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Research

Research Projects

Motion as Archive (2025–2029)

Current debates on the documentation, transmission, and transformation of intangible heritage highlight the complexities of engaging with embodied traditions. This project navigates these challenges by leveraging computational analysis and algorithmic curation.

Spatial Computing Framework for Craft Heritage (2026–2028)

This project captures the rattan weaving traditions of Singapore while developing a spatial computing framework for the transmission of tacit craft knowledge. Here, craft is treated as both embodied practice and lived memory, where gestures, procedures, and material engagements are experienced and operationalised.

Remapping martial arts history with multimodal AI (2025–2028)

This project seeks to enrich the intellectual and cultural history of Chinese martial arts through the development of a domain-specific compound AI system, along with curated datasets.

Central African Art – Invocation of an Unseen World (2024–2025)

A mixed-media journey immersed in Central African heritage, jointly curated by Hing Chao, Henry Lu, Amanda Wang Youlin, and Yumeng Hou (new media). Presented at the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery, May 9 - Sept 28, 2025.

HKMALA 2.0 (2025– )

Extending beyond the original MoCap-centred HKMALA, this project employs a computational archiving approach to re-render the HKMALA data as algorithmic yet semantically rich data assets. It will produce embeddings and knowledge graphs accessible through agentic interfaces.

HKMALA: Hong Kong Martial Arts Living Archive (2012– )

HKMALA represents the first comprehensive digital initiative to archive and annotate the living kung fu traditions using advanced motion-capture and audiovisual recording technologies.

MAETP (2022–2024)

MAETP – Transforming Lingnan Martial Arts as a Movement and Performing Art through Digital Pedagogy, Interpretation and Performance.
The project pioneers a systematic movement programme recognising the deep links between Chinese martial arts and performing arts.

EncodingActs (2020–2024)

EncodingActs: Modeling, Representing and Transmitting Embodied Knowledge in Traditional Martial Arts investigates how computational methods can facilitate the transmission of multifaceted knowledge within intangible cultural heritage in the context of traditional martial arts.

Computational Interoperability For Intangible and Tangible Cultural Heritage (2021–2022)

CROSSINGS aims to develop an ontological model that integrates data on intangible heritage by combining aspects of haptics, pose, and motion with meaningful traits of traditions and folklore.

Archery Rites: Remaking Confucian Rites (2020–2022)

Ritual archery has a long and vital history in Chinese civilization. This chapter examines the current reenactment and digital reconstruction of the specific tradition of the Archery Rites embedded in the Confucian tradition, ritual practice and cosmology of li.

Selected Publications

This page may not be fully up to date. For complete records, please refer to Google Scholar | SCOPUS | ORCID
Refereed Journal Articles
  • Hou, Y.* (2026). “Computational Curation of Traditional Martial Arts: From Archives to Systems”. Digital Scholarship in the Humanities. https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/fqag038
  • Hou, Y.*, & Kenderdine S. (2024). “Ontology-based Knowledge Representation for Traditional Martial Arts”. Digital Scholarship in the Humanities 39(2), 575–592. https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/fqae005
  • Hou, Y.*, & Yuan L. (2023). “Building a knowledge graph of Chinese kung fu masters from heterogeneous bilingual data”. Journal of Open Humanities Data, 9, 27. https://doi.org/10.5334/johd.136
  • Hou, Y.*, Seydou F.M., & Kenderdine S. (2023). "Unlocking a multimodal archive of Southern Chinese martial arts through embodied cues". Journal of Documentation, 80(5), 1148-1166. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-01-2022-0027
  • Hou, Y.*, Kenderdine S., Adamou, A., Picca, D., & Egloff, M. (2022). "Digitizing Intangible Cultural Heritage Embodied: state of the art". Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.1145/3494837
  • Hou, Y.* (2021). "Accessing, Representing, and Transmitting Cultural Heritage through Digital Archives: Challenges and Opportunities". Digital Humanities Research, 4(1), 77-91. http://dhr.ruc.edu.cn/CN/Y2021/V1/I4/77
  • Alliata, G.*, Hou, Y., & Kenderdine S. “Augmenting access to embodied knowledge archives: a computational framework”. Digital Humanities Quarterly. dhq/vol/18/2/000722
  • Adamou, A.*, Picca, D., Hou, Y., & Granados-García, P. L. "The Facets of Intangible Heritage in Southern Chinese Martial Arts: Applying a Knowledge-Driven Cultural Contact Detection Approach". Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage, 16 (3), Article 63. https://doi.org/10.1145/3606702
  • Xia, J.#, Hou, Y.#, Chen, Y. V., Qian, Z. C., Ebert, D. S., & Chen, W.* (2017). "Visualizing rank time series of Wikipedia top-viewed pages". IEEE computer graphics and applications, 37(2), 42-53. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCG.2017.21

Refereed Conference Proceedings
  • Hou, Y.* (2026). “Playing and Replay: The Body as Interface with Central African Traditions”. Accepted as research paper at the Movement and Computing Conference 2026 (MOCO'26), April 23-25, 2026, Montpellier, France. https://doi.org/10.1145/3802842.3802871
  • Hou, Y.* (2025). “Toward Tracing Knowledge Flows in Martial Arts: Biographical Data and Interpersonal Contacts”. In Anthology of Computers and the Humanities 3, pp.1468-1481. https://doi.org/10.63744/m8c605kSTaEM
  • Hou, Y.*, & Kenderdine S. (2022). Encoding the Whole-of-Environment Knowledge for Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Computational Experiment with the Hong Kong Martial Arts Living Archive. In (IN)TANGIBLE HERITAGE(S): Design, culture and technology – past, present, and future, AMPS Proceedings Series 29.1, pp.121-132. [PDF]
  • Adamou, A.* , Hou, Y.*, Picca, D.*, Egloff, M., & Kenderdine S. (2021). Ontology-mediated cultural contact in Southern Chinese martial arts. In Proceedings of the International Joint Workshop on Semantic Web and Ontology Design for Cultural Heritage. [PDF]
  • Xia, J., Chen, W.*, Hou, Y., et al. (2016). Dimscanner: A relation-based visual exploration approach towards data dimension inspection. In 2016 IEEE Conference on Visual Analytics Science and Technology, pp. 81-90. https://doi.org/10.1109/VAST.2016.7883514

Book Chapters
  • Hou, Y. (2025). "Encountering Central African Spirituality through Digital Liminality." Central African Art – Invocation of an Unseen World (ISBN: 978-962-442-476-8). City University of Hong Kong.
  • Kenderdine, S., Hibberd, L., Shaw, J., Chang, T.-Z., & Hou, Y. (2023). "Archery Rites: Re-making Confucian Rites." Chinese Archery Studies: Theoretical and Historical Approaches to a Martial Discipline. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8321-3_13
  • Hou, Y. (2024). “Reliving martial arts classics in the digital era”. 讀書雜誌//Dushu Magazine, issue 10. Joint Publishing (H.K.). [preview]

Teaching

(Digital) Creativity

Exhibitions & Installations

Designs & APPs

Mirror!
Hibachi
Aqua
Spark
WikiTop Reader
NBA Analytics
Dimsanner
Emovdairy
MOOC Stream

Hobbies

Hibachi Lunchbox
Rhino 3D – my first mobile phone
Rhino 3D – my first Lamy
Rhino 3D