Why CAIR
Introduction
Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), Hong Kong Institute of Science & Innovation, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is the first innovation center established by CAS outside Mainland China. Meanwhile, CAIR is one of the 14 InnoHK centers specializing in AI & Robotics. It is jointly supported by the Innovation & Technology Commission of Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and CAS.
CAIR is located at Hong Kong Science Park, and its development is led by Institute of Automation, CAS. CAIR’s research focuses on three areas: Brain- Inspired AI Theory, Multimodality Large AI model and AI-Enabled Robotics. It is positioned to be a world-class research institute for AI & Robotics, emphasizing applications in healthcare and life science. CAIR aims to become an international hub for research and innovation, with global influence in the Guangdong-HK-Macao Greater Bay Area.
As of December 2023, a total of 12 senior leaders from government and industry have visited CAIR and have highly acclaimed its scientific research achievements. This demonstrates CAIR's capability and potential for international and domestic cooperation, as well as the future industrialization of research outcomes.
12 senior leaders visited CAIR (Arranged in order of visit time)
Strong R&D strength
- Flexible Robotic Technology
MicroNeuro, the flexible robotic system designed for minimally invasive neurosurgery, has successfully completed 4 cadaver trials. These were conducted by our team in collaboration with neurosurgeons. The experimental data and clinical evaluations have confirmed MicroNeuro's effectiveness in treating deep-brain intracranial Germ Cell Tumors (GCT), performing microvascular decompression (MVD), and conducting spine surgery.
MicroNeuro has been invited to prestigious events, such as the World AI Conference (WAIC 2023) and the Hong Kong International Biotechnology Conference (BIOHK 2023), attracting significant attention from society.
Additionally, our team has actively organized and participated in over ten science and technology forums to promote medical robotics technologies. These efforts have garnered coverage in more than 50 media reports, including features from TVB, Bauhinia Magazine, Ta Kung Pao, Wen Wei Po, and Phoenix TV.
- AI Open Platform
CARES Copilot, a Multimodal AI Large Model, provides powerful auxiliary tools for hospitals in the stages of preoperative planning, intraoperative treatment, and postoperative rehabilitation. It has been tested in hospitals in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area and has received high recognition from clinical doctors. Moreover, Huawei is an in-depth partner of this project, exploring the commercialization of our surgical multimodal large models.
- International Collaboration --HK MedTech Hub
CAIR and King's College London (KCL) officially launched the joint laboratory, the HK MedTech Hub, on February 17, 2023. The HK MedTech Hub aims to establish a world-class, academically led collaboration that will bring together complementary strengths in medical devices research, surgical robotics, and AI for healthcare research. The partnership will also advance the translation of cutting-edge research into life-changing diagnostic and interventional approaches for patients and enable the commercialization of these technologies necessary to benefit patients at scale. To date, over 15 researchers from CAIR and 10 from KCL are working collaboratively on various projects.
Honors and Awards
- Prof. Hongbin Liu
BOCHK Science and Technology Innovation Prize 2022 in the field of AI and Robotics. Only one Laureate team is selected in each of the five key and eligible fields.
- Prof. Zhen Lei
IEEE Fellow 2024, for contributions to face analysis and object detection.
IAPR Fellow 2022, for contributions to face analysis and pattern recognition.
The 1st Place Award on ECCV2022 Challenge.
- Dr. Youzhi Zhang
Best Paper Award, the 20th IEEE International Conference on Dependable, Autonomic & Secure Computing (DASC 2022)
- Prof. Zhen Lei, Prof. Zhaoxiang Zhang, Dr. Jinlin Wu
First Place Award of the 1st challenge on Machine Visual Common Sense: Perception, Prediction, Planning.
- Prof. Shuangyi Wang
Best Oral Presentation Award at the 8th International Conference on Automation, Control and Robotics Engineering.
Third Prize of the 5th China Postgraduate Robot Innovation and Design Competition.
- Dr. Zhen Chen
2023 Young Scientist Award in Engineering Science, Hong Kong Institution of Science.
Societal Impact
CAIR has hosted eight science popularization activities since July 16, 2022, attracting over 1,500 registrants, contributing to the cultivation of young talent. These activities not only offer young people the opportunity to interact with scientists but also inspire their interest and passion for science, thereby enhancing their understanding and appreciation of science and culture. CAIR will continue to promote such activities in schools to advance the popularization of the AI and robotics industries among teenagers.
