On April 12th, the "Symposium on Bionic Vision Industry and Investment" was held at the Shanghai Science and Technology Hall. This conference was organized and initiated by Professor Zhang Xiaolin, a renowned expert in the field of bionic vision in China, the director of the Bionic Vision and Brain-like Intelligence Research Institute of Shanghai University, and the chairman of Aiguan Vision Technology Co., Ltd.

Experts and scholars from institutions such as the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology, the Shanghai Municipal Economy and Information Technology Commission, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University, as well as well-known enterprises including Shanghai Airport, iFlytek, Xiaomi, NewSong Robotics, BOE, SAIC Motor, Honor Terminal, Tellar (China), and Yinguanchip Semiconductor, along with representatives from the investment community, participated in hundreds of discussions around the theme of "Bionic Eye Technology and Its Industrialization Implementation."

In recent years, the intelligent robotics industry has made rapid progress and gradually become one of the leading forces driving global economic growth. According to the "Blue Book of Humanoid Robot Industry Development 2025" released by the Gaongong Robotics Industry Research Institute (GGII), the global humanoid robot market is expected to reach sales of 12,400 units and a market size of 6.339 billion yuan in 2025; by 2035, the global humanoid robot market sales are expected to exceed 5 million units, with the market size exceeding 400 billion yuan.

On the other hand, as the world economy remains stagnant for a long time, all countries are seeking breakthrough directions and tools for productivity. How advanced technologies can quickly achieve industrial implementation and commercial operations has become a more pressing issue for governments, industries, investments, and other sectors. Although the robotics industry continues to improve its foundational theories and performance efficiency, it still has a significant gap before reaching stable and mature commercial products.

Zhang Xiaolin

"Bionic vision technology can accelerate the industrial implementation of robots and fully integrate them into various scenes of social production and life," said Zhang Xiaolin.

Bionic eye technology refers to artificial intelligence visual perception technology that mimics biological visual systems.

In his keynote speech, Zhang Xiaolin stated that one of the main obstacles preventing current robots from reaching industrial application standards is the deficiency in the visual domain. Traditional machine vision relies on fixed algorithms and limited data processing capabilities, failing to form stereoscopic vision. This results in robots lacking sufficient information acquisition and judgment capabilities, making it difficult for them to perform efficient and accurate responses, such as rapid tracking of targets or spatial position determination, in complex dynamic environments. Bionic eye technology can significantly enhance the perception capabilities of robots, enabling them to "see clearer and react faster" while possessing real-time learning and adaptive capabilities. Against the backdrop of widespread expectations for the industrial implementation of robots, bionic eyes are poised to initiate a wave of robot industrialization.

In recent years, bionic eye technology has been applied in industrial robots in fields such as smart quality inspection and logistics sorting, service robots in medical surgery and home care, as well as special robots, promoting the evolution of robots from "single-function" to "intelligent collaboration." To promote the industrialization of bionic eyes, Zhang Xiaolin founded Anhui Aiguan Vision Technology Co., Ltd. in 2016, which currently operates five business sectors: bionic visual sensors, visual chips, rail transit, robotics, and film and tourism culture.

Interactive session with bionic eyes for the audience

According to Zhang Xiaolin, after decades of accumulated results domestically and internationally, bionic eye technology is gradually maturing. Some domestic companies, such as Aiguan Vision, have already put their products into use in the online monitoring of the Shanghai Metro Line 1, achieving good results. In the near future, they will also achieve more efficient and intelligent applications in fields such as agricultural fruit picking, low-altitude airspace, and public security.

He stated that bionic eyes, through innovations such as bionic retinal design, neuromorphic computing, and multimodal perception fusion, break through the limitations of traditional machine vision, allowing robots to work stably in complex scenarios like high-speed production lines and medical surgeries, reducing manual intervention needs. In particular, they are expected to bring breakthroughs to the development of advanced autonomous driving and humanoid robots in the future.

At the symposium, units such as the Shanghai Airport Group, the Tibetan Plateau Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yinguanchip Semiconductor, and the Shanghai Low Altitude Economic Industry Development Co., Ltd. introduced the application status of bionic eye technology in their respective fields. According to GGII's forecast, the global machine vision market size is expected to approach 140 billion yuan by 2028. The average compound annual growth rate from 2024 to 2028 is approximately 8.20%.

"After a period of focused research and development, including further cost reduction, bionic eyes will fundamentally elevate the work efficiency and application scope of robots to new heights, profoundly impacting and transforming social production and living scenarios, leading humanity into a more advanced stage of societal development," said Zhang Xiaolin.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493094262121497088/

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