Jan. 13, 2026
Source:
Recently, Rino.ai, a leading L4 autonomous driving company, officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). Leveraging their respective strengths in L4 autonomous vehicle technology, autonomous delivery vehicle operations, and academic research, the two parties will jointly explore innovative applications of unmanned delivery vehicles and autonomous driving solutions within campus environments. The collaboration will also provide technical and practical support for PolyU’s research initiatives, marking a new chapter of industry–academia collaboration.
Under this partnership, both sides will focus on key campus scenarios such as autonomous campus delivery, driverless last-mile delivery, and campus security patrol and inspection. By taking into account the dynamic characteristics of pedestrian and vehicle flows on university campuses, the partners will co-develop customized autonomous vehicle solutions for closed-campus environments, enabling safe, efficient, and scalable deployment of autonomous delivery vehicles for campus use.
With deep technological expertise and extensive operational experience, Rino.ai has deployed more than 2,000 autonomous delivery vehicles across over 170 cities worldwide. The company has successfully secured all three major direct-operated key accounts in the express logistics sector, ranking first in newly added orders, while achieving business growth exceeding 20 times year-on-year. Rino.ai has also taken the lead in completing automotive-grade mass production readiness for its Robovan autonomous cargo vehicles, initiated large-scale deliveries to multiple top-tier customers, and maintained industry-leading growth in active autonomous vehicle fleets. These achievements further reinforce Rino.ai’s position as a China-based autonomous delivery vehicle manufacturer at the forefront of autonomous vehicles in logistics.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University brings strong research capabilities in areas such as autonomous navigation and positioning, intelligent transportation systems, and AI-driven mobility. The research team from PolyU’s Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering has achieved internationally advanced results in multi-sensor fusion localization, vehicle dynamics model optimization, and related fields. In addition, PolyU’s interdisciplinary research in electric vehicles and intelligent mobility provides a solid academic foundation for the collaboration, supporting the advancement of AI transport and autonomous driving technologies.
Rino.ai has already accumulated extensive real-world experience in campus autonomous delivery solutions. The company has entered into a strategic partnership with Ele.me to scale autonomous same-day delivery vehicles across university campuses, with plans to cover hundreds of universities and reshape the campus food delivery ecosystem through L4 autonomous vehicles. In parallel, Rino.ai has collaborated with SF Intra-City and Shouqianba, deploying intelligent meal delivery services at multiple universities. Through an innovative three-stage relay model combining unmanned delivery vehicles and human couriers, the solution effectively addresses peak-hour lunch and dinner demand, creating a closed-loop service from online ordering to offline fulfillment.
By leveraging PolyU’s academic strengths, Rino.ai will further enhance the perception, decision-making, and planning capabilities of its autonomous delivery vehicles in complex pedestrian environments, continuously strengthening its self-driving logistics technology stack and accelerating the evolution of autonomous vehicles for middle-mile and last-mile delivery.
For The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, university campuses serve as critical testbeds for the real-world deployment of autonomous vehicles in logistics and transportation. This collaboration with Rino.ai enables deep integration between academic research and industrial practice, delivering smarter and more convenient campus services for students and faculty, while accelerating the iteration of autonomous driving technologies and contributing valuable technical foundations for smart city development.
As policy support expands and technology maturity continues to advance, the autonomous delivery industry is rapidly transitioning from pilot validation to large-scale commercial deployment. The collaboration between Rino.ai and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University not only provides a benchmark for innovative campus autonomous vehicle applications, but also advances the integration of industry, academia, research, and real-world deployment, injecting new momentum into the high-quality development of the intelligent transportation and automated delivery ecosystem.
