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Research Impact
Where Science Meets
Where Science Meets
Real-World Change
From NeurIPS datasets to factory floors, our research creates lasting impact across academia, industry, and the global robotics community.
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Impact at a Glance
Measurable Research Excellence
A decade of focused research translated into numbers that matter
120+
Peer-reviewed publications
2.1M+
NZD in PI competitive funding
20M+
NZD total project portfolio
1.5M+
HA-ViD action frames released
4×
Stanford Top 2% Scientists ranking
5+
Best paper & excellence awards
10+
Physical robot platforms in lab
4
IEEE / Elsevier editorial roles
03 / 10
Open Science
HA-ViD: The World's Largest Human Assembly Dataset
Released at NeurIPS 2023, the Human Assembly Video Dataset (HA-ViD) makes high-quality industrial assembly action recognition data freely available to researchers worldwide. Built from real factory environments, it accelerates advances in AI-powered quality inspection, ergonomics analysis, and human-robot collaboration systems.
NeurIPS 2023
Open Access
Factory AI
Browse Related Publications →
HA-ViD Dataset
NeurIPS 2023
Factory Automation88%
Human-Robot Collab72%
Embodied AI56%
1.5M+
Action frames
583
Sequences
24
Categories
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Funded Research
Translating Research into Practice
Competitively funded projects addressing real manufacturing and automation challenges
01
MBIE Funded · NZ$1.2M
Smart Human-Robot Collaboration
Developing adaptive shared-autonomy systems for industrial assembly, enabling safe and efficient collaboration between workers and robots.
- Shared autonomy & task allocation
- Safety-aware motion planning
- Trust & acceptance modeling
- UR5e & Franka robot testbed
02
Factory Automation & Digital Twins
Creating AI-powered digital twin platforms for real-time monitoring, predictive quality inspection, and adaptive process control in smart factories.
- Digital twin & simulation
- AI-driven quality inspection
- Multi-agent production scheduling
- NSC / Callaghan Innovation funded
03
Embodied Intelligence & Foundation Models
Advancing robot skill learning using large foundation models, sim-to-real transfer, and multimodal perception for next-generation autonomous systems.
- Robot skill learning
- Foundation models for robotics
- Sim-to-real transfer
- Multimodal perception & action
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Flagship Projects
Major Research Programmes
Competitively funded projects translating fundamental research into industrial and societal impact
Ultra-Flexible Human-Robot Collaborative Assembly
MBIE EndeavourDeveloping adaptive HRC systems for dynamic, high-mix-low-volume production environments — integrating real-time human state sensing, multimodal communication, and Tikanga Māori data sovereignty principles.
BudgetNZ$1M
Duration2024 – 2027
Positions2 PhD + 1 Postdoc
HRC
Adaptive AI
Construction 4.0 — Smart Build Aotearoa
MBIE EndeavourTransforming New Zealand's construction sector through automation and digitalisation — delivering intelligent scheduling, robot-assisted fabrication, and digital twin monitoring for better productivity and affordability.
BudgetNZ$10.3M
Duration2022 – 2026
LeadHERA
Automation
Digital Twin
MAIA — Human-Centric Ageing Workforce
EU Horizon 2020A 14-partner European research consortium measuring, monitoring, and optimising human fatigue during HRC assembly — redesigning collaborative workstations to support an ageing industrial workforce.
Partners14 institutions
ScopeEU + Global
FocusWorker well-being
HRC
Human Factors
Ultra-Reliable 5G Cloud Robotics Control
SfTI SeedDeveloping 5G scheduling algorithms that enable time-sensitive, ultra-reliable transmission of robot control data — bringing cloud-controlled industrial robotics into real-world factory environments.
Duration2021 – 2023
PartnersVUW · Spark · Nokia
Automation
5G / Cloud
Predictive Production Scheduling & Inventory Control
Callaghan Innovation + UoADeveloping AI-driven predictive scheduling and inventory control for real-world manufacturing environments. Multi-agent reinforcement learning solves dynamic flexible job shop problems in real time, while digital thread technologies enable mass personalisation — validated in production cells with industry partners Oasis Engineering and AspectPT.
BudgetNZ$0.5M
Duration2020 – present
PartnersOasis Engineering · AspectPT
Automation
Reinforcement Learning
Digital Thread
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Exemplar Projects
Research in Action
Live demonstrations from the lab — robots, AI systems, and human-machine collaboration
Human-Robot Collab
Human-Robot Collaboration at University of Auckland
Safe and intuitive teaming between human workers and collaborative robots in industrial assembly environments.
Human-Robot Collab
AI-Powered Assembly Copilot
Real-time AI guidance, error detection, and adaptive task support for human workers on the factory floor.
Human-Robot Collab
Collaborative Assembly with Dynamic Obstacle Avoidance
Safety-aware motion planning that dynamically avoids human movements in shared workspaces.
Factory Automation
Automated Assembly Line with Dual KUKA Robots
Coordinated multi-robot task execution for high-throughput production on a fully automated assembly line.
Factory Automation
Factory Mobile Robot
Autonomous material transport and flexible manufacturing logistics in an industrial factory environment.
Factory Automation
Multi-Robot Control with Cloud-Local Architecture
Scalable, low-latency automation using a hybrid cloud-local architecture across distributed factory environments.
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Industry Impact
BOA Hydraulics: Turning Research into a Global Product
BOA Hydraulics — a three-generation New Zealand family business — partnered with the Industrial AI Group and Callaghan Innovation to transform how they build technology. With Dr. Lu's guidance, BOA moved software and AI development in-house, built an R&D team drawing on UoA postgraduate talent, and grew production of their signature BOApod mobile hydraulic repair units from 1.5 to 5 units per week — now serving markets across New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands.
AI & IoT Integration
In-House R&D
Knowledge Transfer
Read the full story"The advice and guidance from both Callaghan and the University put us on the right track, helping facilitate strategic sessions and giving us confidence to invest in innovation developments."
— Jorge Boakes, Marketing Director, BOA Hydraulics
3×
Production growth
(1.5 → 5 pods/week)
(1.5 → 5 pods/week)
60+
Years of family
business heritage
business heritage
3/8
R&D team members
are UoA postgrads
are UoA postgrads
4
Markets: NZ, AU,
PNG & Pacific
PNG & Pacific
"We see companies like BOA have great potential in capturing market value via product and service innovation, via advanced machine learning and IoT technologies."
— Dr. Yuqian Lu, University of Auckland
Partners
University of Auckland
Callaghan Innovation
UniServices
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Recognition
Awards & Academic Excellence
2021 – 2024
Stanford / Elsevier Top 2% Scientists
Recognised in the world's top scientist ranking for four consecutive years across engineering and technology.
2023
University of Auckland Early Career Research Excellence
University-wide award recognising outstanding contributions to research and innovation.
2023
Journal of Manufacturing Systems Best Paper
Best paper award from a premier journal in manufacturing research.
2022
Robotics & CIM Best Paper Award
Recognised by Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing for high-impact research contributions.
2021
CIE Best Paper Award
Award at the International Conference on Computers and Industrial Engineering.
2019 – present
IEEE / Elsevier Associate Editor
Editorial roles at IEEE T-SMCS, IEEE T-ASE, Journal of Manufacturing Systems, and RCIM.
Publications 92%
Funding 80%
Recognition 88%
Community 76%
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Community
Leading the Global Research Community
Building open platforms, shared resources, and international networks
IEEE Automation Research Spotlights
A flagship IEEE webinar series connecting researchers worldwide, spotlighting breakthrough work in factory automation and robotics.
HR-SAT Open Taxonomy
A published, openly available framework providing standardised terminology for human-robot shared autonomy tasks, adopted by researchers internationally.
Editorial Leadership
Associate Editor roles at IEEE T-SMCS, IEEE T-ASE, Journal of Manufacturing Systems, and Robotics & Computer-Integrated Manufacturing.
Active collaborations in
New Zealand
China
USA
Europe
Australia
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"AI that works in the real world"
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