Jekyll2026-07-29T16:38:15+00:00https://www.markusng.com/feed.xmlmarkusng.comPersonal Research WebsiteMark Kok Yew Ngmark.ng@ulster.ac.ukKTP with Elite Electronic Systems Awarded ‘Outstanding’ Grade by Innovate UK2026-07-21T09:00:00+00:002026-07-21T09:00:00+00:00https://www.markusng.com/KTPOutstandingOur KTP project with Elite Electronic Systems Ltd has been awarded the highest grade of ‘Outstanding’ by the Innovate UK’s independent assessment panel!

This 2-year partnership with Elite set out to embed advanced digital manufacturing capabilities within the company’s Surface Mount Technology (SMT) process, developing a digital twin (DT) to enhance fault detection and isolation, as well as real-time production monitoring for PCB assembly.

Towards the end of this project, we have achieved the following:

  • A real-time Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) data pipeline with SQL and Power BI dashboards on the shop floor
  • A DT-based AOI threshold optimisation model to reduce false inspection flags
  • A ML-based predictive maintenance system for SMT turrets
  • An OCR-based solution to automate conversion of customer BoMs into production-ready formats

The project also delivered a peer-reviewed conference paper at the IEEE INDIN 2025, as well as other poster presentations and public engagements, including showcasing the work to 200+ visitors at the NI Science Festival 2026’s “Robots at Work and Play” event.

 

 

 

 

]]>Mark Kok Yew Ngmark.ng@ulster.ac.ukSupporting the Primary Engineer Competition: Auto Dispensing Trowel2026-06-24T09:00:00+00:002026-06-24T09:00:00+00:00https://www.markusng.com/PrimaryEngineerThe MAvRiC lab is proud to have supported the development and prototyping of the “Auto Dispensing Trowel,” a project developed by Ulster University engineering students based on an innovative design from a Year 13 pupil.

This project was part of The Primary Engineer “If you were an engineer, what would you do?” competition, also known as the Leaders Award. This annual, fully funded UK-wide STEM competition for pupils aged 3 to 19 challenges students to interview engineering professionals, identify a real-world problem, and create an annotated drawing and persuasive letter proposing a creative solution.

The program aims to inspire the next generation of engineers by bridging the gap between education and industry, fostering skills in problem-solving, communication, and literacy. Selected pupil ideas are chosen by university and industry partners (ProtoTeams) to be built into working prototypes, with the best projects awarded the Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal.

 

 

 

 

 

]]>Mark Kok Yew Ngmark.ng@ulster.ac.ukVisit to the Universities of Applied Sciences in Augsburg and Kempten2026-06-19T09:00:00+00:002026-06-19T09:00:00+00:00https://www.markusng.com/GermanyVisitMark Ng recently visited the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg in Germany with Dr Robert McMurray from the School of Engineering, Ulster University. The primary goal of the visit was to strengthen the exchange collaboration between Ulster and Augsburg. As part of this effort, we interviewed several students who will be coming for an exchange in Belfast next year. Additionally, we served as examiners for some of their Final Year Project presentations.

Following the visit to Augsburg, we traveled to the Kempten University of Applied Sciences. During this stay, Mark Ng had the opportunity to give a talk on Digital Twins and promote the MAvRiC robotics lab at Ulster.

 

 

]]>Mark Kok Yew Ngmark.ng@ulster.ac.ukMathieu Joins the Team!2026-06-12T09:00:00+00:002026-06-12T09:00:00+00:00https://www.markusng.com/MathieuThe team welcomes Mathieu Garcia, who has just started his internship at MAvRiC during this summer. Mathieu will spend 2 months at Ulster University working on and exploring robotics and digital technologies projects under the supervision of Dr Mark Ng and Dr Morteza Tabatabaeipour. We look forward to seeing what he will accomplish during his time at MAvRiC!

Bienvenue à Belfast, Mathieu !

]]>Mark Kok Yew Ngmark.ng@ulster.ac.ukCFP for *IEEE SPMB 2026*2026-06-09T09:00:00+00:002026-06-09T09:00:00+00:00https://www.markusng.com/SPMB2026CFPMark Ng is the Technical Program Chair for IEEE SPMB 2026, now in its 16th year. IEEE SPMB is a virtual symposium that provides an international forum for collaboration between bioengineering and signal processing researchers. We expect approximately 100 researchers from around the world to attend this virtual event. We specifically encourage graduate students to attend and present early versions of their dissertation research. Over the years, many graduate students have used this symposium as a forum for enhancing their professional development and improving their research.

The symposium is sponsored by the IEEE Region 2 Philadelphia Section, Temple University, and the Neural Engineering Data Consortium. The conference is run by a dedicated group of volunteers. There is no registration fee so that it is very easy for students to attend.

The symposium will be held on 5th December 2026.

The submission deadline is 1st July 2026.

The symposium typically consists of a plenary talk, two oral sessions and a poster session. We usually accept 12 papers for oral presentations and 8 to 12 posters. Acceptance rates for the conference average about 50%. Papers that are not accepted for an oral presentation are given a chance to be resubmitted as a poster presentation.

The conference will be held online using Zoom since this seems to work best for our international audience. In addition to publication of your paper or abstract, a video recording of your contribution will be made available from the conference technical program web page. Please refer to last year’s program to see examples of these presentations.

The conference technical committee will also select a best paper based on both the written submission and oral presentation. Poster submissions are not eligible for this award. After the conference, the organizing committee will invite selected authors to submit an expanded version of their contribution for inclusion in a book published by Springer.

This symposium is intended to bring together a wide range of professionals interested in applications of artificial intelligence (AI), signal processing and clinical applications in medicine and biology. Signal processing and AI are rapidly transforming healthcare due to the significant success deep learning technology has enjoyed recently.

Symposium Topics:

  • Signal and image analysis (e.g., EEG, ECG, MRI)
  • Artificial intelligence, machine learning and data mining
  • Quantum computing applications in healthcare
  • Clinical applications of signal processing and AI technology
  • Smart health systems based on artificial intelligence

For more information, please head on to the official website for SPMB26 here.

]]>Mark Kok Yew Ngmark.ng@ulster.ac.ukInvited Speaker at the Irish Control Systems Colloquium 20262026-03-31T09:00:00+00:002026-03-31T09:00:00+00:00https://www.markusng.com/ICSCMark Ng has been invited as a speaker at the Irish Control Systems Colloquium 2026, an IFACx event hosted by ATU Sligo on behalf of the Irish Systems and Control Committee. The colloquium brings together researchers from across Ireland to showcase current advances in systems and control engineering and to promote collaboration in the field.

The technical programme takes place on Friday 24th April 2026 at ATU Sligo. Mark will deliver a talk entitled: “Digital Twins, Fault Diagnosis, and Simulation Testbeds: From Automotive Engines to Advanced Manufacturing”

Other confirmed speakers include Dr. Pantelis Sopasakis (QUB), Dr. Marion McAfee (ATU), Dr. Edin Omerdic (UL), Dr. Aidan O’Dwyer (TU Dublin), Prof. John Ringwood (Maynooth University), Patrick Lawless (ABB), Dr. Panpan Zhou (University of Galway), Dr. Siyuan Zhan (TCD), and Prof. Vikram Pakrashi (UCD).

 

 

 

 

]]>Mark Kok Yew Ngmark.ng@ulster.ac.ukCo-Investigator of the AICC2026-03-25T09:00:00+00:002026-03-25T09:00:00+00:00https://www.markusng.com/AICC-CoIMark Ng has been nominated as a Co-Investigator (Co-I) of the Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre (AICC) at Ulster University. The AICC is a £16.3 million initiative led by Ulster in partnership with Queen’s University Belfast to advance awareness and adoption of AI technologies among businesses across Northern Ireland (NI).

Supported by Invest NI and the DfE NI, this groundbreaking 5-year project aims to enhance competitiveness, boost productivity, and promote the ethical and responsible use of AI across diverse industries. Named as a priority for prosperity in the NI Programme for Government (2024–2027), the AICC’s vision is to accelerate AI adoption within SMEs, build AI skills capacity, foster collaboration, and drive innovation across key sectors including healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, engineering and finance. This will ultimately position NI as a global leader in AI innovation and implementation.

More details about the AICC can be found here.

]]>Mark Kok Yew Ngmark.ng@ulster.ac.ukRobots at Work and Play – NI Science Festival 20262026-02-21T09:00:00+00:002026-02-21T09:00:00+00:00https://www.markusng.com/NISF“Robots at Work and Play” was a resounding success! The MAvRiC team hosted a full-day event at the LG Foyer, Ulster University Belfast Campus, as part of the Northern Ireland Science Festival on Saturday, 21st February 2026.

This academic-led and student-run event welcomed around 200 visitors across the five-hour session, drawing in families, students, and industry professionals. The event showcased the breadth of robotics research and technology available at MAvRiC, with hands-on activities that engaged visitors of all ages.

Highlights of the day included:

  • Live demonstrations of collaborative robotic arms (cobots), where visitors could witness and interact with precision robot manipulation up close
  • A quadruped robot demonstration that drew large and enthusiastic crowds
  • 3D printing showcases, with 3D printers creating objects from everyday items through to industrial components in real time
  • A miniature robot-building workshop for children, proving a huge hit with younger visitors

The event also featured an industry showcase from Elite Electronic Systems Ltd, who demonstrated non-destructive testing (NDT) technologies alongside the MAvRiC team, highlighting the real-world applications of the lab’s research across aerospace, manufacturing, and materials development.

A big thank you to all the staff and students who helped make the event such a success, and to everyone who came along on the day!

 

 

The MAvRiC team:  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

]]>Mark Kok Yew Ngmark.ng@ulster.ac.uk*IEEE SPMB 2025*2025-11-24T09:00:00+00:002025-11-24T09:00:00+00:00https://www.markusng.com/SPMB2025The 2025 IEEE Signal Processing in Medicine and Biology Symposium will be held on 6th December 2025, starting at 0800 EST (1300 GMT). The symposium is sponsored by Temple University’s The Neural Engineering Data Consortium and the Philadelphia Section of the IEEE. The IEEE SPMB aims to promote interdisciplinary papers across a wide range of topics including analysis of biomedical signals and images, machine learning, as well as data and educational resources.

Please use this link to access the latest and most up-to-date technical program.

The full proceedings of all SPMB papers can be accessed on IEEE Xplore here.

]]>Mark Kok Yew Ngmark.ng@ulster.ac.ukDigital Catapult Digital Twin Academic Panel2025-09-11T09:00:00+00:002025-09-11T09:00:00+00:00https://www.markusng.com/DTAPMark Ng has joined the Academic Panel of the UK Digital Twin Centre (UKDTC), based at the Digital Catapult HQ in Belfast. Funded by the Belfast Region City Deal and Innovate UK, the £37.6 million UKDTC is making digital twins more accessible and meaningful in the UK. It will actively enable industries and innovators to safely embrace, explore, and realise their dynamic power.

Mark will join other experts in the field from Ulster University, QUB, and universities in wider UK in shaping the technical focus and directions of research and advancements in DT technologies.

More details about the UKDTC can be found here.

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