Major Research Area 3: Information and Automation Technology

How can we develop data science and artificial intelligence into innovative technologies for the benefit of human life?

Information technology draws upon multidisciplinary connections to advance human capacities. Deep learning is driving artificial intelligence to compete with human intelligence in game playing, speech recognition, natural language processing, and through correlating brain activity with deep neural network responses, in understanding how human visual systems work.

Robotics requires the understanding of human-machine interactions and human psychology in addition to the tools from artificial intelligence. As applications of robotics intensify in diversified aspects of human activities, its interface with medicine, industries and social services will be further strengthened.

Building on its strengths in network coding as well as multimedia processing and communication, CUHK can further advance its big data and eLearning research that involves processing and computing of various media modalities such as medical and geographical images, customer reviews, social and behavioural data with broad impact on scientific, educational, policy and commercial research.

Intelligent Reasoning and Cognition

  • machine learning in fields of computer vision, artificial intelligence, natural language processing and speech recognition
  • connections between deep learning and human brain function such as how human visual system works through correlating brain activity and deep neural network responses
  • understanding of how far deep learning can drive artificial intelligence to compete with human intelligence
  • applications of deep learning to healthcare and bioinformatics, drug discovery, climate studies and business data analytics

Robotics

  • mechanics, design and manufacturing, sensing and control, artificial intelligence, computing, human-robot interactions
  • study of the intensifying use of robotics in more aspects of human activities
  • robot applications, including medical robots in assisting in surgery, manufacturing robots for automating production in factories, service robots for home service, helping the elderly, transporting goods in warehouses, and exploration robots for terrain exploration and rescuing missions in high-risk scenarios such as fire emergencies

Big Data and eLearning Research

  • theoretical, empirical and systems-oriented research to realize the benefits of big data research in a variety of domains
  • efficient algorithms, optimization models and scalable system for managing and analyzing big graph data and user-generated information in big data analytics
  • applications of data analytics in society related to health, environment, logistics, finance and social media
  • educational big data on learning behaviour generated by eLearning to inform pedagogical research

Network Coding

  • coding technology to allow for more efficient internet coding and resilient data storage
  • extending the impact of coding technology to information theory, channel coding, wireless communication, computer networks, cloud storage, and information security
  • enabling technologies for resolving bottlenecks in the next generation internet, wireless networks, satellite networks, and future inter-planetary space communication networks