Name: 
TSANG Hon Ki
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Dean
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EE
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曾漢奇

Professor Li Cheuk Ting receives the IEEE Information Theory Society Paper Award 2023

Date: 
2023-07-20
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Professor Li Cheuk-ting, Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Engineering, has been awarded the prestigious Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Information Theory Society Paper Award 2023. This marks the third time that CUHK’s Department of Information Engineering has won this award, a record among Hong Kong institutions, with previous wins in 2005 by Professor Raymond Yeung for Network Coding and in 2016 by Professor Chandra Nair for developing a new technique for Gaussian optimality.
 
The awarded paper, “A Unified Framework for One-Shot Achievability via the Poisson Matching Lemma”, was co-authored by Professor Li and Professor Venkat Anantharam from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. The paper presents a result, called the Poisson matching lemma, that provides a new approach to constructing coding schemes for various delay-constrained communication scenarios, with sharp bounds on the error rate. The new approach proposed by Professor Li and Professor Anantharam can potentially be applied in a wide range of industries where reliable communication of short messages is required over noisy communication channels, for example the Internet of Things (IoT) and telecommunications.
 
Professor Li said, “The transmission of short messages within a small delay will be increasingly important due to the rising number of connected devices. I am honoured by the recognition this paper has received. I hope this work on a new approach to the theoretical analysis of finite-blocklength communication can provide insights into the design of practical communication schemes.”
 
Professor Li received his B.Sc. in mathematics and B.Eng. in information engineering from CUHK in 2012 and his M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 2014 and 2018 respectively. He was a postdoctoral scholar at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley. He joined the Department of Information Engineering, CUHK, in January 2020 as an assistant professor. His research interests include developing new information-theoretical techniques to address problems in delay-constrained communications, automated theorem proving, distributed computing and machine learning. He was awarded the 2016 IEEE Jack Keil Wolf ISIT Student Paper Award.
 
About the IEEE Information Theory Society Paper Award
The IEEE is the world’s largest professional organisation dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity, with more than 430,000 members in over 160 countries.
 
The Information Theory Society Paper Award is given annually for an outstanding publication in the fields of interest to the Society appearing anywhere during the preceding four calendar years. The purpose of the Information Theory Paper Award is to recognize exceptional publications in the field and to stimulate interest in and encourage contributions to fields of interest of the Society. 
 
(extracted from the press release issued on 20 Jul 2023 by CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office) 

Professor Li Cheuk-ting

 

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Professor Zhang Li receives HKD26.69 million Strategic Topics Grant Award from RGC

Date: 
2023-07-18
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Professor Zhang Li from Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering has been granted HKD26.69 million by the Research Grants Council (RGC) Strategic Topics Grant (STG) 2023/24 to support his research five-year research project, titled “AI-assisted Microrobotic Platform for Minimally Invasive Interventions”. 
 
Professor Zhang's awarded project aims to apply AI to miniature robots for minimally invasive interventions. The project will address the challenges of integrating AI and microrobotics research, including control, imaging, performance in dynamic physiological conditions, and appropriate autonomy for intervention. The advanced technology and the outcomes from this joint research project will significantly contribute to Hong Kong, particularly in the emerging field of AI and medical miniature robots for minimally invasive medicine. The project team, composed of engineering experts and medical professionals from CUHK, HKU, CityU, PolyU, NTU LKCMedicine, and ETH Zurich. (Please see the attachment for the project details.)
 
Professor Zhang said, "Autonomy and intelligence of medical robots are fundamentally important research topics across scales, via the STG funding support, we will put joint efforts with local and international partners on exploring the practical applications of medical miniature robots and the AI-assisted microrobotic platform for minimally invasive interventions."
 
About Strategic Topics Grant and Theme-based Research Scheme
The STG was introduced in August 2022. This new scheme is set up to support collaborative research in specific areas which can help Hong Kong overcome imminent challenges and tap fast-evolving opportunities. While TRS aims to focus academic research efforts of UGC-funded universities on themes of strategic importance to the long-term development of Hong Kong.
 
 
Appendix 
 
Project details
 
Project Coordinator: Prof Li Zhang (CUHK)
Project Title: AI-assisted microrobotic platform for minimally invasive interventions
Topic: Using Artificial Intelligence to Address Imminent Challenges in Health Care
 
Miniature robots have presented promising ways for medical applications inside the human body. Due to their small size, they are ideal for active and targeted therapy in tiny-and-tortuous lumens which are hard-to-reach by conventional medical tools. However, several grand challenges need to be adequately addressed for in vivo uses, including the imaging and control, the performance in dynamic physiological conditions, and appropriate autonomy for intervention. Besides, integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and microrobotics research can open many new possibilities for boosting the clinical translation of miniature robots and achieving intelligent robotic platforms for next- generation minimally invasive interventions. This interdisciplinary STG project aims to apply AI to miniature robots for minimally invasive interventions, which will address the following key challenges: (1) how to introduce deep-learning algorithms for real-time and adaptive planning and control of reconfigurable microrobot collectives to undertake medical tasks in physiological environments; (2) how to apply AI-based methods to process the noisy raw images and optimize the control performance of the microrobot collectives against physiological disturbances; (3) how to simulate the physiological parameters of human body for pre-operative intervention evaluation and clinical training. 
 
To tackle these challenges, our team, which composes of engineering experts and medical professionals in the related fields, will work together to deliver: (1) an integrated deep- learning-based AI control strategy for environment-adaptive morphological control of microrobot collectives in physiological environments; (2) a human-scale magnetic actuation system integrated with real-time imaging tools for robust in vivo tracking and tele-operation of microrobot collectives; (3) an AI-based control scheme for autonomous and intelligent navigation of microrobot collectives in vivo with high adaptability in physiological environments; (4) a microrobotic Interactive Virtual Surgical Platform (μbot-IVSP) for human body simulation, pre- operative microrobotic intervention evaluation, and tele-operation practice. Our project by a research team with long-term close collaboration will generate outputs that provide fundamentally critical new data and references for the field. The advanced technology and the outcomes from this joint research project will significantly contribute to Hong Kong, particularly in the emerging field of AI and medical miniature robots for minimally invasive medicine.
 

Professor Zhang Li

Microrobotic platform for the image-guided intervention.

 

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Prof. Sze-yiu CHAU's Team Won the Best Paper Award at the 16th ACM Conference on Security and Privacy in Wireless and Mobile Networks

Date: 
2023-05-31
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Congratulations to Prof. Sze-yiu CHAU's team has been awarded the Best Paper Award at the 16th ACM Conference on Security and Privacy in Wireless and Mobile Networks (ACM WiSec 2023). The paper, titled "The Devil is in the Details: Hidden Problems of Client-Side Enterprise Wi-Fi Configurators," is co-authored by MPhil student Ka-lok WU, undergraduate students Man-hong HUE, Ka-fun TANG, and Prof. Sze-yiu CHAU from Department of Information Engineering. This recognition is a testament to the team's hard work, dedication, and expertise in the field of wireless and mobile network security. 

 

 

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Name: 
LIN Xiaojun
Title ( post ): 
Professor & Global STEM Scholar
Department: 
Information Engineering
email: 
xjlin [at] ie.cuhk.edu.hk
phone: 
3943 5587
website: 
https://www.ie.cuhk.edu.hk/people/xjlin.shtml
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林曉俊
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CUHK Engineering FinTech Applied Research Academy partners with 10×1000 Tech for Inclusion to cultivate FinTech talents

Date: 
2023-05-22
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The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Engineering FinTech Applied Research Academy (CEFAR) partnered with the “10x1000” Tech for Inclusion Programme to launch the world’s first joint course this year, allowing more than 100 foremost students who are enrolled in the Master of Science in Financial Technology programme (MSCFT) to fulfil part of the course requirement after completing certain modules of the “10x1000” online courses. Some students commented that the “10x1000” course is simple and easy to understand. Even if you are not a “Tech Person”, you can be one in the pool after completing it. One of the students had been inspired by the course, adding unique elements to her own NFT products which had achieved an initial success. There were also students who plan to stay in Hong Kong or further develop their career in the Greater Bay Area after graduation.

After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics at a university in Canada, Pan Zhihang (Chris), a student of this course, returned to Hong Kong for development. Chris said “I think the 10x1000 course is not too difficult, as long as you learn more about it. Compared to some online financial technology courses which usually take two to three hours, the 10x1000 videos are relatively short, and you can watch them even during travel. There are some areas in financial technology which our Master programme does not cover, and the 10x1000 course is a very good complement for the programme.”

Another student, Mok Wai Fan (Fanny), who is an entrepreneur, expressed that even if she is not a "Tech Person", she could become a "Tech Person" after completing this course, and the 10x1000 course has helped her a lot. Fanny has been inspired by this course that she had improved her innovative "product" to make it more unique.

“The biggest insight that 10x1000 gave me is the quiz after watching the videos in each module, which allows students to have unlimited attempts, apart from explaining the profound theories in simple ways. People will make mistakes. As for learning process, if we cannot do it once, then try it twice or even three times. As long as one is willing to try, she will definitely achieve 100%,” said Fanny.

Fanny added, “This will give students a sense of satisfaction. I applied this in the promotion of my original NFT products to attract more children or adults with less artistic talent, stimulating their interest in integrating art with technology.” Although the related product is still in the preliminary stage, Fanny revealed “It can be said to be an initial success. At least for the time being, there are already customers who are willing to buy our NFT with $200,000.”

Chris, who is only 27 years old, predicted that he will not start a business within ten years, and emphasized that accumulating working experience is more important. He said “I plan to stay in Hong Kong after graduation and choose to work in finance or financial technology field, such as data analysis. I think Hong Kong, as the window of Mainland China to the outside world, will develop very well in the future. I may also work in the Greater Bay Area, since my family lives in Guangzhou, and it is convenient to travel between these two cities. Those big cities like Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Guangzhou have synergy effects, and thus the prospects of working in Greater Bay Area are good.”

This course is the world's first joint course with a university since the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Alipay jointly announced the "10x1000 Tech for Inclusion" charity initiative and the launch of the financial technology talent cultivation platform in 2018. This joint course is also an achievement of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between CEFAR and Ant Group in the middle of last year, which aims to cultivate young Fintech talents in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, and promote the establishment and development of Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology center through cross-field collaboration amongst government, industry, academia and research.

Professor Chun Kwong Chan, CEFAR, Faculty of Engineering, CUHK remarked, “Since the signing of MOU in June last year to launch the ‘10×1000’ campus version, after in-depth discussions, the two parties decided to integrate three topics closely related to financial technology, namely the background of financial technology, blockchain applications and artificial intelligence applications as the content of the co-branded course and incorporated the relevant training modules into a core course – ‘Advanced Financial Infrastructure’ of the MSCFT programme taught by me, through which the students can understand how technology supports and changes the development of financial infrastructure.”

Ms. Jennifer Tan, the person in charge of the 10x1000 project, added, "As of the end of last year, the total number of 10x1000 graduates, coming from 92 different countries or regions around the world, has reached 2,808. More than 40 experts and scholars from about 20 countries or regions contributed to the course design and development. Their expertise and experience have enhanced the thinking, knowledge and skills of the learners, thereby equipping them to become a new generation of leaders in the digital economy. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to CUHK for its efforts and cooperation to offer the world's first co-branded course jointly developed by 10x1000 and a higher education institution. Without the support of partners and academic staff from all over the world like CUHK, 10x1000 would not be able to achieve its goal of cultivating hundreds of scientific and technological talents in various places every year.”

There was a total of 1,741 learners completing the Fintech Foundation Programme or the Fintech Expert Programme under 10x1000 last year, and the number of graduates has increased by more than 63% as compared with 2021. Among them, 115 graduates are Hong Kong locals from various organizations. After completing the Foundation Programme and passing the tests, learners can join the 10x1000 Alumni Association for network building and knowledge exchange with industry mentors and learners worldwide, laying a solid foundation for future career development in related fields.

 

10x1000 Programme Lead Jennifer Tan, Fanny Mok, Chris Pan and Professor Chun Kwong Chan (From L to R)

 

 

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滬港合研兩棲巡航機 盼助普查搜救 水中最高速每秒2米 配全球定位等 成本數千元

香港中文大學與上海同濟大學最新聯合研發一款「水空兩棲巡航器原型機」，無人機既可空中飛行，亦能於水中潛行。巡航器外型如同無人機，充滿電的情况下，可在空中飛行6分鐘，水中巡游40分鐘，目前最深可達水底3米，水中運行最高速度為每秒2米。研發團隊表示，巡航器用途廣泛，未來可應用於海洋生物普查及災難搜救等，預料明年有製成品。

Date: 
Monday, May 15, 2023
Media: 
MingPao Daily
Media LInk: 
https://is.gd/wKJiEf

CUHK announces the invention of an aerial-aquatic hybrid drone

Date: 
2023-05-15
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A research team jointly led by Professor Ben M. Chen from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)’s Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering (MAE) and Professor Jie Chen from Tongji University’s Shanghai Research Institute for Intelligent Autonomous Systems has successfully invented the TJ-FlyingFish, an unprecedented amphibious drone capable of exploring underwater environments. Launched in early February 2023, this remarkable creation is a game-changing tool for a wide range of industries.
 
Can be used for search-and-rescue missions
 
 The TJ-FlyingFish is completely autonomous, requiring no human intervention during its journey. When in flight, all four units face upwards and spin at high speed. Once the drone lands on water, the units rotate to face downwards and spin at a lower speed, pulling the drone beneath the surface. It is equipped with a cross-domain positioning and navigation system, consisting of GPS, an inertial measurement unit, a depth meter and a mini doppler velocity log, which enables autonomous control during its entire amphibious journey. The drone can be used for aerial and aquatic surveys, remote sensing and search-and-rescue operations, among other applications.
 
The design of the TJ-FlyingFish is reminiscent of any other quadcopter, with a central domed body and four arms, each one equipped with a motor or propeller module. However, its design boasts unique elements, with four arms that each have a propulsion unit at the end. These units incorporate a special dual-speed gearbox and can rotate independently to allow optimal air or water movement.
 
Professor Ben Chen said, “For propulsion, the operating range is switched for the different media by the dual-speed propulsion unit, providing sufficient thrust and also ensuring output efficiency. For thruster configuration, thrust vectoring is realised by the rotation of the propulsion unit around the mount arm, enhancing the underwater manoeuvrability.”
 
Dives underwater for about 40 minutes per battery charge
 
 This amphibious drone weighs 1.63 kilograms. It can hover for six minutes in the air or dive underwater for about 40 minutes per battery charge. It can dive to a maximum depth of three metres and move up to two metres per second in water.
 
Professor Ben Chen added, “We are thrilled to unveil the TJ-FlyingFish, which represents a major milestone in our research efforts. We have simplified its structure and reduced its weight to ensure it can operate smoothly in water and sky media. We are excited to see how it will be used in the future.”

Video:

 
 

CUHK’s Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering Professor Ben Chen (Left) and PHD student Liu Xuchen introduce the TJ-FlyingFish.

 

Professor Ben Chen and his research team members.

 

The drone is completely autonomous, requiring no human intervention during its journey.

 

The drone can move up to two metres per second in water.

 

 

 

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CUHK develops wirelessly powered electronic stents for gastric acid reflux treatment: a new non-invasive therapy

Date: 
2023-03-23
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A collaborative research team led by Professor Zhang Li from the Faculty of Engineering, and Professor Philip Chiu Wai-yan and Professor Tony Chan Kai-fung from the Faculty of Medicine (CU Medicine) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has developed wirelessly powered electronic stents for a new electrical stimulation therapy to prevent and potentially cure gastric acid reflux. This collaborative work was published recently in the renowned international research journal Science Advances, and will be highlighted by Nature Reviews Bioengineering in April 2023 issue.
 
Gastric acid reflux and the limitations of current therapeutic methods
 
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a gastrointestinal (GI) disorder that is prevalent worldwide. Common symptoms include gastric acid reflux and chest pain, often known as heartburn. GERD is persistent and hard to cure. About 8% of patients need life-long medication, which impairs both their physical and mental health. Apart from medication, current surgical interventions include Nissen fundoplication and magnetic augmentation, which passively enhance the closure of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) and require laparoscopic surgery. Alternatively, electrical stimulation of the LES provides a promising strategy to restore the normal functions of the LES without affecting swallowing. However, it needs invasive surgery that is associated with a risk of infection. The heavy surgical burden and potential risks prevent the widespread implementation of implantable electrical stimulation systems. With the increasing prevalence of GERD patients worldwide, there is a strong demand for a less invasive electrical stimulation system to minimise invasive surgery-induced risks and increase the acceptance of electrical stimulation among GERD patients.
 
Eliminating the need for invasive surgery to implant the device and replace batteries  
 
The wirelessly powered electronic stent (E-Stent) designed by the research team has overcome the bottleneck of powering bioelectronic implants and provides a transoral delivery and retrieval strategy for in situ diagnosis and treatment in the gastrointestinal tract. It also has the potential for other non-invasive biomedical applications in organs with a natural orifice.
 
The E-Stent consists of a super elastic clinical esophageal stent as the mechanical skeleton, a liquid metal antenna and an intrinsically stretchable pulse generator. The liquid metal has a low melting temperature of 15.4℃ and high electrical conductivity. Due to its liquid nature at body temperature, the liquid metal antenna is compliant with deformations in the esophagus. In cooperation with a wearable power transfer system designed by the research team, the elastic antenna can harvest sufficient energy for electrical stimulation therapy through deep tissue, even under compression of the esophagus. To further push technology transfer, the research team also exploited a laser engrafting machine for the batch fabrication of stretchable circuits, which improves design flexibility and speeds up production. Its intrinsic stretchability and excellent mechanical properties mean the circuit can provide stable biphasic current stimulation under various extreme deformations.  
 
Professor Philip Chiu Wai-yan, Director of the Chow Yuk Ho Technology Centre for Innovative Medicine, CU Medicine, commented, “The natural orifice procedure via the mouth offers less invasive access to the GI tract, which provides great benefits for diagnosis and surgical interventions. This work offers a bioelectronic platform to regulate GERD by electrical stimulation. We proved our concept in vivo in pig models: that continuous electrical stimulation increased the pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter, suggesting it has the potential to prevent gastric acid in a less invasive way. The next step is to optimise and transform the lab-made prototypes into clinical products. We will continue our close interdisciplinary collaboration to push this work forward and benefit more people.”
 
Professor Zhang Li, Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, added, “In this collaborative work with CU Medicine, we have proposed the E-Stent platform and a transoral delivery strategy to address several key challenges in mucosa-interfacing bioelectronics: for instance, how to wirelessly power bioelectronics inside the body, especially for applications like electrical stimulation that consume a lot of power, and how to design microneedle electrodes to provide efficient, safe electrical stimulation across the mucosa, which is the natural barrier protecting the GI tract. I feel very grateful that our partners from the CU Medicine gave my team and me lots of advice and steadfast support during the collaboration, which has been a critical factor in the success of the research.”
 
Professor Tony Chan Kai-fung, Research Assistant Professor of the Chow Yuk Ho Technology Centre for Innovative Medicine, remarked, “Digital medicine can have a transformative impact on our daily life and demonstrates the clinical potential to integrate other functions. For example, we can integrate pressure sensors and other bio-sensors with the E-Stent for physiological assessment. The data we collect can be used for real-time optimisation of the electrical stimulation, realising personalised treatment. Additionally, the applications of this E-Stent platform are not limited to GERD but also take in other parts in the GI tract and other organs with natural orifices.”
 
The research team is now working closely to integrate new functions with the E-Stent for other applications in the GI tract and to conduct further preclinical studies and clinical evaluations. The team envisions that the development of the E-Stent will provide a promising non-invasive platform offering high efficiency and safety for various physiological assessments and personalised treatments, as well as diverse functions with high clinical value.
 
Appendix
 
Acknowledgement
 
This work is supported by the Research Grants Council (RGC), Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC), the Chow Yuk Ho Technology Centre for Innovative Medicine, and the CUHK T Stone Robotics Institute.
 
The full text of the research paper can be found at:
Wirelessly powered deformable electronic stent for noninvasive electrical stimulation of lower esophageal sphincter
Video source: Wirelessly powered deformable electronic stent for noninvasive electrical stimulation of lower esophageal sphincter, Science Advances, Vol. 9, Issue 10, ade8622, 2023
 

CUHK has developed wirelessly powered electronic stents for a new electrical stimulation therapy to prevent and potentially cure gastric acid reflux. (From left) Professor Tony Chan Kai-fung, Research Assistant Professor of the Chow Yuk Ho Technology Centre for Innovative Medicine, CU Medicine; Professor Zhang Li, Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering; Professor Philip Chiu Wai-yan, Director of the Chow Yuk Ho Technology Centre for Innovative Medicine.

The wirelessly powered electronic stent (E-Stent).

Wearable power transfer system.

 

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中大研無創式植入軟管治療胃酸倒流 冀兩年後展開臨床測試

中文大學最近研發出治療胃酸倒流的新方法，以無創方式植入軟管入病人食道，控制開合，期望兩年後展開臨床測試。
 
不少人受胃酸倒流困擾，原因之一是食道括約肌功能失調或退化，令胃酸容易倒流進入食道。
 
現時主要透過藥物或做手術，增強括約肌的閉合，不過根據以往研究，長期服藥會引致不同的後遺症，包括增加患胃癌風險。而傳統手術需要全身麻醉，亦有機會復發。
 
Date: 
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Media: 
TVB News
Media LInk: 
https://news.tvb.com/tc/local/641adfb4e82f8082bec3239b

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