HIT’s Automation & Electrical and Electronic Engineering discipline consists of a powerful team: two and three CAS and CAE members, respectively; 127 professors; 140 associate professors; and 76 lecturers. The main research directions include: robust control, aircraft navigation, guidance, control, and simulation; big data–driven artificial intelligence (AI) and network control; over-the-horizon radar systems technology and equipment; electric drive and electric propulsion technology; and equipment for extreme environments, such as space and the ocean. In the 2020 ranking by U.S. News & World Report, HIT was named the best university in electrical and electronic engineering.

Scientists in this discipline work on a range of interesting projects. For instance, Zicai Wang leads research in the development of high-precision inertial test equipment, inertial navigation technology, and attitude control of microsatellites; Guangren Duan leads research in robust control system designs with applications in spacecraft control. In radar and electronics information systems, HIT experts have worked on remote ocean detection technology for more than 40 years.

As an example, Yongtan Liu, winner of the 2018 State Top Science and Technology Award and both a CAS and CAE member, directed a team to a series of innovations in the theory, technology, and engineering applications of a new type of ocean radar, which provides long-distance detection capabilities that surpass all other methods.

In addition, HIT scientists in this discipline invented the Extreme Environment Special Motor System for use in deepspace, deep-ocean, and deep-underground applications. The motor system has been successfully applied to several devices: the manned submersible Jiaolong, the lunar rover Yutu, the satellite Shenzhou VII, and the space laboratory Tiangong II. This work won second prize in the 2016 National Technology Invention Awards of China.