Award ｜Geneva

Dr. Li and his team won a Gold Medal at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva with a project called “Hybrid Pose Adjustment (HyPA) Robot for Assembly Process in Modular Integrated Construction (MiC).”

HyPA is tailored to automate the Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) assembly process, which aligns with the HK government's initiative to deliver 430,000 new housing units efficiently over the next decade. This innovative technology proposes a novel robot configuration and integrates sensors and actuators to finely adjust the pose of MiC modules, effectively addressing pose adjustment challenges. Key components, including the horizontal steering system, cable control system, centre of gravity (CoG) adjustment system, thruster array, and position and orientation sensing system, collaborate to ensure precise positioning and alignment of modules, thus optimizing the MiC assembly workflow to increase productivity and reduce labour and safety issues.

The invention was spearheaded by Professor Li Xiao and Mr. Jiang Ruiqi from the Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong; Dr. Song Chen from the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, Chinese University of Hong Kong and Professor Shen Qiping and Ms Du Qianru from the Department of Building and Real Estate, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Newspaper link(s): https://www.hku.hk/press/press-releases/detail/27236.html

HKU Awards list: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5ancqfucrbrva27d29jin/Geneva-Projects_2024_EN.pdf?rlkey=n669jphyzxo1hft0v0x1hpng8&e=1&st=pu68ipk0&dl=0