On 16 December, the 2023–24 Hong Kong Awards for Industries ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The rebar tying robot, developed by the Hong Kong Centre for Construction Robotics (HKCRC), received the Equipment and Machinery Design Award.
Chief Executive John Lee delivered a speech via video at the ceremony. Guest officiants included Deputy Chief Secretary Eric Chan, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Eliza Wong, and Director-General of Trade and Industry Brian Liao.
The Hong Kong Industrial Awards scheme was established in 1989 to recognise and encourage outstanding manufacturers across different industries, and to promote the experience and strategies of successful examples. Since 2005, the scheme has merged with the Hong Kong Service Industries Award under the name Hong Kong Awards for Industries.
The Equipment and Machinery Design category, organised by the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, aims to encourage and raise the standard of equipment and machinery design and production in Hong Kong and strengthen product competitiveness.
The organiser commented: "The Rebar Tying Robot is an outstanding innovation that addresses real-world challenges in the construction industry. Using the Rebar Tying Robot for rebar tying not only enhances efficiency but also improves job safety on construction sites. Given the labor shortage and aging workforce in the construction industry, this robot has enormous market potential."
The rebar tying robot has been deployed on construction sites across Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Qingyuan, and Wuhan, covering residential, hospital, bridge, and beam yard applications. It ties 500 nodes per hour, operates continuously for 8 hours, and features automatic identification, automatic tying, automatic lane-switching, and automatic obstacle avoidance — delivering 2–3× daily productivity improvement over manual tying.