Stairio receives Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury at 51st Geneva Inventions Exhibition

Stairio — Automated Staircase Safety Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance Robot with Handrail-affixed Locomotion System — received the Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury at the 51st International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva (11–15 March 2026). “Congratulations of the Jury” is a juried higher tier awarded above the standard Gold Medal for inventions the jury judges exceptional.

The robot uses a patented handrail-affixed locomotion system to navigate diverse staircase designs without obstructing users. Onboard AI vision and sensors let it autonomously detect obstructions, lighting failures, cleanliness issues, and signage gaps, producing real-time compliance reports for facility managers. Project leader: Prof. Li-Ta Hsu, Intelligent Positioning and Navigation Laboratory (IPNL), Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering. Underlying funding from the PolyU Hotel ICON Research Scheme (HK$500,000, 2024-25).

Project website: stairio.io.

Stairio team at the Geneva 2026 booth Close-up of Stairio’s patented handrail-affixed sensor and locomotion module

Source: polyu-kteo