HKPC Hosts "GBA International Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Summit 2023"

A Global Gathering of Academia Leaders and Industry Experts Sharing and Showcasing the Latest Trends and Applications of AI and Robotics Technology

HONG KONG, Nov. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- To fully unleash the development potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics in the manufacturing and other sectors and promote the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), the Hong Kong Productivity Council Smart Manufacturing (HKPC Smart Manufacturing) is taking the lead and collaborating with industry in organising the "GBA International Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Summit 2023" (the Summit). The Summit gathers a cluster of top academicians, experts and elites from renowned leading enterprises to share the latest development trends, application scenarios and successful cases in the field of AI and robotics, promoting Hong Kong's new industrialisation, and boosting new productivity. The Summit focuses on different hot topics, including smart manufacturing, medical robotics, large language models, generative AI, etc., gaining insights into the opportunities and challenges and jointly pushing forward the trend of technology development.

Professor Dong SUN, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government, Hon Sunny TAN, Chairman of HKPC and Mr Mohamed BUTT, Executive Director of HKPC, and a host of expert speakers officiated the Summit.

Professor Dong SUN, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government said in the opening remarks, "The rapid development of AI and robotics technologies is bringing profound changes to the world in all aspects, impacting every industry and everyone around the globe. The GBA has also seen rapid development in applying AI and robotics in the past years. AI and data industries are essential development directions of the HKSAR Government. Concerning this, concrete measures are set out in the Policy Address, including establishing a 'Digital Policy Office' next year; launching over a hundred of digital Government initiatives to promote digital Government and the smart city to bring convenience and benefit to the public and businesses; establishing AI supercomputing centre in phases, as well as the third InnoHK cluster focusing on advanced manufacturing, materials, energy and sustainable development. The HKSAR Government will continue to collaborate with the whole community through various channels to build a new high ground for AI and robotics in Hong Kong on all fronts, including Government, industry, academia and research."

Hon Sunny TAN, Chairman of HKPC, said in the welcoming remarks, "Over the years, HKPC actively promotes the applications of AI and robotics technology. A great amount of research and development (R&D) related to these technologies has successfully contributed to the upgrading and transformation of enterprises covering a wide range of industries. We are striving to apply innovation and technologies in everyday life, which will bring convenience and benefit to the public and businesses, and enhance citizens' sense of satisfaction. The Hong Kong Industrial Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Centre (FLAIR) established by HKPC at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks is one of the R&D institutes set up by AIR@InnoHK, a world-class innovation platform developed by the HKSAR Government, which focuses on the development and commercialisation of industrial AI and robotics technology. The Summit aims to further promote the development and application of AI and robotics in various industries, helping enterprises to optimise their operations and production processes, enhance efficiency and reduce costs, and driving Hong Kong to become an 'International AI and Data Industry Development Hub'; and to strengthen the cooperation with the GBA to jointly foster the innovation, upgrading and transformation of the industries, and to help enterprises to seize the opportunities arising from Hong Kong and other cities in the GBA, as well as the national development."

Recently, HKPC has established numerous successful cases for the industry by using industrial AI technology to facilitate new industrialisation. HKPC developed technology solutions to help enterprises achieve intelligent inspection for product quality, flexible production, human-machine collaboration, quality analysis and prediction and more. In addition, the "Intelligent Fault Catcher" developed by FLAIR makes use of AI, edging computing, and industrial Internet of Things (IoT), to monitor the operation conditions of automatic doors, lifts, and other industrial equipment, and prognosis. It also leverages deep learning to predict the remaining life of the equipment, reducing the loss of industrial equipment due to unplanned shutdowns. FLAIR also developed the world's first process bottleneck analysis and prediction system based on AI and process mining technology for the logistics industry to enhance operational performance. The technologies have created new productivity and have been applied in a wide range of industrial environment, as well as received numerous international awards including "R&D 100" and "TechConnect".

In addition, HKPC's innovative AI and robotics solutions are being applied in industries such as construction, public health and security, and catering, etc., supporting Hong Kong to develop into a smart city.

The Summit brings together partners from industry, academia and research institutes from overseas, the Mainland and other cities in the GBA, invited academic authorities including Professor Lionel Ming-shuan NI, President of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Professor Han DING, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Yaonan WANG, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, etc.; industry leaders such as Tencent Chief Scientist Dr Zhengyou ZHANG, and renowned enterprises including Baidu, NVIDIA, Foxconn Industrial Internet, Siemens and Xingji Meizu, etc.; as well as R&D experts from InnoHK and Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT), China Academy of Sciences. It also features a number of keynote speeches and panel discussions, covering topics including smart manufacturing, medical robotics, large language models, generative AI and more, to share the latest development trends and successful application cases in the field of AI and robotics with around 1,000 industry practitioners in person and online. The keynote speeches and panel discussion offered valuable insights into the development of AI and robotics in Hong Kong, and explored how to achieve the collaboration and coexistence between leading enterprises and startups, to facilitate and enhance Hong Kong's innovation and technology ecosystem, and develop emerging industries and future industries.

In order to drive Hong Kong to become an "International AI and Data Industry Development Hub", this year's Summit provides a platform for ideas exchange and demonstration. Eight professional bodies and enterprises were invited to showcase their innovative AI and robotics products, services and solutions, to strengthen communication between the industry and professionals, establish business connections, unleash the development potential of AI and robotics in various industries, and facilitate enterprises to seize the development opportunities brought by Hong Kong, other cities in the GBA and the nation.

About HKPC Smart Manufacturing
Smart Manufacturing is one of the eight major development focuses of the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC). With the aims to assist Hong Kong enterprises in upgrading and transforming their production lines in the Mainland and Hong Kong, and developing high value-added industries and industrial chains, HKPC Smart Manufacturing uses novel technologies such as industrial internet of things, artificial intelligence and data analytics to support the advanced manufacturing industry to deliver values, promote enterprises to move towards sustainable smart manufacturing and give full play to the "Made in Hong Kong" brand appeal. HKPC Smart Manufacturing has established the Smart Wearables, Watch & Clock Technology Centre to provide consultancy services and technical support on smart manufacturing; and the Advanced Materials and Intelligent Manufacturing Centre to offer comprehensive technical support covering materials science, process technology, automation, and artificial intelligence. Through the provision of all-round technical support, advice from professional consulting teams and talent training, HKPC Smart Manufacturing empowers traditional and emerging industries to move towards sustainable smart manufacturing and achieve high-quality development.

For more information, please visit HKPC Smart Manufacturing's webpage: https://u.hkpc.org/HKPC-SmartManufacturing.

About Hong Kong Productivity Council
The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) is a multi-disciplinary organisation established by statute in 1967, to promote productivity excellence through relentless drive of world-class advanced technologies and innovative service offerings to support Hong Kong enterprises. Being a key enabler of Industry 4.0 and Enterprise 4.0, HKPC strives to facilitate new industrialisation in Hong Kong, as well as bolstering Hong Kong to be an international innovation and technology centre and a smart city. The Council offers comprehensive innovative solutions for Hong Kong industries and enterprises, enabling them to achieve resources and productivity utilisation, effectiveness and cost reduction, and enhance competitiveness in both local and overseas marketplace. The Council partners and collaborates with local industries and enterprises and world-class R&D institutes to develop applied technology solutions for value creation. It also benefits a variety of sectors through product innovation, technology transfer, and commercialisation, bringing enormous business opportunities ahead. HKPC's world-class R&D achievements have been widely recognised over the years, winning an array of local and overseas accolades.   

In addition, HKPC offers SMEs and startups immediate and timely assistance in coping with the ever-changing business environment, and strengthens talent nurturing and Hong Kong's competitiveness with FutureSkills training for enterprises and academia to enhance digital capabilities and TechEd competencies. For more information, please visit HKPC's website: www.hkpc.org/en.