The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) opened the city’s first experimental hub for embodied artificial intelligence on Thursday with the participation of seven mainland and Hong Kong companies, including industry leaders Unitree Robotics and Galbot, as the city looks to carve out a role in the global robotics boom.
Located at the HKPC Building in Kowloon Tong, the Embodied AI International Applications Hub, housed under the HKPC’s industrial AI and robotics centre, features simulated real-world environments where the companies can test and optimise their latest robotic designs, ahead of potential global roll-outs.
“Hong Kong’s application scenarios have an international characteristic,” said Sunny Tan, HKPC chairman, at the opening ceremony. “For many mainland robot manufacturers, they can train their robots for international application scenarios without leaving the country here.”
Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong said that the hub marked a major milestone in Hong Kong’s efforts to align with national initiatives to advance in embodied AI and robotics, and pledged further government support to promote development in the field.