Lingnan's Tech Innovations Build Smarter Healthier Cities

Lingnan University continues to participate in annual innovation and technology event the InnoCarnival 2025 (the Carnival), organised by the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC). As one of the programme partners, Lingnan University is showcasing eight innovative "Smart Healthy City" research projects, integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and interdisciplinary research. These projects cover healthcare, transportation, sports training, environmental monitoring, and elderly care, and demonstrate how Lingnan's innovation teams address societal needs and advancing smart city development through technology.

The Carnival runs from now until 26 October at the Hong Kong Science Park. At Lingnan's exhibition booth (D08), scholars and staff explain how these AI-driven innovations enrich daily life, improve urban liveability, and spark public interest in cutting-edge technology, so that visitors can enjoy multiple interactive experiences.

Prof Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, visited Lingnan University's booth this afternoon, 18 October, where Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu, Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research) and J.K. Lee Chair Professor of Computational Intelligence, showed him Lingnan's trailblazing research achievements, saying "In recent years, Lingnan University has actively promoted AI and interdisciplinary research projects to address pressing societal challenges and enhance the quality of life. The eight projects here allow visitors to experience how advanced technology supports the development of a smart and healthy city, demonstrating its profound impact on society.”

Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu showed Prof Sun the AI-based Fencing Training and Assessment System, co-developed with Prof Zhou Yu of Shenzhen University. The system acts as an AI personal coach, combining smart bracelets and insoles with a motion-sensing camera to observe and analyse fencers' actual movements, enabling scientific training improving safety and efficiency. An interactive fencing zone at the booth allows visiting students to "try it out" in fencing gear and smart bracelets, with motion-sensing cameras performing the fencing movements. Deep learning AI analyses each action, and provides suggestions for improvement, and the project won a Gold Medal and the Prize of the International Federation of Inventors' Association (IFIA) at the 11th Silicon Valley International Invention Festival 2025.

Hong Kong continues to report new cases of chikungunya fever, and Prof Paulina Wong Pui-yun, Head and Associate Professor (Presidential Early Career Scholar) of the Science Unit, showed the AI Mosquito Diseases Control System, displaying various species of mosquitoes recently captured in Hong Kong. Prof Wong also explained how the system's simultaneous map-based mosquito risk index helps people understand mosquito risks in different areas of Hong Kong, raising awareness about preventing mosquito-borne diseases.

Other Lingnan research projects on display include the Subway Passenger Flow Prediction Model, developed by President S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science, and Dr Liu Yiren, Postdoctoral Fellow of the Division of Industrial Data Science of the School of Data Science; the Direct Air Capture of CO2 to Enrich Agriculture Production project led by Prof Chen Xi, Dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Chair Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies; the Emergency Baby Incubator and AI Power-assisted Wheelchair Control System projects led by Prof Albert Ko, Director of the Office of Service-Learning and the Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI); the AI Road Risk Monitoring System developed by Prof Paulina Wong Pui-yun, Head and Associate Professor (Presidential Early Career Scholar) of the Science Unit; and the Smart Ageing Home Safety Monitoring System, developed by a team of postgraduate students led by Dr Chloe Siu Pui-yee, Senior Lecturer of the School of Graduate Studies. (Table 1).

For more details, please visit https://innocarnival.hk/en.

Project title Subway Passenger Flow Prediction Model

Scholars Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science
Dr Liu Yiren, Postdoctoral Fellow of the Division of Industrial Data Science of the School of Data Science

Description This project predicts passenger outflow accurately at different stations in a transportation system and a visualisation interface. Its model of passenger travel time and destination station distribution is based on past passenger gate card swipe data, combined with real-time entry flow data. Multi-time-scale modelling distribution predictions can be made a day in advance, and real-time data adjusts these forecasts dynamically, improving accuracy. The invention also integrates artificial intelligence agents to capture hotspot events, enabling real-time monitoring and prediction of subway passenger flow, and assisting in operational scheduling and resource optimisation, which improve the efficiency of the entire transportation system.

Project title AI-based Fencing Training and Assessment System

Scholar Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu, Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research) and J.K. Lee Chair Professor of Computational Intelligence

Description The smart fencing training system is an intelligent AI personal fencing coach, which uses smart sensors in bracelets and insoles and a motion-sensing camera to watch and analyse a fencer's movements in real time. Unlike older systems that just recognise basic actions, this understands the quality of each move, and can tell if a lunge is well-balanced, a step is efficient, or a strike is powerful. AI supports fencers' physical health, skills, and overall enjoyment of the sport, making training smarter, safer, and more available to fencers.

Project title Direct Air Capture of CO2 to Enrich Agriculture Production

Scholar Prof Chen Xi, Dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Chair Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies

Description The research team has developed a novel material to be used in carbon farming that captures CO2 directly from the air to use as a fertiliser in a greenhouse for photosynthesis and internal CO2 circulation. The CO2 can be captured directly from dry air, and released when the air is wet.

Project title Emergency Baby Incubator

Scholars Prof Albert Ko, Director of the Office of Service-Learning and the Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI)
Mr Adrian Lo Chun-kwong, Product Design Lead of the Office of Service-Learning

Description INCUVIA, a groundbreaking, modular, foldable, and affordable neonatal incubator is designed to save the lives of premature and underweight infants in underserved communities worldwide. It is portable, modular, easily monitored, transparent and foldable, and can be set up in minutes without tools. The low-cost, plug-and-play design is sustainable with reliable power - a 12V system using batteries and solar energy. INCUVIA has been successfully tested in the Philippines, and proved successful in field conditions.

Project title AI power-assisted wheelchair control system

Scholar Prof Albert Ko, Director of the Office of Service-Learning and the Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI)

Description CREW is a power-assisted wheelchair control system designed for caregivers, which brings the benefits of powered wheelchairs to users who cannot control them independently. Pressure-sensors in the handles of the wheelchair allow the caregiver easy control, and the wheelchair senses whether to move forward or apply the brakes intelligently without laborious effort, especially on a slope.

Project title AI Mosquito Diseases Control System

Scholar Prof Paulina Wong Pui-yun, Head and Associate Professor (Presidential Early Career Scholar) of the Science Unit

Description This Mosquito Risk Index uses the latest smart technologies, including IoTs, GIS, GeoAI, and Deep Learning algorithms, to geographically monitor, address, and anticipate mosquito-borne diseases in Hong Kong, and is the first system that can forecast mosquito occurrence up to three days in advance. The dashboard displays mosquito hotspots and alerts, and the goal is better disease management with community engagement.

Project title AI Road Risk Monitoring System

Scholar Prof Paulina Wong Pui-yun, Head and Associate Professor (Presidential Early Career Scholar) of the Science Unit

Description This real-time, accurate, all-in-one intelligent transport solution improves driving safety, facilitates fleet management, and improves road convenience and efficiency using autonomous driving technology and GeoAI techniques. It also develops a road hazard and traffic information geodatabase per road segment, allowing public transport drivers and fleet managers to receive immediate warnings and alerts of any hazards, and has a mobile app, dashboard, and dynamic mobility database, and GeoAI predictive capabilities.

Project title Smart Ageing home safety monitoring system

Scholar Dr Chloe Siu Pui-yee, Senior Lecturer of the School of Graduate Studies

Description H-Air is an intelligent home environment monitoring system that integrates electronic nose technology, thermal imaging, and AI-driven big data analysis. It provides effective protection through immediate detection, intelligent early warning, and coordinated response to multidimensional risks, including flammable gas leaks, indoor air quality, and elderly safety, and addresses a critical market gap by providing integrated, preventive, and responsive monitoring systems, thereby enhancing both safety and health management in residential settings. Its core purpose is to offer families and elderly care institutions a unified platform for environmental protection and health care.

Prof Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry (middle), visits Lingnan's booth to learn about the AI-based Fencing Training and Assessment System, a project introduced by Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu (left).

Visitors take part in the AI-based Fencing Training and Assessment System.

Prof Paulina Wong Pui-yun (middle) shows the AI Mosquito Diseases Control System, displaying various species of mosquitoes recently captured in Hong Kong.

Lingnan University highlights eight innovative research "Smart Healthy City" projects integrating AI and interdisciplinary research.

Lingnan University highlights innovative research projects

More than 190 students from 13 local secondary schools will take part in a year-long programme to gain hands-on experience in preparing an extremely rare whale specimen for public exhibitions scheduled for 2027. The Environment and Conservation Fund “Sea” Through Cetacean: STEAM Student Ambassador Programme & Cetacean Conservation Exhibition, organised by the Division of Science of Lingnan University in collaboration with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Cetacea Research Institute, and Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong, was officially launched on 1 February 2026. This initiative builds on the rare stranding of a Longman's beaked whale in Hong Kong in 2024, providing students with a unique opportunity to assist in the preparation of skeletal specimens of one of the world's most mysterious marine mammal species. The project also promotes cetacean conservation and will educate the public in key marine environmental issues, including plastic pollution in the oceans.

The programme has involved over 190 students from 13 secondary schools across Hong Kong. They will assist in the preparation of a complete skeleton of the rare Longman's beaked whale, with public exhibitions of the specimen scheduled for the second and fourth quarters of 2027.

Dr Eric Cheng Kam-chung, SBS, MH, OStJ, JP Chairman of the Environment and Conservation Fund Committee, delivered a speech at the launch ceremony: “This Environment and Conservation Fund funded project turns a marine ecological conservation event into a highly meaningful educational programme. It is believed that the project will not only raise public awareness of whale and dolphin conservation as well as environmental sustainability but also encourage a deeper reflection on marine ecological conservation."

Dr Eric Cheng Kam-chung gives a speech

Dr Chu Chun-wa, Assistant Director (Fisheries and Marine Conservation) of the Fisheries and Marine Conservation Branch of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), said “The AFCD has long been committed to promoting marine conservation. We believe this skeletal preparation programme will cultivate a sense of responsibility among young people towards marine ecology, foster greater interest in fisheries and marine conservation, transform scientific knowledge into action, and facilitate the long-term protection of biodiversity in Hong Kong waters.

Dr Chu Chun-wa gives a speech

Prof Paulina Wong Pui-yun, Head and Associate Professor (Presidential Early Career Scholar) of Division of Science at Lingnan University, agreed “Complete Longman's beaked whale specimens are extremely rare worldwide, and this has presented a precious opportunity to study rare deep-sea cetaceans. Lingnan University is honoured to host this programme, which allows students to study whale specimens through STEAM interdisciplinary experiences. We hope to teach students to understand marine conservation from multiple perspectives — science, technology, engineering, and arts — so they can become a new generation of ambassadors, spreading conservation messages among the public and raising awareness of the importance of protecting marine ecosystems.”

Prof Paulina Wong Pui-yun gives a speech

This two-year project, led by Prof Scott Chui Yik-suen, Research Assistant Professor of the Division of Science at Lingnan University, starts with providing introductory training and guidelines on the preparation of whale skeleton specimens to over 190 students from 13 secondary schools across Hong Kong. Students will assist with an 11-month specimen processing procedure and gain hands-on experience in handling, degreasing, measuring, and documenting the condition of the assigned whale skeletal specimens to preserve them for both scientific study and public exhibition. Throughout the process, they will regularly and systematically monitor and record any changes to the specimens, and will also participate in diverse STEAM-based experiential learning activities, including science and conservation lectures, visits to research facilities and marine animal rescue centres, and field trips to Tai O, as well as creating works of art to exhibit. These multidisciplinary skills will help them become ambassadors advocating for cetacean and marine conservation.

Prof Scott Chui Yik-suen introduces the series of STEAM activities

In the second phase, the project will extend its reach to the public through two Cetacean Conservation Exhibitions scheduled for the second and fourth quarters of 2027. These will showcase the Longman's beaked whale skeleton prepared with the students' assistance in the first phase, together with specimens of two local cetacean species—the Chinese white dolphin and the finless porpoise. The exhibitions will also display the canvas bag found in the whale's stomach to highlight the threats of plastic pollution to marine ecosystems. During the exhibitions, student ambassadors will serve as docents, guiding public tours and describing their own experiences to deliver key messages about cetacean ecology and marine conservation. The digital 3D model and 1:1 3D-printed replica of the Longman's beaked whale skeleton will serve as lasting educational and scientific resources, contributing to 3DTEACH—a newly established educational alliance among universities in Hong Kong. This initiative will create ongoing and lasting value to public education, conservation efforts, and the scientific community.

Prof Chui said “There are typically 20 to 50 cases of dolphin stranding reported in Hong Kong each year, predominantly involving two local cetacean species—Chinese white dolphins and finless porpoises. Strandings of other species are rarer, with only a few reported annually. Cetaceans inhabiting inshore habitats, such as Chinese white dolphins and finless porpoises, are particularly susceptible to threats from human activities, including coastal development, marine traffic, and pollution. Plastic debris and fishing hooks are sometimes found in the stomachs of stranded animals, and entanglement in abandoned fishing nets and gear is not uncommon. One study even found up to 145 microplastic particles in the stomach of a stranded Chinese white dolphin in the Pearl River Estuary, highlighting the critical issue of plastic pollution in the marine ecosystem. We hope to educate the public in environmental issues such as cetacean conservation and marine plastic pollution through this project.”

Participating Secondary Schools (in alphabetical order):

• Diocesan Boys' School

• DMHC Siu Ming Catholic Secondary School

• Elegantia College

• HKCCCU Logos Academy

• Kau Yan College

• La Salle College

• Lingnan Hang Yee Memorial Secondary School

• Po Leung Kuk Laws Foundation College

• St. Catharine's School for Girls

• Sha Tin Methodist College

• Shun Tak Fraternal Association Leung Kau Kui College

• The ELCHK Yuen Long Lutheran Secondary School

• Ying Wa College

About the Longman's beaked whale

The Longman's beaked whales (Indopacetus pacificus), also known as Indo-Pacific beaked whales or tropical bottlenose whales, belong to the beaked whale family (Ziphiidae) within the order Cetacea. They live in the deep, open, tropic waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and are rarely seen near coastal waters. As of 2021, there have only been seven other complete skeleton specimens of Longman's beaked whales reported worldwide, and they are widely regarded as one of the most mysterious and least understood marine mammals.