Bulletin No. 2, 2023

We often go out to talk to industrial leaders in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area to understand their needs. When we see a potential demand, we explore the technology for commercialisation. Professor Liu Yun-hui Director, Hong Kong Centre for Logistics Robotics “ ” who need to carry heavy loads, such as airport workers, construction workers and hospital nurses, but there is still a lot of room for further research and improvement to make an exoskeleton comfortable to wear and easy to move around in.” While models developed by companies in Germany, Japan and the US are available, a cheap, flexible generic solution is still lacking, Professor Liao notes. The models being developed by his team are built with a magneto-rheological series elastic actuator he invented, which can generate large controllable braking torque while consuming little energy. They also provide assistance with asymmetrical bending that involves axial twisting, a feature that is lacking in most existing products. His team is investigating the needs of customers while improving the designs. It aims to develop a series of new exoskeletons by 2025. Robots in the future Looking ahead, Professor Liu says the Centre will consolidate its position as a key robotics technology developer while catering to the needs of Hong Kong's service industry. The Centre has been developing technology to build robots that can take up tasks such as serving dishes in restaurants and folding blankets in hotel rooms. It is discussing collaboration possibilities with many business partners. Robots could also go into people’s homes, he adds: “I imagine that in 20 years, every family will have a robot to help around the home with tasks such as cleaning the floor, cooking and washing. Having a robot at home could be as common as owning a private car.” But robots will not be able to take over from humans completely, he cautions. "Human muscles are unique. Presently there is no material available to build robots that is as lightweight as human muscles while outputting the same level of energy. “What core technology we should develop, and how we define a robot: these are things we are constantly thinking about.” How AI and robotics reshape the world 23 Robots for the workplace