BLOG | HKUITS

6 Mar (Thu) | 10:30 – 12:30 Seminar by Benny Ng (MTR) and Jackson Wu (MTR)

This seminar is jointly organized by MTR, the Department of Data and Systems Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Transport Studies, The Edge, and Inno Wing Two.

Smart Railway Transformation with Data & New Technologies

Speaker:

Benny Ng, Acting Chief Digital Development Manager (Smart Operating), MTR;

Jackson Wu, Acting Lead Design Manager – Smart Maintenance, MTR.

Date: Mar 6, 2025 (Thursday)

Time: 10:30 am – 12:30 am

Venue: Innovation Wing Two, The University of Hong Kong

Abstract

In this talk, the speakers will introduce the innovation and technology development framework for Hong Kong Transport Services. They will also introduce examples of applications and utilization of data and new technologies for smart railway transformation. Finally, they will share experience on the key challenges, opportunities and required skills for exploring, development and application of data and smart technologies.

13 Feb 2025 (Thu) 17:00-18:00 | Industrial Seminar by Dr. Luyi Mo

Autonomous driving: Embracing the era of large-scale commercialization

Speaker:

Dr. Luyi Mo

Vice President of Pony.ai

Date: Feb 13 (Thu), 2025

Time: 5:00pm – 6:00pm

Venue: Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing Two, G/F Run Run Shaw Building, HKU

Abstract

The popularization of autonomous driving technology has brought significant changes to people's modes of transportation and lifestyles, and has also introduced new growth points for the automotive industry. We are witnessing the rapid iteration of autonomous driving technology and the continuous expansion of its application scenarios, while also facing many challenges. Starting from 2023, several cities in United States and China allowed fully driverless Robotaxi operating to the general public and hence the commercialization of Robotaxi business is accelerating. This speech aims to explore how to continuously drive industrial transformation and achieve large-scale commercialization of autonomous driving, especially Robotaxi, based on the technology and commercial practice of Pony.ai.

Speaker's Bio

Dr. Luyi Mo is a Vice President of Pony.ai, a global leader in the large-scale commercialization of autonomous mobility. She is responsible for overseeing Pony.ai's Guangzhou and Shenzhen offices as well as its Robotaxi service and operation. She successfully led the team to deploy China's first Robotaxi service in 2018 and continuously drove the efforts to make Pony.ai as the first company to operate fully driverless Robotaxi service in all tier-1 cities in China. Prior to joining Pony.ai, Dr. Mo worked as a senior software engineer at NetEase, specializing in game engine development. Dr. Mo holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Zhejiang University and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Hong Kong. During her time in university, Dr. Mo was the first female world champion from China since 1977 at the 35(th) Annual ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals in 2011.

ITS Director, Prof. W.Y. Szeto presenting Dr. Luyi Mo a souvenir for appreciation.

Prof. Reynold Cheng introducing the speaker, Dr. Luyi Mo

Dr. Luyi Mo explaining the view of the Robotaxi.

23 Jan 2025 (Thu) 17:30-18:30 | Seminar by Prof. Chenyang Wu

The impact of occasional activities on travellers’ preferences for mobility-as-a-service bundles and mode choice behaviour

Speaker:

Prof. Chenyang Wu

School of Aviation, Northwestern Polytechnical University, China

Date: January 23, 2025 (Thursday)

Time: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Venue: Room 612B, 6/F Haking Wong Building, The University of Hong Kong

Abstract

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is a promising solution for sustainable mobility, and can offer mobility options at low ownership costs. However, people have complicated travel diaries and are likely to change travel plans. This study investigates the impact of non-mandatory trips on MaaS subscription preferences and mode choice. We designed stated choice experiments to collect potential MaaS users' choice behaviour, and developed mixed logit models that incorporate risks associated with activities and the response of travelers to the scale of such uncertainty on mode shift decisions. The results reveal that respondents tend to be more multimodal after subscribing to a MaaS bundle, and the use of a taxi is greatly encouraged after subscription. In terms of users’ risk preference, we find that more risk-averse individuals tend to be reluctant to subscribe to MaaS bundles when the level of uncertainty increases. Moreover, our findings demonstrate that travelers are more willing to pay for flexible travel options and have a higher value of time when facing uncertainties (i.e., in the presence of occasional activities).

About the Speaker

Prof. Chenyang Wu is an Associate Professor at School of Aviation, Northwestern Polytechnical University. She holds a PhD degree from Imperial College London in 2020, an M.S. degree from Stanford University in 2015, and a bachelor's degree from Tongji University in 2013. Prof. Chenyang Wu's research focuses on travel behaviour, urban air mobility, shared mobility and multimodal transport system. She has published extensively in reputable journals such as Transportation Research Part C, and presented her work at prestigious conferences like Transportation Research Record. She currently leads two NSFC (National Science Foundations of China) project and participates in two China National Key R&D programs. She won the Young technology star of Shaanxi Province in 2024 and the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program from the China Association for Science and Technology in 2022.