-looks-to-improve-how-we-measure-the-severity-of-heatwaves Croucher Foundation https://croucher.org.hk/en/about-us Croucher Foundation is an independent private foundation dedicated to promoting the standard of the natural sciences, technology and medicine in Hong Kong. They are funded by a trust established by the Noel Croucher in 1979.  

Breakthrough in Smart City Infrastructure: New Method for Pole-Like Facility Detection and Recognition

The research team recently published insightful research in the IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing Journal. Led by Prof. Qihao Weng, Director of the JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations and the Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics, along with doctoral student Longjie Ye and Prof. Wen Xiao from China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), the study shows that the method can effectively achieve instance segmentation of pole-like roadside facilities in complex urban environments.  This research paper presents a novel method for recognizing pole-like facilities (PLFs) in road scenes, which is crucial for smart city applications such as autonomous driving and intelligent infrastructure management. The recognition of PLFs has been a significant challenge in high-definition road mapping, leading to the development of a new instance segmentation method for processing complicated mobile laser scanning data.  For more details of this paper, please visit: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10891914 

Blending Science and Technology in Addressing Urbanisation Challenges

Featured Issue 13 of the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) newsletter, Prof. Qihao Weng discusses groundbreaking applications of geospatial data in environmental and physical world studies. As Director of both the Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics and the JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations at PolyU, Prof. Weng articulates his research vision: to advance understanding of urban environments and global urbanisation processes through innovative remote sensing and geospatial methods, ultimately promoting sustainable development. For more details about the article, please visit https://www.polyu.edu.hk/pair/publications/issue-13/fs02—blending-science-and-technology-in-addressing-urbanisation-challenges/

Groundbreaking Global Industrial Land Mapping Study Published in Scientific Data

Our team at JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations and the Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics (RCAIG) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has published innovative research in the Scientific Data (Nature Portfolio Journal). Led by Prof. Qihao Weng, along with Dr. Cheolhee Yoo and doctoral student Yuhan Zhou, the study addresses a critical gap in global urban land use mapping. This study introduces a comprehensive dataset of industrial land use maps covering 1,093 major cities worldwide from 2017 to 2023, featuring 10-meter spatial resolution. The maps will be highly valuable for urban SDG research and implementation, benefit stakeholders by aiding policymakers in designing environmentally sustainable industrial strategies and assessing the impact of industrial activities on urban environments and ecosystems.  For more information, please visit the publication at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-025-04604-w. 

Study Reveals Disparate Heat Stress Impacts on Urban-Rural Populations in Asia Under Climate Change Scenarios

Climate change is becoming an increasingly urgent issue, as the intensification of extreme weather events makes it even more pressing, creating significant challenges for sustainable development across the globe. In Asia, a continent characterised by vast geographical diversity and varying climate conditions, the disparities in extreme events are particularly pronounced, raising an environmental concern as it has profound implications for public health, agriculture, and overall economic stability.  Recent research by Prof. Qihao Weng’s team, along with Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Pir Mohammad, at the JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations and the Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics (RCAIG) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University sheds light on the complexities of heat stress in Asia, revealing how different urban and rural populations are exposed to varying levels of heat under different climate change scenarios. Utilising long-term modeled data from both historical (1990-2014) and future projections (2026-2100) based on Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), this study evaluated heat stress variability across diverse geographic settings in Asia.  This study’s quantitative estimates of heat stress and urban-rural population exposure provide valuable insights for policymakers and authorities. As climate change continues to pose serious risk, it is imperative that decision makers prioritise emergency investments to protect the most vulnerable population. This will be achieved by developing infrastructure and mitigation strategies for heat exposure, such as green spaces in urban areas, early warning systems, and improving access to healthcare for those affected by heat-related illnesses.  For more information, please visit the publication at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197397525000104 

Prof. Yoshiki Yamagata visits RCAIG at PolyU

Prof. Yoshiki Yamagata from Keio University paid a visit to the JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations and the Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics (RCAIG). Prof. Qihao Weng, Director of RCAIG, along with centre members, welcomed Prof. Yamagata.   During the visit, Prof. Weng provided an overview of RCAIG’s latest development. They shared their views on the advancement of climate change, urban systems, and smart cities. Prof. Yamagata extended an invitation to Prof. Weng to visit Keio University in Japan to explore future collaborative opportunities.   Graduated from the University of Tokyo (PhD in System Science). He worked at the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES). He is afflicted as visiting scholars at International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA, Vienna) and Institute of Statistical Mathematics (ISM, Tokyo) and University of Tokyo. He has served as Lead authors for IPCC. Aiming to co-create a future society which address the issues of “environment” and “health”, we will develop a new urban system design framework that integrates architecture, transportation, and human behavior in cities. Research topics include: Sustainable future societies, Urban resilience, Zero carbon cities, Bigdata and AI.

Prof. Liqiu Meng, Technical University of Munich, Visits RCAIG

On 11 December, The JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations and Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics (RCAIG) hosted Prof. Liqiu Meng, Chair of Cartography, from Technical University of Munich, who is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences since 2011 and of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences since 2013. Prof. Meng is serving as Vice President of International Cartographic Association since 2019.  Prof. Qihao Weng, Director of the JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations and RCAIG, welcomed Prof. Meng and provided an overview of the centre’s activities. During the visit, lab members engaged in insightful discussions with Prof. Meng about global education systems and shared their research expertise.  The visit provided valuable opportunities for lab members to exchange ideas with the distinguished scholar and broaden their perspectives.