News

RC-FCM Incubated Company Mirror Caring Limited Successfully Participates in the 17th Hong Kong International Medical and Healthcare Fair

Mirror Caring Limited, an incubated company of our research centre, was honored to be selected by the HKSTP Pavilion as one of the flagship personal-health innovative solutions showcased at the 17th Hong Kong International Medical and Healthcare Fair, held from May 11 to 13, 2026 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.   At the HKSTP Pavilion (Hall 3DE-15), Mirror Caring showcased SyncKNEE, its innovative wearable knee monitoring system. The system integrates 3D stretchable sensors, skin-friendly materials, and AI-powered analytics to continuously track knee angle, swelling, and circumference changes, while the accompanying mobile app provides real-time and historical feedback. This reflects our research centre’ s research achievements and its capability to translate innovation into practical health technology solutions. The fair provided a valuable opportunity for the team to present centre’ s latest progress in caring mobility and intelligent health monitoring, and to engage with industry partners and visitors interested in rehabilitation technology and the future of mobility health. We are proud to see its incubated outcome gain recognition at the fair, further advancing the journey from research to real-world impact.    

Congratulations to Prof. Stephen Jia Wang on Obtaining the Oxford AI-Driven Business Transformation Executive Programme Certification

We warmly congratulates our Director, Prof. Stephen Jia Wang, on obtaining the Oxford AI-Driven Business Transformation Executive Programme certification from the University of Oxford’ s Saïd Business School. Prof. Stephen Jia Wang’ s achievement further reflects his commitment to innovation, leadership, and continuous professional growth. Under his guidance, Our Research Centre continues to strengthen its interdisciplinary research vision and advance caring mobility research with greater impact. We are proud to celebrate this milestone and look forward to professor’s continued leadership and guidance in driving the our Research Centre’ s future development.

Prof. Stephen Jia Wang’s Team Presents GenAI and Emotion-Aware Companion Design Research at CHI 2026

We are pleased to share that Prof. Stephen Jia Wang and his team presented two new studies on AI for creativity and emotion-aware companion design at ACM CHI 2026, one of the world’s leading conferences on human-computer interaction. The first full paper, authored by Jiajuan Li and the team titled “AI for Creativity: A GenAI-Based Approach for Early Concept Design and Its Impact on Senior Architects”, explores how generative AI supports early-stage concept design in architectural practice. Focusing on senior architects, the study examines how GenAI tools shape ideation workflows, influence design decisions, and change perceptions of creative authorship. The second contribution, a late-breaking work authored by Le Fang and the team, titled “EmoFriends: A Modular Toolkit for Prototyping Customizable Emotion-Aware Companions”, introduces a modular toolkit that turns everyday plush toys into emotion-aware companions using embedded sensing and affective computing. EmoFriends lowers the barrier for designers and researchers to prototype tangible, emotion-aware interactions for wellbeing, play and experiential design. Together, these contributions extend our research centre’ s ongoing leadership in human-centered AI, emotion-aware systems, and design innovation, advancing our centre’ s vision of more empathetic, intelligent and humane technologies in everyday life.

Research Centre Achievements Recognised Best Paper Award at IASDR 2025 and 2025 Highlight Selection in Cell Reports Physical Science

Our Research Centre for Future (Caring) Mobility is pleased to introduce “Symbiosis with Nature: Sensing the Pulse of Pingjiang”, a groundbreaking collaborative art installation project led by our centre director Prof. Stephen Jia Wang in collaboration with Prof. 崔冬晖 from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. This paper was awarded the Best Paper Award at the recent IASDR 2025 conference. Inspired by Hunan Pingjiang’s “hexagonal eye” bamboo weaving, this modular soundscape installation uses bamboo and oil-paper cladding. With fractal geometry and parametric tech, it passively converts real-time environmental data into dynamic bamboo-forest whispers-zero electricity. The “Nature-Technology-Culture” framework preserves heritage and enables climate-responsive rural design. Future plans include adapting to diverse climates, integrating AI/IoT for better responsiveness and cultural storytelling, and advancing rural revitalisation and sustainability. In addition, our Research Centre’s another paper “Intelligent wearable system design for personalised knee motion and swelling monitoring in osteoarthritis care” , was selected as a 2025 highlight by the Cell Reports Physical Science Advisory Board. Learn More about the project (Intelligent wearable system design for personalised knee motion and swelling monitoring in osteoarthritis care): https://lnkd.in/gaXnRuVV With thanks to The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design (PolyU Design) for the original post and materials. Original Post：https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7417868041960558593/

Prof. Stephen Jia Wang Showcases SyncKNEE at CES 2026 in Las Vegas

The Director of our Research Center for Future (Caring) Mobility, Prof. Stephen Jia Wang, attended CES 2026 in Las Vegas (06-09 Jan 2026), one of the world’s leading events where advanced consumer technologies are showcased. During CES 2026, Prof. Stephen Jia Wang represented Mirror Caring Limited, a startup spun out from the Research Center’s research outcomes, introduced the team’s latest innovation, SyncKNEE-Your perfect knee guardian. SyncKNEE is a lightweight, nearly imperceptible wearable knee monitoring system designed for continuous daily use, representing a major advancement in rehabilitation and preventive care. The product integrates 3D stretchable sensors with proprietary skin-friendly materials to enhance comfort and maintain stable signal transmission, while accurately tracking knee angle, swelling, and circumference changes. The system uses disposable patches with reusable electronics and is supported by a mobile app that provides both real-time and historical data feedback. Mirror Caring’s approach integrates user-centered design with advanced sensing technology, aiming to provide individuals and healthcare partners with clear, actionable insights that improve comfort, mobility, and long-term well-being. For enquiries, collaboration opportunities, or partnership discussions, please feel free to contact the Research Center for Future Caring Mobility or Mirror Caring Limited.  

Research Centre for Future (Caring) Mobility Featured in PolyU Design Impact Report 2025​

PolyU Design Impact Report 2025 reviews the School’s recent milestones and showcases how design research creates impact through education, innovation, and collaboration. The centre is prominently featured in the report through two dedicated coverage, highlighting how well-being oriented research can be connected with international academic exchange. In the Wearable Intelligence, Emotional Support feature, two projects in Research Centre for Future (Caring) Mobility: Transparent Knee Guard and EmoFriends, are presented as design research examples addressing physical rehabilitation and emotional well-being, echoing their recognition at the 2025 iF Design Awards. Transparent Knee Guard integrates liquid metal sensors with fibre mesh for knee rehabilitation monitoring, and the report notes 93.42% accuracy in behaviour recognition to support real-time clinical data delivery. EmoFriends is described as a stress-sensing plush companion enabled by Emosense touch technology, and it is also noted as a Gold winner at Hong Kong Techathon+ 2025. The report also includes Closing the Year with Presence, which documents the PolyU Design team’s submissions and Best Paper Award achievement at IASDR 2025 in Taipei. It mentions an exchange between Prof. Don Norman (PolyU Design International Advisory Board member) and Prof. Stephen Jia Wang during IASDR 2025, underscoring how research dialogue and collaboration can carry work forward across cities and communities.

Prof. Stephen Jia Wang’s Team Recognized with Best Paper Award at IASDR 2025 in Taipei

Prof. Stephen Jia Wang presented two papers at IASDR2025 (the annual conference for International Association of Societies of Design Research). Every two years, IASDR brings together scholars and practitioners to share research outcomes, discuss methodologies, and foster cross institution collaboration. It also provides a setting for exchanges between collaborators and emerging scholars, allowing research and project impact to extend beyond the conference itself. One of the studies, “AI-Empowered Cultural Heritage Integration: A Climate-Responsive Acoustic Design Framework” received a Best Paper Award at the conference. In addition, the team presented “Mindmesh: A Collaborative Canvas for Designing Generative AI in Creative Context” which explores how generative AI can be designed and applied in creative collaboration settings. The research team includes Xinyue Zhang, Cong Fang, and other members who contributed to the two conference papers and the award-winning outcome. The work is also connected to an international collaboration network spanning RCA, KCL, IC, and CAFA, supporting knowledge exchange and research translation across institutions. Together, the two IASDR 2025 papers reflect the team’s diverse research directions, demonstrating research centre’s latest progress in AI empowered cultural heritage integration and collaborative design approaches for generative AI in creative contexts. Through continued discussions and exchanges, the IASDR platform also helps extend and translate research across institutions and regions, enabling longer term collaboration. The gathering further highlighted the value of scholarly exchange, with Prof. Don Norman meeting Prof. Stephen Wang during the conference, showcasing how academic dialogue can extend the impact of design research beyond a single conference moment.

Prof. Stephen Wang Leads Team to Present Groundbreaking AI Autism Research at CSCW 2025 in Norway

Prof. Stephen Jia Wang led his research team to present their innovative study at the 28th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW2025) in Bergen, Norway. As a premier academic conference in human-computer interaction and social computing, CSCW serves as a vital platform for researchers and practitioners to exchange cutting-edge ideas. The paper titled “AI Doctor for ASD: Physician Perceptions and Adoption Challenges in Autism Clinical Practice” addresses the critical challenge of integrating artificial intelligence into autism care. The research explores the complex dynamics between clinicians and AI systems in addressing the growing needs of Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis and treatment. The study, conducted by PhD student Yujie Zhu and research team members Cong Fang, Le Fang, Mingyuan Zhang and Meichen Liu, involved comprehensive semi-structured interviews with 18 physicians across different hospital tiers and regions. The findings reveal physicians' generally positive attitudes toward AI collaboration while identifying key barriers including ASD complexity, uncertainty in AI capabilities, and system understandability. This successful presentation at the internationally renowned CSCW2025 continues Prof. Wang’s track record of bringing socially impactful research to global academic stages, further establishing the Research Centre for Future Caring Mobility as a pioneer in human-centered AI solutions for critical healthcare challenges.

Prof. Stephen Wang Showcases “Transparent Knee” Wearable Tech at World's Largest Startup Expo in Dubai

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Stephen Jia Wang, founder of Mirror Caring Mobility, presented the innovative wearable health product "Transparent Knee" at "Expand North Star" in Dubai, held from 12th to 15th October 2025. As the world's largest startup and investor event powered by GITEX GLOBAL, it gathered leading tech companies, investors, and innovators across Greentech, Fintech, Healthtech, and AI, creating new global marketplaces for the digital economy. Mirror Caring Mobility showcased a lightweight, nearly imperceptible wearable knee monitoring system designed for continuous daily use, representing a major advancement in rehabilitation and preventive care. The product integrates 3D stretchable liquid-metal sensors with proprietary skin-friendly SBS fiber mesh, ensuring comfort and stable signal transmission while accurately tracking knee angle, swelling, and circumference changes. The system features disposable patches with reusable electronics, supported by a mobile app providing real-time and historical data feedback. Through a K-Nearest Neighbours algorithm, it achieves 93.4% accuracy in activity recognition. Suitable for rehabilitation, sports science, and clinical applications, "Transparent Knee" enables proactive knee health management. Its modular design incorporates an eco-friendly dissolvable base, reflecting the company's commitment to sustainable innovation. This international presentation demonstrates Prof. Wang's continued leadership in developing cutting-edge, human-centered health technologies that are both accessible and practical for daily and long-term use.

EmoFriends Wins Gold Award at Hong Kong Techathon+ 2025

We are pleased to announce that EmoFriends, developed by Prof. Stephen Jia Wang's team at the Research Centre for Future Caring Mobility, has won the Gold Award in the Trusted AI and Data Science track at Hong Kong Techathon+ 2025, one of the most prestigious intercollegiate technology competitions in the region that attracts thousands of participants from leading universities worldwide and serves as a crucial platform for showcasing groundbreaking innovations in emerging technology fields. EmoFriends is an innovative modular toolkit that transforms ordinary plush toys into intelligent companion robots for emotional support. Its breakthrough “Emosense” technology enables the system to understand users' emotional status through touch, providing precise stress monitoring. Powered by advanced AI, EmoFriends offers personalized conversations tailored to users' emotional states, delivering empathetic support through a combination of stress tracking, emotion-aware chatting, and haptic stimulation. The Gold Award recognition underscores our lab's continued leadership in developing human-centered AI solutions that bridge emotional health with cutting-edge technology. This achievement follows the project's previous international recognition, including an iF Design Award 2025, further establishing our position at the forefront of caring technology innovation.