May 29, 2026, Óbudai University – Prof. Hongliang Ren of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and Prof. Peter Kazanzides of Johns Hopkins University were invited to present a joint seminar at the Antal Bejczy Center for Intelligent Robotics (IROB), University Research and Innovation Center (EKIK), Óbuda University, Budapest, Hungary.
The seminar was held on 29 May 2026 at the BARK/IROB Nagylabor, with both in‑person and online attendance via Google Meet. The event was hosted by Prof. Tamás Haidegger, Medical Robotics Lead at IROB.
This bilateral academic exchange was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST) and Hungarian bilateral research projects, fostering international collaboration in medical robotics.
Seminar Talks
Prof. Hongliang Ren presented a talk titled “Endoluminal Robotics & Embodied AI in vivo,” highlighting recent advances in continuum robotics, motion perception, and intelligent image‑guided minimally invasive procedures. He discussed how procedure‑specific telerobotic systems with variable stiffness and context awareness can assist surgeons in performing dexterous manipulations.
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Prof. Peter Kazanzides presented a talk titled “Augmented Reality for Robotic Surgery,” sharing his extensive experience from the development of the da Vinci Research Kit (dVRK) and clinical systems.
Speaker Bios
Prof. Hongliang Ren is a Professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He received his Ph.D. from CUHK in 2008 and has held positions at Johns Hopkins University, Harvard Medical School, and National University of Singapore. He is a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (Scheme A), the CUHK Young Researcher Award, and over 30 other prestigious awards. He has published over 240 papers with more than 22,000 citations and an H‑index of 75, and has been consistently listed among the world’s top 2% most‑cited scientists.
Prof. Peter Kazanzides is a Research Professor of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Brown University in 1988. He co‑founded Integrated Surgical Systems, which commercialized the Robodoc System for hip and knee replacement surgeries performed on over 20,000 patients. He later joined JHU and contributed to the development of the da Vinci Research Kit (dVRK).
Audience and Discussion
The seminar attracted researchers and students from IROB and partner institutions. Both talks were followed by a joint Q&A session, where attendees discussed technical challenges in continuum robotics, augmented reality guidance, and clinical translation of robotic systems. The event concluded with informal discussions over refreshments, reinforcing the bilateral collaboration between Chinese and Hungarian research groups.
