HKBU displays sports and art-tech prowess at InnoCarnival 2024

Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) showcased its latest innovations in utilising technology for sports and arts at the InnoCarnival 2024. Visitors will have the unique opportunity to learn about how human data metrics improve the performance and safety of athletes, experience the thrill of fencing in interactive installations, and engage in sports and arts through motion capturing and sensing technologies.

InnoCarnival is an annual event organised by the Innovation and Technology Commission of the Hong Kong SAR Government. With the theme of “Let’s Sail with Innovation and Technology”, this year’s Carnival is being held from 26 October to 3 November at the Hong Kong Science Park.

Professor Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry; and Mr Ivan Lee, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR Government visited HKBU’s pavilion on 26 October. Professor Alex Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor; Professor Martin Wong, Provost; Dr Albert Chau, Vice-President (Teaching and Learning); Professor Terence Lau, Interim Chief Innovation Officer; and Mr Edmond Lam, Director of the Knowledge Transfer Office at HKBU, shared with the Government representatives the University’s latest accomplishments in innovative transdisciplinary research.

Enhance sports performance and learning experiences with transdisciplinary technology

The Government’s latest Policy Address initiated the effort to explore the development of sports medicine and sports science. Committed to supporting the development of sports in Hong Kong, HKBU presented a wide range of sports-tech innovations at the Carnival. With the application of wearable technologies, the project “Real-time human data metrics improving performance and safety of athletes” monitors athletes’ health conditions using physiological sensors, whilst multi-location environmental conditions are also tracked in real-time to help safeguard athletes’ health and safety in sporting events.

HKBUniverse, the official metaverse of HKBU, is also featured at the Carnival. It is an immersive AI-enabled virtual space dedicated to fostering transdisciplinary collaboration. The “Fencing Illusionary Experience”, a spin-off interactive installation of HKBUniverse, captures the participants’ movements in a fencing booth. The motion data then generate the poses of a virtual AI fencer and creates a dynamic chronophotograph. This interactive installation enhances learning experiences by showcasing the intersection of sports, art and AI within a collaborative educational framework.

Art-tech sparks artistic innovations

In other transdisciplinary art-tech projects, Kung Fu (martial arts) tutorials are being made available to visitors. The project “Pose Matching” shows projected images of the key body positions in Kung Fu. With the application of movement-tracking technologies, users can align their body postures to the projected Kung Fu graphics in real-time. Another art installation “Kung Fu Visualisation” creates a panoptic virtual reality which allows visitors to select six different visualisation styles to enjoy the re-enacted and re-envisioned performances by the renowned Kung Fu masters in Hong Kong.

Visitors can also have a taste of HKBU’s vibrant campus and innovative culture through two projects. “Explore HKBU” is an immersive installation that showcases detailed illustrations of the University when it celebrated the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The project "Creating your HKBU landscape painting" allows visitors to craft personalised artworks, serving as both a creative outlet and an educational tool, fostering public awareness and engagement in artistic innovation.