Quality Alchemist (品質煉金術師): IET & IEEE Technical Visit to CUHK T Stone Robotics Institute

The technical visit to CUHK T Stone Robotics Institute was co-organized by Joint Event with Informatics and Control Technology Section, IET Hong Kong and IEEE Electronics Packaging Society (IEEE-EPS) on 6 July 2018. The CUHK T Stone Robotics Institute was established in Nov 2015, as one of the University’s strategic initiatives, with the strong support from the university and a generous donation from T Stone Group Limited to provide a platform for research collaboration and collective development in robotics and automation. The objective is to build a world-class institute that plays leading roles in global robotics research and contributes to technological and societal development in Hong Kong and mainland China. I took a photo in front of the institute for memory.

Firstly, we visited the research named “A robotic assistant for total laparoscopic hysterectomy” that aimed to assist the surgeon in uterus positioning during a Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy (TLH) that is the procedure of moving the uterus from a female patient. Dr. Zerui Wang (Research Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, CUHK) explained and demonstrated this research to us.

Then Dr. Darwin Tat Ming Lau (Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, CUHK) showed different cable-driven robots and explained their principles to us.

A student demonstrated how to collect data during raising arm. It could help us to understand our brain response on different situations.

Cable-driven Robots work with a type of parallel mechanism where multiple cables are attached to an end-effector in parallel. The demonstration was to move 20kg weight in different locations.

A larger scale Cable-driven Robots was demonstrated too. It could carry laser cutter for different function.

In Prof. Raymond K.Y. Tong’s laboratories, research staff showed us a six-phase-angle-driven FES cycling system with subject-specific control algorithm for a 20-year old female spinal cord injury (SCI) volunteer with thoracic spinal fracture to exercise and improve the physical condition of her lower limb.

Research student explained his research on Prosthetic Limb which detect the balance data and assist walk posture.

Another research student showed wearable exoskeletons for motion assistance and rehabilitation.

The last laboratories we visited named “CUHK-BIT Joint Research Centre for Optomechatronic Design and Engineer” (BIT – Beijing Institute of Technology). They designed different tools for surgery use.