The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has launched a new high-tech research lab.

The new Australia-China Research Innovation Centre in Information and Electronics Technologies (IET) will be governed and managed by representatives of both UTS and China Electronics Group Corporation (CETC).

It will be funded by up to $20 million over five years by CETC, a leading Chinese company specialising in electronics, telecommunications, sensing, big data and ICT.

The Centre will conduct long-term research projects into;

  • Big data technologies (mobile sensing and communications, electromagnetic metamaterials and devices, big visual data analytics, transfer learning and Internet of Things)
  • Quantum computing, and quantum communications
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM), assisted robots and robots for infrastructure monitoring and maintenance.
  • Advanced materials and electronics (THz devices, environmental and industrial sensors and integrated circuits).

The CETC is a wholly state-owned enterprise, formed from the merger between former research institutes and high-tech enterprises.  

It develops, manufactures, and distributes electronics components, and systems, software and ICT solutions for the Chinese Government and the private sector.

In Australia, CETC has already made significant contributions to the Australia SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) project and won the trust from the SKA community.

UTS Professor Jay Guo explained the partnership with CETC.

“We have a solid reputation as a world leader in wireless communications, sensing and data science and data engineering. Within the Global Big Data Technologies Centre (GBDTC) we have already been collaborating with CETC on cutting-edge wireless technologies for future telecommunications networks,” he said.

“Joint projects undertaken with the new Centre will further enhance our international standing, advance our ability to develop innovative solutions, and provide opportunities to commercialise our technologies for greater societal impacts.”