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

The Hong Kong SAR imports over 90 per cent of its food, and it can be very difficult when food safety incidents occur to trace the source across a complex supply chain. Prof Leng Mingming, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Chair Professor of Operations and Risk Management at Lingnan University, has published a new study proposing the introduction of a unified product tracing system across the food supply chain. The study confirms that such a system would improve overall traceability efficiency, and analysis shows that cooperative mechanisms across supply chain tiers help reduce the entry of problematic food into the market, improving both food safety and consumer confidence. The research findings have been published in the internationally respected flagship journal IISE Transactions of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers.

The Faculty of Business at Lingnan University.

The international research team, comprising Prof Leng and scholars from Hunan University, the University of Southern California, and McMaster University of Ontario, developed a three-tier food processing system covering upstream producers, midstream manufacturers or wholesalers, and downstream retailers, including supermarkets and catering groups, forming a “cross-tier” network. Using cooperative game theory, the team analysed independent decision-making versus coalition-based cooperation potential profit outcomes for stakeholders. Results show that when supply chain tiers act independently up to 90 per cent of total profits may be lost, but a unified cross-tier cooperative alliance between manufacturers and retailers can reduce losses to approximately 55 per cent.

The study also explains that the fewer “separate coalitions” there are within the supply chain, the more effectively manufacturers and retailers can share traceability responsibilities, leading to higher total profits. Adopting a unified product tracing system reduces fragmented decision-making, improves operational efficiency, lowers unnecessary costs, and promotes more equitable profit allocation. This strengthens incentives for cooperation across supply chain tiers, and helps alleviate concerns among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) over the high costs or limited resources that may discourage participation in a unified tracing system.

Prof Leng Mingming, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Chair Professor of Operations and Risk Management at Lingnan University, has published a new study proposing a unified product tracing system across the food supply chain. The system would improve traceability efficiency and food safety management, and the findings have been published in the flagship journal IISE Transactions of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers.

Prof Leng noted “According to data from the Food Industry Association, about 64 per cent of consumers worldwide prefer brands that provide detailed product information and traceability records. A well-established product tracing system is better able to identify and intercept contaminated food or food that has deteriorated before it reaches retail markets, significantly reducing the risk of economic losses from product recalls.”

He added “Our study shows that cross-tier cooperation between manufacturers and retailers is key to improving overall supply chain efficiency. The Hong Kong SAR’s reliance on imported food underscores the importance of robust food traceability systems that enhance public confidence in food safety and support sustainable economic development. The use of innovative technologies such as blockchain and the artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) for food monitoring has become a global trend among major retailers and food companies. As an international trade hub, the Hong Kong SAR should encourage the adoption of these technologies for supply chain transparency and long-term sustainable development in the industry.”

The study also shows that many upstream farmers and manufacturers are SMEs with limited capital and technical resources, and it is difficult for them to shoulder the costs of implementing a tracing system independently. When penalties for distributing problematic foods are high, downstream retailers and manufacturers have a greater incentive to adopt a unified tracing system to intercept compromised food, thus appropriate regulatory measures can serve as an important lever to drive technology adoption in the industry.

Prof Leng has been named the recipient of the Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS)’s 2026 Dean of the Year Award. He was the sole winner selected from over 640 universities across 39 countries and regions. The award is presented annually to one outstanding dean who has demonstrated exceptional leadership in business education and consistent support for students.

Read the full study here: System-wide incentives to trace food processing: A cooperative-game analysis