From robotic gloves to safer batteries, CUHK puts research to work
Raymond Tong, a professor of biomedical engineering at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, explains a brain signal-controlled wearable device at the university's AI Lab in Ma Liu Shui, New Territories, Hong Kong, Sept. 1. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Wearable device helps patients regain hand movement as university-developed battery technology targets energy storage
A reporter demonstrates a wearable robotic device by gripping a mobile phone and answering a call during a visit to The Chinese University of Hong Kong in Ma Liu Shui, New Territories, Hong Kong, Sept. 1. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
HONG KONG — From helping stroke patients perform everyday tasks to developing safer ways to store electricity, researchers at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) are developing technologies for use beyond the laboratory.
During a visit to the university on Sept. 1, a reporter tried on a robotic glove that moved the fingers with noticeable force, but without jerking them.
For stroke survivors who cannot move their hands, that movement could help them do something as ordinary as holding a spoon or picking up a phone.
The device uses air-powered artificial muscles developed by a team led by Raymond Tong, a professor of biomedical engineering at CUHK. Unlike conventional motor-driven rehabilitation equipment, the lightweight system uses a small pump to help patients open and close their hands.
“Nowadays, you can see those exoskeletons are very rigid. They are very heavy,” Tong said, inviting the reporter to try the device.
Patients can use it both for rehabilitation exercises and everyday tasks, including gripping objects, writing and eating. Tong said the system can also respond to signals associated with a patient’s intention to move.
“They can use the brain to control it,” he said. “I just imagine moving the hand and the hand moves.”
Tong said the team was conducting clinical trials involving people with strokes and spinal injuries, with plans to expand use in hospitals. He also described work with children who have difficulty standing or walking.
Yi-Chun Lu, right, a professor of mechanical and automation engineering at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Simon Zengyue Wang, CEO of Luquos Energy, explain a sulfur-based flow battery developed by Lu's research team at the university's AI Lab in Ma Liu Shui, New Territories, Hong Kong, Sept. 1. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Elsewhere on campus, researchers showed a battery designed to reduce the fire risks associated with conventional lithium-ion batteries.
Developed by a team led by CUHK professor Yi-Chun Lu, the sulfur-based flow battery uses water-based electrolytes. Luquos Energy, a startup founded to commercialize the research, has installed a demonstration system on campus.
“This is a completely different technology compared to lithium,” said Luquos Energy CEO Simon Zengyue Wang. “We do not use lithium. We use sulfur.”
“The battery electrolyte is water, so it never catches fire,” Wang said. The company estimates its electrolyte could remain usable for more than 15 years, although that is not a verified real-world service life.
Wang said the technology could serve solar installations and power-hungry artificial intelligence data centers because it can discharge electricity for “over eight hours, even 12 hours, even longer.”
He said Luquos Energy was building a production line in Shenzhen and had already developed battery systems for projects including electric vehicle charging.