Hong Kong Institute of Artificial Intelligence Technology Development (HK-AITRI) Newsletter; This week, I visited the alumni enterprise Kemin Sensing Group of CityU in Shenzhen to closely observe the industry practice of sensing hardware track. My intuitive feeling became clearer: among many cities in China, Shenzhen is one of the few cities that can perfectly connect with the global AI technology wave and quickly transform into physical products. This judgment is rooted in its unique soft and hard integrated industrial soil.
The global development of AI has gone through the stage of pure large-scale model competition, and the focus is gradually shifting towards embodied intelligence, physical AI, and end-to-end landing. AI is no longer limited to cloud based text generation, but requires perception hardware such as vision, torque, and force perception as "senses", relying on precision manufacturing to complete machine integration and ultimately deliver to the global market. And Shenzhen's unique advantages perfectly match the needs of this round of industrial transformation.
Firstly, it has the highest density and fastest response hardware support loop in China, which is known as the "upstream and downstream urbanization" advantage in the industry. From computing power boards, chips, optical modules, to core robot components such as torque sensors, servos, and reducers, a large number of suppliers gather within the one hour industrial circle. Just like the Kemin Sensor we visited this time, which has crossed over from temperature sensing to the field of robot torque sensors, we can quickly find algorithm, testing, structure, OEM, and foreign trade partners in Shenzhen. The sample iteration, process validation, and small-scale trial production cycles are greatly compressed, which is difficult for many cities that focus on software and scientific research to replicate. The global AI innovation team, whether from overseas or domestic, wants to turn algorithm ideas into testable and mass-produced hardware prototypes, and Shenzhen is one of the best choices.
Secondly, Shenzhen has opened up a channel for "technology verification mass production manufacturing global expansion". It is not only a manufacturing base, but also a hub for cross-border trade, overseas channels, and cross-border e-commerce. Many cities can conduct research and development and pilot projects, but lack the ability to deliver to the global market; Local enterprises in Shenzhen naturally carry the genes of going global. The AI hardware and robot solutions developed locally can quickly meet the needs of overseas customers, promote Chinese physical AI products to the world, and form a two-way cycle of "global demand landing in Shenzhen, Shenzhen product supply to the world".
Thirdly, the ecosystem of computing power, models, and end-to-end hardware intersects here. Relying on Pengcheng Cloud Brain, Shengteng Ecology, and large model enterprise clusters, Shenzhen has both upper level AI algorithm bases and lower level component manufacturing capabilities, forming an environment for collaborative iteration of models, perception hardware, and terminal products. The AI industry in many places is "heavy on models and light on hardware", which makes it easy to get caught up in algorithm competitions; Shenzhen's paths complement each other perfectly, adept at encapsulating abstract intelligent capabilities into sensors, robots, and intelligent terminals, and bringing AI into the physical world. This is currently the most scarce capability in the global physical AI race.
Of course, there are also challenges behind the advantages: high-density agglomeration in the supply chain also brings about homogeneous competition, and the underlying processes of high-end force sensing and precision sensing still need to be continuously tackled; The common challenges of implementing AI at the organizational level, such as data governance, responsibility verification, and trust verification, also exist in hardware innovation enterprises in Shenzhen.
For the physics AI track that HK-AITRI focuses on, Shenzhen is a very important industrial testing ground. Sensing companies like Kemin have successfully implemented force sensing products here, which is a typical example of software hardware collaboration. As global AI competition shifts from model performance to physical interaction and physical products, Shenzhen's combination of "computing power+supply chain+going global" advantages will continue to unleash unique value.
Further Reading
HONG KONG ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (HK-AITRI) is affiliated with Hong Kong AI Technology Development Limited and was established by a group of scholars and industry practitioners dedicated to transforming industries with AI technology. The research institute is rooted in Hong Kong, building an AI industry laboratory and a collaborative platform between the institute and enterprises, aiming to fill the gaps in the manufacturing innovation system, create a multi-party collaborative innovation carrier, link various enterprises, universities, and government agencies, and jointly promote the high-quality development of advanced manufacturing industries. The research institute focuses on the practical application of physical AI and intelligent agents, and adopts a project-based approach to output research teams and cutting-edge AI technology capabilities, breaking down barriers between technology research and development and industry demand, helping physical enterprises achieve low-cost intelligent upgrades, and creating an industrial AI industry university research collaborative innovation platform for the Greater Bay Area.
