Created by our MPhil in IIP student LI Haozhen and his team with the guidance of Dr. LIANG Haobo, Associate Director of HKUST’s Hong Kong Center for Construction Robotics (HKCRC), the rebar tying robot is one of the University’s four Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury winners at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva held this April. The world-renowned inventions event saw the University scaling new heights with a record-breaking 36 winning projects.

On the surface, the robot may not look like it is from a sci-fi blockbuster because of its modest facade. Yet it is the fruit of collaboration between HKUST researchers and the construction industry in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), with the lofty aim of elevating construction efficiency through work automation.

Spearheading the project, Haozhen, now in his final year, has found his muse through the University’s signature Individualized Interdisciplinary Program (IIP) offered by the Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies. Under the supervision of Prof. LI Zexiang — an internationally acclaimed scholar in robotics from the University’s Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, he can make deft use of the University’s bountiful resources through a highly flexible curriculum centering on intelligent construction and robotics.

Read the full article here: https://hkust.edu.hk/news/research-and-innovation/rebar-tying-robot-knowledge-transfer-odyssey-hkust-gba