A decisive milestone for Hong Kong's innovation and technology landscape was reached at Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing Two. Digauto officially entered into a multi-party Strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) alongside the HKU Institute of Low-Altitude Economy (HKU LAE), Esri China (Hong Kong), and China Merchants Testing Vehicle Technology Research Institute (CMVR) to co-develop the Physical AI Safety Lab (PAIS-Lab) in the Northern Metropolis.

Digauto proudly highlights Rainer Hoffmann, Chief Strategic Officer of Digauto, who represented our leadership team on stage to sign this historic agreement.

With decadal leadership in aerodynamics, aeroacoustics, and complex fluid-structure simulation, Rainer Hoffmann is spearheading Digauto’s strategic contribution toward developing global low-altitude safety standards:

• Pioneering LAE-SOTIF Frameworks: Extending ISO 21448 safety principles into three-dimensional urban air mobility (UAM). PAIS-Lab will integrate specialized Environmental Wind Tunnels (EWT) capable of replicating 3D urban canyon turbulence, micro-climate wind shear, and vertiport vortices.

• Aeroacoustic Urban Compliance: Establishing whole-aircraft acoustic emission testing to address rotor noise propagation in high-density urban environments, directly supporting CAD sandbox trials and type certifications.

• Cross-Border Industrial Synergy: Harmonizing Digauto's 11-DOF dynamic HIL testbeds with CMVR’s state-of-the-art testing operations and Esri China’s spatial GeoAI digital twins.

"By uniting academic rigor with industrial testing hardware and spatial intelligence, PAIS-Lab is uniquely structured to formulate standards that are recognized internationally under UN ECE, ICAO, and national frameworks," noted Rainer Hoffmann.

Digauto extends sincere appreciation to officiating guests Mr. Dominic Chow, JP (Deputy Director-General of Civil Aviation, CAD), Prof. Huang Lixi (Executive Director, HKU LAE), and Mr. Gary Yeung, MH (President, SCC) for witnessing this transformative step.