On 27 December 2024, the University of Macau - Hunan University – The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Academic Salon on Autonomous Systems held its first session. The monthly salon is jointly organised by three research groups: the Intelligent Machine Research Lab (IMRL) led by Dr. Kong Hui at the University of Macau, the Neuromorphic Automation and Intelligence Lab (NAIL) led by Prof. Zhou Yi at Hunan University, and the Trustworthy AI and Autonomous Systems Laboratory (TASLAB) led by Dr. Weisong Wen at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). It aims to foster communication, collaboration and knowledge exchange among young scholars in the field of autonomous systems.
Presentations
The first salon featured three presentations:
- Mingle Zhao (IMRL), Towards LiDAR-Inertial State Estimation and Mapping with Next-Generation LiDAR Systems: Preliminary Explorations and Results. The talk highlighted the potential of Doppler LiDAR to address inherent challenges of conventional LiDAR-based state estimation. By capturing Doppler velocity in addition to range measurements, Doppler LiDAR opens a new avenue for robotic sensing, with significant implications for the accuracy and reliability of motion estimation and mapping.
- Zhongyang Ren (NAIL), Motion and Structure from Event-based Normal Flow. The talk introduced an approach to recovering camera motion and scene geometry from event-based normal flow. By incorporating a geometric error term, the method achieves efficient and accurate solutions for first-order kinematics and scene geometry, addressing the nonlinear challenges of processing event camera data.
- Xikun Liu (TASLAB), 3D LiDAR-aided GNSS Positioning: From Sensor Integration to Signal Restoration. The talk explored the integration of 3D LiDAR and GNSS for positioning in challenging environments such as urban canyons. By using LiDAR to assist GNSS signal processing and restore blocked or reflected signals, it presented recent advances and ongoing research on improving GNSS positioning accuracy and reliability.
The three speakers of the first salon.
Discussion
Participants of the first salon.
Each presentation was followed by discussion, promoting collaboration and the exchange of ideas among participants. Future sessions will continue to bring together scholars and students in the field of autonomous systems.