Robots usually mean the machines integrating sensors, intelligence, and actuation to perform tasks autonomously. They have been successfully applied to perform tasks that human wouldn’t like and/or have difficulties or danger to do such as heavy lifting and handling radioactive material. Current research and development effort in robotics have been focused on new mechanical structures, actuation methods, and intelligent sensing and control to enable robots to perform tasks that are impossible for humans including working in remote or nano environments, for instance sensing and manipulating inside of human body. In telemedicine, robots are exemplified to deliver medical service such as diagnostics or therapies to a remote location via communication networks. Therefore, robotic technology will not only change the industries, but also society and people’s life. It will help us to overcome the difficulties in distance, scale as well as environment to develop new manufacturing processes, medical diagnostics, and therapeutic treatments, as well as assistant devices to meet the challenges such as sustainability, aging society, and economic disparity.
Selected on-going projects:
- “Intelligent Robotics for Elderly Assistance in Hong Kong”, RGC Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS)
- “Development of UV based Disinfection Robots”, ITF
- “Robotic Manipulations of Unstructured Objects”, ABB