People

Principal

Investigator

Dr David Navarro-Alarcon

David is an Assistant Professor (Robotics) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Principal Investigator of the ROMI-Lab. Before joining PolyU in 2017, he was an Assistant (Research) Professor at the T Stone Robotics Institute in CUHK from 2015–2017. His current research interests include perceptual robotics, adaptive behaviour and control theory. He received his PhD degree in 2014 from The Chinese University of Hong Kong under the supervision of Prof Yun-hui Liu. David is a Member of IEEE (GS'06, M'14, SM'19) and of its RAS and SMCS societies.

Researchers 

Maria Victorova

Maria Victorova joined ROMI-Lab in October 2017 as a PhD student. Her research interest is in medical robotics. She has research experience in virtual reality for training with haptic feedback, passive hand prosthesis for children, and automation of medical scanning systems. Maria received her BSc degree in biomedical engineering from the Bauman Moscow State Technical University and her MSc degree in space systems from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology with a certificate of merit for innovation contribution. She had three internships on developing exoskeleton applications, robotics and hand prosthesis assembly and design. Currently, she is developing a fully automated robotic system for ultrasound scoliosis assessment. Maria is a talented dancer, singer, and occasional master of ceremony.

Omar Zahra

Omar joined the ROMI-Lab in January 2018 as a PhD student. His research interest includes robotic manipulation, bio-inspired control, AI, and multi-modal perception. Omar received his BSc degree in electromechanical engineering from the Alexandria University, and his MSc degree in mechatronics and robotics engineering from the E-JUST (Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology), both in Egypt. His diverse background gives him a good insight into robotics from various perspectives. Currently, he is developing neuro-inspired methods for modelling and coordinating the motion of robotic systems. Besides developing advanced cognitive systems, Omar enjoys practising archery. 

Muhammed Muddassir

Muddassir joined the ROMI-Lab in February 2018 as a Research Assistant. Since September 2018, he is a PhD student in PolyU. He received his master's degree in control science and engineering from the Beijing Institute of Technology in China, and the bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences in Pakistan. He has received several academic scholarship awards including the Chinese Government Scholarship (China) and the National Prime Minister's ICT & R&D Funds (Pakistan). His research interests include 3D perception and hand-eye coordination. Currently, he is developing the world's first aesthetic dermatology automated system. Muddassir is a savvy video game player.

Zoë Ma

Zoë joined the ROMI-Lab in July 2018 as a PhD student. She graduated from the prestigious Harbin Institute of Technology in China, where she received her BEng degree and master's degree, both in control science and engineering. Her master's research work was on spacecraft attitude control based on neural networks. Her current research interests include robotics, machine intelligence, control systems, and biomimetics. Currently, she is developing RGB-D methods for computing the 3D shape of soft objects, and for adaptively controlling its deformations with robot arms. Zoë is a graphic artist and occasional model.

Bin Zhang

Bin joined the group in May 2021 as a Research Assistant and will be a PhD student starting from September 2021. He received his master’s degree in control science and engineering from China Academy of Space Technology, and his bachelor’s degree in detection, guidance and control technology from Beihang University. He is currently working on the robotic thermal servoing. In his spare time, Bin loves to play badminton and watch NBA games.

Luyin Hu

Luyin joined the ROMI-Lab in August 2019 as a Research Assistant and is currently a part-time MPhil student in PolyU. He received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from PolyU in July 2019. His current research interests include the development of multimodal perceptual systems for improving human-robot interactions. Luyin likes to explore all kinds of interesting technologies and listen to music.

Luiza Labazanova

Luiza joined the group in August 2019 as a PhD student. She is the recipient of the prestigious 2019/20 Belt and Road Scholarship (Research Postgraduate). She received the specialist degree in applied mathematics and computer science from the Chechen State University and the MSc degree in space and engineering systems in Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, both with high distinction. Her research interests include human-robot interactions, artificial intelligence and haptics. She was a visiting research student in Kaji-lab at the University of Electro-Communications (Tokyo, Japan), working in the field of wearable devices and mechanoreceptors'

stimulation. In her free time, Luiza enjoys creating visual media; She has diverse experience in video production,

3D graphics and animation.

Jessica Chang

Jessica joined the ROMI-Lab in Sep 2019 as a student assistant and is currently a full-time undergraduate student in PolyU. Her research interest includes perceptual robotics. Currently, she is working on the development of experimental teaching platforms composed of multiple sensors, servo-motors and PC-based controllers. Jessica enjoys baking and listening to music.

Jeffery Zhou

Jeffery joined the group in August 2019 as a PhD student. He received the master degree in software engineering from School of Software Engineering in Tongji University in 2017, with the "Excellent Student of Tongji" honours. In 2016, he won the China National Scholarship. Before joining the PolyU, he worked at the Advertising Engine & Data Algorithm Center of Tencent as a research assistant on and also at the Discover Finance Services as a senior modelling analyst. His current research interests include robot learning, deep reinforcement learning and human-robot interaction. Jeffery enjoys hiking, tennis and guitar.

Kyle Huo

Kyle joined the group in September 2019 as a MSc student (dissertation option) and become a PhD student in 2021. Before that, he received his BSc degree in vehicle engineering from the South China University of Technology, China. He had experience in formula student racing and had an internship in Xpeng. His research interests include robot learning, motion planning in manipulation, and 3D sensing. Currently, he is focusing on robust adaptive bimanual manipulation for non-rigid objects. Besides enjoying Cantonese music, he is a (just okay) basketball and football player.

Zeyu Wu

Zeyu joined the group in September 2019 as a MSc student with dissertation option. He received the bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from Shanghai University in 2019, with the "Shanghai outstanding graduates" honour. His current research interests include bio-inspired mechanisms, soft robotics, robotic hands, bionics and kinematics. Zeyu enjoys traveling, swimming and camping.

Samantha Lee

Samantha joined the ROMI-Lab in December 2020 as a Student Intern and is currently a Student Assistant. She received her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a minor study in computing from PolyU. Her current research interests include perceptual robotics, image processing, and automation. She is also experienced in multimedia editing and web development. Samantha enjoys travelling, cycling, and playing table tennis.

Frank Zhang

Frank joined the group in September 2020 as an MSc student with dissertation option. He received his BEng degree in mechanical design, manufacturing and automation from the Hubei University of Technology in July 2019. His research interests include machine vision, pattern recognition and sensor fusion. Currently, he is developing a multi-spectrum vision system for robotic systems. Frank claims to be good a playing guitar.

Laboratory

Technician

Mr K.O. Yuen

Mr K.O. Yuen is a seasoned Technical Officer at the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He had worked at the semiconductor field for more than 12 years and mainly focused on mechanical design and automation. He joined PolyU PTeC at 2005 and started to serve ME since 2007. He currently manages the technical operation of various research laboratories.

Former

Members

Maggie Xu

Maggie was a research assistant (Jun 2020 - Feb 2021) working motion planning for manipulators. 

Jiaming "Big Tom" Qi

Big Tom was a visiting PhD student (Sep 2019 - Jan 2020) working on robotic manipulation of cables. 

Rick Peng

Rick was a research assistant (July 2019 - June 2020) working on vision-based planning for robotic welding. 

Jihong Zhu

Jihong was a visiting PhD student (Jul - Oct 2019) working on visual servo control of deformable objects.

Domi Gomez

Domi was a research assistant (Jan - Aug 2019) working on real-time thermal monitoring of human faces. 

Tiffany Yip

Tiffany Yip worked during (winter 2019) on 3D modelling of linear deformable objects.

Christian Trejo

Christian was a visiting PhD student (summer 2018) working on control of continuum soft manipulators.

Man-kiu Chow

Man-kiu was a research assistant (2017-2018) working on mechanical design of medical robots.