RESEARCH FACILITIES

The University is committed to interdisciplinary research excellence, where innovation and collaboration intersect across all disciplines. Our central specialised research infrastructure is meticulously designed to support and elevate interdisciplinary research, dedicated to advanced neuroscience studies, comprehensive multi-person motion capture and analysis, and immersive multisensory engagements blending art and technology. Our facilities extend beyond their primary functions and serve as versatile hubs equipped to empower research from a vast array of fields, comprising arts, business, Chinese medicine, communication, creative arts, science, social sciences, and more. Discover the key pillars of our research community:

Functional Near Infra-red Spectroscopy (fNIRS)

HKBU Life Science Imaging Centre

The University has established Life Science Imaging Centre (LSIC) as a major research infrastructure or central research facility to promote individual and collaborative research on interdisciplinary neuroscience studies.

LSIC has procured a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) facility (model: MAGNETOM Prisma) , which is equipped with:

high gradient performance (80 mT/m @ 200 T/m/s simultaneously, on all three axes) with an ultra-high-performance cooling system and force-compensated design for reduced vibrations;
fully dynamic parallel transmit with TimTX TrueShape
Tim 4G RF system with 48, 64, or 128 independent channels for faster imaging and higher SNR
new UltraFlex 18 coils and Tim 4G coil technology
Apart from the MRI scanner, LSIC is further equipped with electroencephalogram (EEG) , Functional near infra-red spectroscopy (fNIRS) and Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) system.

Professor Johnny M Poon utilizing motion capture equipment.

HKBU Motion Capture and Visualization Laboratory

HKBU Motion Capture and Visualization Laboratory aims to be a comprehensive base for multi-person motion capture and analysis, an experimental and demonstrative space for AR/VR/XR research and applications, and an exploratory space for cognitive-driven generative creativity. The Lab is one of HKBU's spearheading forces to enable and promote interdisciplinary research in art technology with global impacts in the academy and beyond, by building the world’s first and largest Labanotation annotated 3D motion capture dataset. It will enhance Hong Kong’s global status in the art technology development industry and attract more international talents from the expertise domain. The Lab empowers the collaboration and communication between faculties, scholars, students, and professionals from various industries to enhance knowledge exchange and creation. It helps to enhance not only HKBU's research capability but also the university's teaching and learning strength in relevant undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, such as the newly launched Art and Science (Hon) in Arts and Technology programme.

HKBU Visualization Research Centre

The Hong Kong Baptist University Visualization Research Centre (VRC), directed by Chair Professor Jeffrey Shaw, is a pioneering interdisciplinary initiative at the intersection of immersive interactive visualisation, aesthetics, culture and computer science. It promotes multisensory engagement using experimental platforms conjoining art and technology, and its innovative post-cinema frameworks provide an expanded set of creative affordances for all forms of cultural expression.

VRC builds unique visualisation systems combined with powerful sonic architectures that are benchmarks in the realms of virtual, augmented and mixed realities. They leverage the latest technologies to address applications in expanded cinema, virtual museums, intangible and tangible cultural heritage, big data archives and multimedia performance. By deploying fully immersive display technologies amalgamated with the prodigious real-time capabilities of digital imaging, spatialized sound, multimodal sensing systems and AI-informed HCI, the Visualization Research Centre is innovating leading-edge cinematic experiences for the 21st century.