From August 12th to 14th, 2025, the 4th International Conference on Mechanical, Aerospace Technology and Materials Applications (MATMA 2025), hosted by the University of Birmingham in the UK, was grandly held on campus. The conference brought together top experts, professors, scholars and engineers from the fields of mechanical engineering, aerospace technology and materials science around the world to jointly discuss cutting-edge scientific and technological achievements, key technical challenges and future development directions.
The opening ceremony of the conference was addressed by Professor Karl Dearn, the Dean of the School of Engineering at the University of Birmingham. In his speech, Professor Dearn extended a warm welcome to the delegates from all over the world and emphasized the significance of innovation in the fields of mechanical, aerospace technology and materials application for promoting industrial upgrading and sustainable development. He also encouraged the experts present to enhance communication and cooperation, promote cross-disciplinary technology integration and jointly address future technological challenges.
The current MATMA conference covers multiple interdisciplinary fields including mechanical engineering, aerospace technology and material applications. It has carried out rich academic exchanges around theoretical innovation, technological breakthroughs and industrial applications. During the conference, experts in attendance deeply shared the latest achievements in multiple aspects such as robot disassembly technology, intelligent factory construction, battery recycling, new material research and development, fault diagnosis technology and microfluidic medical applications, highlighting the vigorous development of the integration of mechanical and material technologies.During the morning session of the conference, several professors from the University of Birmingham in the UK, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, and Wuhan University of Technology delivered outstanding presentations, elaborating on the development trends of intelligent and green mechanical manufacturing. Professor Duc Truong Pham from the University of Birmingham (a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering) focused on sharing the robotic disassembly technology in intelligent remanufacturing, introducing the robotic automatic disassembly system based on advanced sensing and control algorithms, and how it enhances the disassembly efficiency of waste products and the rate of resource recovery, thereby promoting the development of a circular economy.
Professor Huang Guoquan from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [IEEE/ASME/IET Fellow] presented the construction of a digital intelligent factory under the "factory computer (iFactory)" architecture. Through high-performance digital twins and Internet of Things technology, it enables real-time monitoring and optimization of the entire manufacturing process, significantly enhancing the flexibility and agility of factory production, and facilitating the transformation and upgrading of intelligent manufacturing.
Professor Li Weidong, the dean of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Shanghai University of Technology [a national high-level talent and an IET Fellow], focuses on the intelligent disassembly of power batteries and the technology of human-machine collaboration. He shared innovative solutions for intelligent robots and human collaboration, promoting the safe and efficient disassembly and recycling of power batteries, and effectively supporting the green and sustainable development of the new energy vehicle industry chain.Professor Huang Jun from Wuhan University of Technology discussed online the application of advanced disassembly technology in diverse terminal products. By integrating machine vision and artificial intelligence, he proposed an intelligent disassembly solution for complex product structures, enhancing the automation level of remanufacturing systems.
In addition, at the conference site, 12 high-quality posters were carefully selected for display, covering the latest research results in areas such as digital twins, data-driven production scheduling, and green and low-carbon manufacturing. This further enriched the content of academic exchanges and promoted cross-disciplinary technological integration and innovation.In the afternoon, Professor Michael Packianather from Cardiff University in the UK shared the application of artificial intelligence in the diagnosis of mechanical equipment failures. He elaborated on the multi-modal data preprocessing, the fault classification model based on deep learning, and the load adaptive graph-based method, which significantly improved the accuracy and efficiency of equipment failure prediction and facilitated the intelligent management of mechanical equipment lifespan.伯明翰大学的Mozafar Saadat副教授则带来了微流控技术在辅助生殖医疗领域的创新实践，重点讲解了基于微流控芯片的精子筛选和单细胞操控技术，展现了微制造技术在生命科学和医疗健康中的跨界应用潜力。
Subsequently, several young scholars shared their latest research in fields such as intelligent manufacturing, industrial Internet of Things, and green manufacturing technology through online oral reports, demonstrating the innovative vitality and development prospects of the new generation of scientific research forces.
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It is worth noting that as the organizer of this conference, the University of Birmingham stated that it will continue to collaborate with AEIC partners to jointly promote the development of more high-level international conferences and academic projects, and is committed to creating a high-end platform that continuously drives technological innovation and international cooperation. Let's look forward to the future where more conferences will become important hubs leading the sustainable development of the fields of machinery, intelligent manufacturing, aerospace technology, and material application, and promoting academic exchanges and industrial upgrading to new heights!
