Dezeen School Shows: a spatial learning device designed to help children understand geometry is among the projects from Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Also featured are products designed to help people quit smoking and a modular portable toilet.

Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Institution: Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Courses: BA(Hons) in Product Design, BA(Hons) Interactive Media, BA(Hons) Communication Design, MSc in Innovative Multimedia Entertainment, Intelligent Systems Design (MDes) and Smart Service Design (MDes)
Tutors: Lee Brian, Scott Chin, Chi Wing Lee, Yi-teng Shih, Hailiang Wang, Eric Siu, Roberto Vilchis, Chun Hei Cheng, Sky Lo, David Williams, Been-Lirn Henry Duh, Andrew Chen, Stephen J Wang, Dominic Leung and Shera Hyunyim Park

School statement:

"Technology becomes transformative when paired with thoughtful design, and these projects by students of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design showcases just that.

"These projects harness innovation to tackle real-world challenges: improving healthcare delivery, enhancing rehabilitation, preserving cultural heritage and even supporting rural revitalisation.

"From smart CPR kits and modular toilets to AI-powered empathy experiences and drone-assisted medical services, each concept demonstrates how design and tech can work hand-in-hand to create smarter, more inclusive and more connected communities.

"These innovations are born from the rigorous and future-focused education at PolyU School of Design. With a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, systems thinking and hands-on experimentation, students are equipped to lead in the evolving landscape of design and technology.

"The school's excellence in merging creativity with technical fluency ensures that graduates are not only visionary thinkers but also capable changemakers."



RePulse by Yi Chun Joyce Chan

"RePulse is a comprehensive CPR-AED system with dual training and emergency modes. The training kit features an interactive mat with step-by-step guides, inflatable mannequin and smart app that provides real-time compression feedback.

"The emergency mode includes a simplified response mat and innovative placement tool for CPR and AED pad positioning during crises.

"Designed to transform hesitation into confident action, RePulse bridges the gap between practice and real-life application.

"By combining muscle-memory training with foolproof emergency tools, it empowers more bystanders to deliver life-saving first aid effectively. 'Train with precision – act with confidence' encapsulates this breakthrough in CPR-AED education."

Student: Yi Chun Joyce Chan
Course: BA(Hons) in Product Design
Tutor: Lee Brian

Adap-Tri by Tsz Fung Martin Kwok

"Traditional portable toilets occupy space due to their shape and size design, leading to increased costs from frequent transportation. Their rigid layout also struggles to adapt to different environments.

"This design reduces transportation volume through a modular structure, allowing for flexible assembly to fit narrow or irregular spaces, thereby lowering logistics energy consumption while enhancing space utilisation."

Student: Tsz Fung Martin Kwok
Course: BA(Hons) in Product Design
Tutors: Scott Chin, Chi Wing Lee and Yi-teng Shih

MotoRehab by Chung Tai Leo Fong and Wing Laam Anna Hui

"MotoRehab is an advanced interactive system designed for homes and elderly centres. It is focused on rehabilitating users by improving fine motor skills and arm strength.

"By providing training data for therapists to create customised recovery plans and combining activities of daily living (ADL) training with play-based movement therapy, we enable users to recover hand motor functions and regain self-reliance."

Students: Chung Tai Leo Fong and Wing Laam Anna Hui
Course: BA(Hons) Interactive Media
Tutor: Hailiang Wang



OmniLens by Ching Yee Jojo Ip

"The rise of generative AI has revolutionised creativity. Yet much of the media's attention has focused on issues like security risks, job displacement and even fears of robot domination, overshadowing more urgent concerns about the dubious nature of current generative AI technologies.

"OmniLens is a speculative artefact from 2050 – a pair of XR contact lenses powered by generative AI and biotechnology that allow users to alter their vision with their thoughts.

"It critiques generative AI's addictive personalisation and its potential to hinder social interaction, critical thinking, and, ultimately, identity development."

Student: Ching Yee Jojo Ip
Course: BA(Hons) Communication Design
Tutor: Roberto Vilchis

Forms by Hei Ching Pallas Lo

"Forms is an interactive empathy experience that invites participants to be immersed in a world where ocular patients communicate 'what they see' and 'how they feel' through innovative visual adjectives.

"This is an enclosed, circulative system composed of three interconnected realms: to create, to see and to feel. It is an ongoing visual stories collection that fosters deeper understanding and connection across communities.

"To create is an art-driven workshop collecting visual descriptions from ocular patients through dot, line and shape, expressing what they see and how they feel with their ocular problems.

"'To see is a handy AR immersive experience fosters empathy and understanding among families by immersing them in a patient's custom visual stories through using descriptive and innovative visual adjectives.

"'To feel is a physical interactive immersive experience located in an exhibition room, raising awareness and enhancing empathy through diving into other patients' visual world."

Student: Hei Ching Pallas Lo
Course: BA(Hons) Communication Design
Tutor: Chun Hei Cheng



Doodle Lab by Jianan Andrew Lei, Yue Liang, Shihui Peng and Zhihan You

"Hong Kong's graffiti art, a vital yet marginalised facet of street culture, persists under regulatory and spatial constraints.

"This capstone project reimagines it as interactive cultural memory: iconic graffiti fragments are crafted into physical puzzle pieces.

"When viewers use public screens to identify missing fragments, mixed reality animations activate – transforming static graffiti into dynamic scenes that interact with preset IP characters.

"Each fragment unlocks unique storylines and assembling pieces across locations reveals a complete urban graffiti archive.

"Through a 'search-identify-activate' workflow, street art becomes preservable, shareable digital heritage, leveraging technology to sustain its subversive spirit and community narratives while resisting the commercialised erosion of urban cultural spaces."

Students: Jianan Andrew Lei, Yue Liang, Shihui Peng and Zhihan You
Course: MSc in Innovative Multimedia Entertainment
Tutors: Sky Lo and David Williams

PiLive by Yingli Lyra Gong, Yulin Olivia Tao and Zitai Ivan Zhang

"With the continuous promotion of the rural revitalisation strategy, agricultural product sales encounter challenges like ineffective promotion and unprofessional live-streaming.

"We plan to use one-stop live-streaming tools to combine the benefits of live-stream e-commerce and private traffic management, assisting rural farmers in achieving efficient sales and effectively converting and retaining private customers.

"Pre-live: a key to prepare all the professional materials (posters/scripts/programmes), saving time and effort. During live: AI real-time assistance (cue word/comment), smooth interaction without cold.

"Post-live: intelligent slicing to generate short videos, efficient re-dissemination of content."

Students: Yingli Lyra Gong, Yulin Olivia Tao and Zitai Ivan Zhang
Course: MSc in Innovative Multimedia Entertainment
Tutors: Been-Lirn Henry Duh and Andrew Chen

LumiPals by Chak Long Chan, Yishu Lai, Shengzhe Li, Junyi Liao, Yun Ru and Zhiheng Zhou

"LumiPals is an interactive spatial learning device for children aged 4 to 11. Using high-precision robotic arms, dynamic projection and interactive blocks, it transforms abstract spatial concepts into tangible light-shadow games.

"Children co-create dynamic lightscapes by assembling blocks, guided by an AI language model that provides real-time, child-friendly feedback.

"This fosters spatial imagination and language development through playful exploration of geometry, orientation and motion."

Students: Chak Long Chan, Yishu Lai, Shengzhe Li, Junyi Liao, Yun Ru and Zhiheng Zhou
Course: Intelligent Systems Design (MDes)
Tutor: Stephen J Wang

SkyCare with SF Express by Xi Cai, Yiling Jiang, Chong Ieong Kuok, Nuo Li and Le Wang

"As an outlying island of Hong Kong, Cheung Chau struggles with limited transportation and external connectivity, a rapidly ageing population and insufficient medical services.

"The service of SkyCare enhances the medication and healthcare experience for Cheung Chau's seniors by reallocating community resources and deploying drone technology to streamline current medical services and logistics."

Students: Xi Cai, Yiling Jiang, Chong Ieong Kuok, Nuo Li and Le Wang
Course: Smart Service Design (MDes)
Tutors: Dominic Leung and Shera Hyunyim Park

Smokend by Ka Lok Fong and Cheuk Hin Billy Si

"In Hong Kong, there are approximately 637,900 daily smokers. According to research, fewer than five per cent of smokers in Hong Kong utilised cessation services in 2019.

"Most smokers rely solely on willpower, with a six-month success rate of just three per cent to five percent, highlighting the ineffectiveness of unassisted quitting over the long term.

"Our primary research revealed that quitters face challenges such as physical cravings, psychological dependence and a lack of support during the quitting journey. Motivation often fades, leading to relapse due to low self-regulation.

"To address these issues, Smokend has developed a suite of products, including a smart detachable wristband and a mobile app.

"These tools focus on three key areas: physiological monitoring, psychological support and behavioural incentives, helping smokers stay motivated and improve their chances of successful cessation."

Students: Ka Lok Fong and Cheuk Hin Billy Si
Course: BA(Hons) Interactive Media
Tutor: Eric Siu

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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