Construction Robotics For Future Site

Call for PosterFree Registration

Limited to 100 participantsFirst come, first served.

About

This workshop will bring together leading scholars and practitioners to discuss how robotics and autonomous equipment can support future construction sites. With wider adoption across construction sites, the practical value of these technologies depends on how safely and effectively they work with people in changing site conditions. The workshop will therefore focus on human robot interaction, together with sensing, planning, control, worker acceptance, and the management of mixed human machine teams.

This one-day, in-person programme will invite speakers from overseas, Mainland China, and Hong Kong. It will connect fundamental research with construction-site needs through keynote and technical presentations, discussion sessions, student poster presentations during coffee breaks, and informal exchanges between students and invited speakers. Through these activities, the workshop will create opportunities for academic exchange and future collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and students.

Speakers

Tentative Speakers

Mirosław J. Skibniewski

Mirosław J. Skibniewski

Professor

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering · Maryland Robotics Center · University of Maryland

Yong Kwon Cho

Yong Kwon Cho

Professor

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering · Georgia Institute of Technology

Heng Li

Heng Li

Chair Professor

Department of Construction Management and Intelligence · The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Xiaowei Luo

Xiaowei Luo

Professor

Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering · City University of Hong Kong

Hongling Guo

Hongling Guo

Head and Associate Professor

Department of Construction Management · Tsinghua University

Jack Chin Pang Cheng

Jack Chin Pang Cheng

Associate Head and Professor

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering · The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Pai Zheng

Pai Zheng

Associate Professor

Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering · The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Ziqi Wang

Ziqi Wang

Assistant Professor

Division of Integrative Systems and Design · The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Jiadong Yu

Jiadong Yu

Assistant Professor

Internet of Things Thrust and Artificial Intelligence Thrust · The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)

Haobo Liang

Haobo Liang

Associate Director

Hong Kong Center for Construction Robotics

Yee Locke

Yee Locke

General Manager, South China

Beijing 51WORLD Digital Twin Technology Co., Ltd.

Poster Session

Call for Poster

The seminar includes poster moments during lunch and coffee breaks for early-stage ideas, ongoing work and collaboration discussion.

Poster Session

We invite up to 10 posters related to construction robotics, automation, digital twins, embodied AI, human–robot collaboration and adjacent topics.

Submission Deadline: .

Please indicate your intention to present a poster on the registration page. Poster submission instructions will be announced with the final agenda.

Free RegistrationPoster Template
10 PostersSelected posters will be displayed during lunch and coffee breaks.
DiscussionUse the poster time for networking and collaboration planning.
Poster InterestIndicate poster participation when completing registration.
Submission Deadline

Venue

HKUST

Mr and Mrs Lee Siu Lun Lecture Theater (LT-K)

Aerial view of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology campus HKUST campus map showing the LT-K lecture theater location and direction signs

HKUST

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Location: Mr and Mrs Lee Siu Lun Lecture Theater (LT-K)

Travel To HKUST

Please check current routes and service information before travelling.

01 / MTR Connections

From The MTR

Hang Hau: take green minibus 11M from Exit B1 to the HKUST main entrance.

Choi Hung: take bus 91 or 91M from Exit C2, or green minibus 11 from Exit C1, to the HKUST main entrance.

Official HKUST transport guide ↗
02 / Airport Arrivals

From The Airport

A taxi from Hong Kong International Airport can take you directly to the HKUST Clear Water Bay campus.

Alternatively, take the Airport Express to Kowloon Station and continue by taxi, or use MTR Connections and transfer at Hang Hau to green minibus 11M.

Airport Express information ↗
03 / Hotel Connections

From Tseung Kwan O

From The Royal Garden Kowloon East, walk to Tseung Kwan O Station Bus Terminus and take Citybus 792M towards Sai Kung. Alight at the HKUST stop for the main entrance.

Alternatively, take a taxi, or take the MTR to Hang Hau (one stop) and transfer to green minibus 11M at Exit B1. Check current routes before travelling.

Campus and arrival information ↗

Committees

Chairs

Yantao Yu

Yantao Yu

Chair

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

View Profile ↗
Jiadong Yu

Jiadong Yu

Co-Chair

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)

View Profile ↗
Jack Chin Pang Cheng

Jack Chin Pang Cheng

Co-Chair

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

View Profile ↗
Xiao Pan

Xiao Pan

Co-Chair

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

View Profile ↗

Committee members

  • Haojun Luo
  • Jingyue Yuan
  • Junxi Cai
  • Kangda Wan
  • Mingyong Qin
  • Minshan Xie
  • Tong Ren
  • Wenyu Li
  • Xin Fang
  • Xinyu Chen
  • Xuhong Huang
  • Xun Lu
  • Yirui Wang
  • Yunpeng Wang
  • Yusen Wang
  • Zaolin Pan
  • Zhitian Zhang

Sponsors and Supporting Organizations

Mirosław J. Skibniewski

Mirosław J. Skibniewski is a Professor of Civil/Construction Engineering and Project Management at the University of Maryland, College Park, USA and a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Construction. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Carnegie-Mellon University.

As a researcher and educator, Prof. Skibniewski focuses on advanced technologies for construction including robotics, 3D printing, and AI applications. An author/coauthor of over 400 research publications, he held national and international visiting academic and research roles focused on advanced construction technology transfer and management. From 2017 until 2019 Prof. Skibniewski served at HKUST as a Visiting Professor of Civil Engineering and as IAS Visiting Fellow. He was a founding member of the International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction and served as President of that organization. Between 1994 and 2024 he was the Editor-in-Chief of Automation in Construction, an international research journal, and he now serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Engineering Management. Among his recently co-authored books are Artificial Intelligence in Construction Engineering and Management and Intelligent Construction in Tunnels.

Official University of Maryland profile ↗

Yong Kwon Cho

Dr. Yong Cho is a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he also serves as director of the Robotics and Intelligent Construction Automation Lab (RICAL) and a core faculty member of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (IRIM). He received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2000. With over 20 years of research experience, Dr. Cho’s work focuses on advancing construction robotics and field automation. He currently serves as co-editor-in-chief of the ASCE Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering and vice president of the International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC), an international professional organization dedicated to advancing research and innovation in automation and robotics for the construction industry. An elected Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), his contributions have been recognized with the prestigious 2022 Tucker-Hasegawa Award from IAARC and the 2024 ASCE Computing in Civil Engineering Award, honoring his significant impact on construction robotics and computing.

Official Georgia Institute of Technology profile ↗

Heng Li

Heng Li, Chair Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. According to the "2025 Top Scientists Ranking" released by Research.com, Professor Li Heng ranks first in China and 21st globally in the field of Engineering and Technology, making him one of the most internationally influential scholars in the field of building informatics. Professor Li Heng has long been dedicated to research in building informatics, digital construction, intelligent construction, construction robotics, and ergonomics, and has achieved pioneering results and contributions in the digital transformation of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. He has led multiple externally funded research projects, focusing on innovative applications and technology transfer of construction information technology. He has published 2 monographs and more than 700 papers in top international journals, with an H-index of 105 and over 37,000 citations.

Official university profile ↗

Xiaowei Luo

Xiaowei Luo is a Professor in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the City University of Hong Kong, where he also serves as the Director of the Center for Built Informatics and Smart Cities at the Shenzhen Research Institute. He earned his Ph.D. in Construction Engineering and Project Management from the University of Texas at Austin, along with an M.S. and B.S. degree from Tsinghua University, Beijing. His research focuses on Building Information Modeling (BIM), Construction Safety Management, Construction Robotics, Human-Robot Collaboration, Digital Twins, Augmented and Virtual Reality (A&VR), Building Energy Management, and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

He is a prolific scholar, having published numerous highly cited articles across top journals, conference proceedings, and book chapters. Dr. Luo has received multiple research grants from various organizations, including the National Science Foundation of China, the Research Grants Council (Hong Kong), the Construction Industry Council (CIC), and the Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Council. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for the ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering and the Journal of Smart Construction. He also previously served as President of the ASCE Greater China Section.

Official university profile ↗

Hongling Guo

Dr. Hongling Guo is an associate professor, Head of the Department of Construction Management, and Deputy Director of Construction Safety Research Center at Tsinghua University, China. His research areas include intelligent construction, virtual construction, and digital construction safety management. He has led four research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, three sub-projects by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, and around twenty consultancy projects from the construction industry, published around 150 research papers and four books, obtained over 40 invention patents and software copyrights, won five provincial-level science and technology awards, and two provincial-level teaching awards, and compiled six industry standards. Meanwhile, he serves as the vice president or board member of several associations and societies such as The Chinese Research Institute of Construction Management, the Committee of Intelligent Construction at the Architectural Society of China, BIM Sector at China Graphics Society, and so on.

Official university profile ↗

Jack Chin Pang Cheng

Professor Jack Chin Pang Cheng is Associate Head and Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research covers building information modeling, digital twins, the Internet of Things, green buildings and sustainable construction.

Official university profile ↗

Pai Zheng

Ir Prof Pai Zheng is currently an Associate Professor, Wong Tit-Shing Endowed Young Scholar in Smart Robotics, and Director, National Centre of Technology Innovation for Intelligent Design and Numerical Control (NCDC) – Hong Kong Branch, in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests include human-robot collaboration, smart product-service systems, and industrial embodied intelligence. Dr Zheng is a recipient of the Clarivate High Cited Researchers (2025 - ), HKIE Young Engineer of the Year Award (2025), SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers Award (2024), NSFC Excellent Young Scientist Fund (2024), and Global Top 50 AI+X Chinese Scholars by Baidu (2022). He is a Fellow of ASME, Young Member of HKAE, Senior Member of IEEE, and Member of HKIE/SME, Associate Member of CIRP, and serves as the Chair of IEEE Hong Kong Section SMC Chapter, Co-chair of IEEE TC on DMHCA, Scientific Committee Member of SME | NAMRI, Associate Editor of Journal of Manufacturing Systems, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, etc.

Official university profile ↗

Ziqi Wang

Ziqi Wang is an Assistant Professor at the Division of Integrative Systems and Design (ISD) at HKUST. Before joining HKUST, He was a postdoctoral researcher jointly appointed at the Creative Computation Lab and Sycamore Lab at EPFL, supervised by Prof. Stefana Parascho and Prof. Maryam Kamgarpour. From 2022 to 2024, He was a postdoctoral researcher at the Computational Robotics Lab, ETH Zurich, advised by Prof. Stelian Coros. He completed his Ph.D. at the Geometric Computing Laboratory (GCM) at EPFL in 2021, guided by Prof. Mark Pauly. Before his Ph.D., he earned his Bachelor’s in Mathematics in 2017 from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), advised by Prof. Ligang Liu.

Official university profile ↗

Jiadong Yu

Dr. Jiadong Yu is an Assistant Professor in the IoT Thrust, with a joint appointment in the AI Thrust at the Information Hub, HKUST (Guangzhou), and an Affiliated Assistant Professor at HKUST. She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Queen Mary University of London in 2021, where she also served as a Teaching Fellow. She then joined HKUST (Guangzhou) as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow until 2023, and was concurrently a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge's Department of Engineering. Her research has appeared in leading journals such as IEEE JSAC and IEEE TWC. She actively serves the academic community as a journal reviewer and IEEE ComSoc conference TPC member and Session Chair, receiving IEEE TNSE Excellent Reviewer awards in 2022 and 2023. Her research focuses on Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning, Multi-agent Systems, and edge intelligence.

Official academic profile ↗

Haobo Liang

Dr. Liang obtained his Ph.D. from the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), specializing in wireless communication and information theory. He has contributed to the development of new engineering education curricula at HKUST and served as the instructor for courses such as Design Thinking and Quantitative Engineering Analysis. Dr. Liang leads the Operations and Research & Development efforts at the Hong Kong Center for Construction Robotics (HKCRC)—a subsidiary of HKUST in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley.

The center is dedicated to advancing the construction industry through the integration of robotics and artificial intelligence, driving its technological transformation and upgrading.

Official university profile ↗

Yee Locke

With 12 years of experience in digital twin and physical AI, Luo Yi focuses on driving the large-scale industrial adoption of digital twins and embodied intelligence. He has led hundreds of projects across architecture, industrial parks, agriculture, and water systems, building a full-stack understanding from technology infrastructure to real-world applications. He currently leads market expansion and ecosystem development for 51AES in the Greater Bay Area, accelerating the industrialization and ecosystem integration of physical AI across the region.

Beijing 51WORLD Digital Twin Technology Co., Ltd. (51WORLD, Stock Code: 6651.HK), founded in February 2015, is China's first core infrastructure enterprise for "Physical AI" listed on the capital market. With the vision of "cloning the Earth's 510 million square kilometers," the company is dedicated to building a bridge between the digital and physical worlds.

Official company website ↗