(Hong Kong, 15 June 2023) The Hong Kong Industrial Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Centre (FLAIR) held an Open Day with “Emerging Technologies Enable New Industrialisation” seminar and signing ceremony of collaborative agreements. More than 100 representatives from the Government, industry, academia, and research sectors joined the event. Ms Lillian CHEONG, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government, Mr Ivan LEE, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR Government, Mr ZHUANG Yuan, Deputy Director of Department of Policies & Regulations of Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission, Mr ZHU Junwei, Executive Deputy Commissioner, Administration for Construction and Development of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, and Ms Winnie CHAN, Assistant Commissioner for Innovation and Technology (Research Clusters) of the HKSAR Government joined the event and witnessed the signing ceremony.

As a member of InnoHK, the major world-class initiative of the HKSAR Government, FLAIR is pleased to announce that it has signed collaborative agreements with seven partners, namely world-renowned research institutions such as Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT) and Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society (AIRS); leading enterprises, such as Huawei International Co. Limited and Siemens Limited, as well as SmartMore Corporation Limited, Reitar Logtech Group Limited and NY Technology Limited, including signing the Letter of Intent with Reitar Logtech Group Limited to establish a joint venture and signing the Collaboration Agreement with NY Technology Limited to establish a joint venture. These collaborations reflect that FLAIR is widely recognised by the industries for its abilities to develop innovative technologies in industrial artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, empower enterprises to upgrade and transform, and drive practical applications and commercialisation of technologies.

The “FLAIR Open Day” welcomed many industry representatives and members of the public to showcase of various new technologies and research achievements, including four international scientific research awards such as “TechConnect 2023 Innovation Awards” and the awards at “2023 Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions”, as well as projects that have been selected for the IDEATION Programme of Hong Kong Science Park (incubating startup support programme). Many of the exhibited AI and robotics technologies have been applied in various fields, such as semiconductors, information and communication technology, gold and jewellery industry, logistics industry, construction industry, automotive parts, and public utilities. The event also introduced, for the first time, the innovative service “Hephaestus: Industrial Artificial Intelligence Application Platform”. With benefits such as high universality, ease of use, streamlined architecture, and time-saving advantages, Hephaestus leverages AI and digital technology to help the industry upgrade and transform and to add value to the operations of the industry.

Ms Lillian CHEONG, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government, said, “As one of the innovative research and development (R&D) centres under InnoHK, FLAIR has formed close ties with prestigious universities, research institutions and enterprises from overseas, other Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area cities, and Hong Kong, and has been proactively promoting the application and commercialisation of technologies. The development of I&T and new industrialisation in Hong Kong requires close collaboration of the Government, industry, academia, and research sectors. The HKSAR Government will continue supporting and fostering I&T development in Hong Kong, and work together with all sectors to develop Hong Kong into an international I&T centre.”

Mr Mohamed BUTT, Chairman of the Board, FLAIR, stated that “FLAIR has excellent technical expertise, a strong network, innovative R&D, and patent advantages, and is committed to becoming a leader in applied research and adoption of AI and robotics technology. We sincerely appreciate the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau and the Innovation and Technology Commission of the HKSAR Government for their strong support towards InnoHK and FLAIR. Today, FLAIR has signed collaborative agreements with world-renowned R&D institutions and enterprises, which will bring together top-notch innovative talent and technologies, cooperating closely and jointly creating a good innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem to support Hong Kong's goal of becoming an international I&T centre.”

Leading experts from the industry, academia, and research sectors were invited to join a seminar at the event to share their valuable insights, on topics such as the application of AI, innovative robotics technology, industrial internet of things, and industrial big data, etc., and to explore the opportunities of empowering new industrialisation with AI and robotics technologies to promote the transformation of the industry towards high-end and intelligent development. Among the speakers were Prof WANG Zuankai, Associate Vice President (Research and Innovation), Chair Professor of Nature-Inspired Engineering, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Mr Enjoy ZHAO, Chief Expert of Huawei Ascend LLMs; Mr HOOI Kah Kheng, Technical Consultant, Siemens FA APAC SUP; Dr DING Ning, Executive Associate Director, Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society (AIRS); Mr BI Yalei, Director of the Industrial Cooperation and Development Division, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT), Secretary General of Shenzhen Robotics Association; Dr FENG Jianshe, Chief Technology Officer, Shenzhen CRFUnion Digital Technology Co. Ltd.; and Mr Edmond LAI, Chief Executive Officer, FLAIR.

FLAIR will continue collaborating with the industry, academia, and research partners in accordance with the policy directions set by the HKSAR Government for the I&T industry by promoting new industrialisation, striving to develop InnoHK into an international, leading innovative R&D platform, accelerating the transformation of Hong Kong into an international I&T centre, and achieving high-quality development.

For more information on the collaborations of FLAIR with the seven world-renowned R&D institutions and enterprises, and the new technologies and research achievements showcased at the “FLAIR Open Day”, please  click here and refer to the appendix.

The Hong Kong Industrial Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Centre (FLAIR) organised an Open Day with “Emerging Technologies Enable New Industrialisation” Seminar and Signing Ceremony and reached collaborative agreements with seven world-renowned R&D institutions and enterprises. Representatives from the Government, industry, academia, and research sectors joined the event and took the group photo.

Front row from left: Mr Edmond LAI, Chief Executive Officer, FLAIR; Mr Ivan LEE, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR Government; Mr ZHU Junwei, Executive Deputy Commissioner, Administration for Construction and Development of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone; Ms Lillian CHEONG, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology, and Industry of the HKSAR Government; Mr ZHUANG Yuan, Deputy Director of Department of Policies & Regulations of Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission; Mr Mohamed BUTT, Chairman of the Board, FLAIR; and Ms Winnie CHAN, Assistant Commissioner for Innovation and Technology (Research Clusters) of the HKSAR Government

Second row from left: Dr Ming GE, Chief Operating Officer, FLAIR; Mr Oscar HUI, CEO, SmartMore LogTech Group Limited; Mr Colin CUI, Director, Channel & Commercial Sales Department, Hong Kong Enterprise Business Department, Hong Kong Representative Office, Huawei International Co. Limited; Mr BI Yalei, Director of the Industrial Cooperation and Development Division, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT), Secretary General of Shenzhen Robotics Association; Dr DING Ning, Executive Associate Director of Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society (AIRS); Mr Cola LAM, Founder, NY Technology Limited; Mr John CHAN, Chairman and Managing Director, Reitar Logtech Group Limited; Mr Davy GUO, Vice President and Head of Digital Industries, Siemens Limited; and Dr-Ing. Benny Drescher, Chief Technical Officer, FLAIR