Siemens (www.siemens.com) China has been appointed to lead the company’s global research in autonomous robotics.

This is part of Siemens’ innovation strategy to “master technology fields that are critical for future success”.

A global research community comprising experts from around the world will focus on the research and development of new mechatronics systems, human-robot collaboration and the application of artificial intelligence in robotic controllers.

Siemens has also entered into a partnership with Tsinghua University, one of the company’s ‘Centre of Knowledge Interchange’ universities, to jointly establish a robotics research centre in Beijing.

The company’s core R&D areas in China include data analytics, cyber security, industrial IoT and ‘digital twin’ initiatives, as well as connected-city solutions.

Siemens has been partnering with the Chinese government, universities and customers to address a variety of challenges, including traffic congestion, energy saving, ‘public convenience and the environment’, along with the building of ‘digital cities’ across the country.

For instance, Siemens and the Hong Kong Science Park have entered into an agreement to create Hong Kong’s first ‘smart city’ digital hub. This will be powered by MindSphere, the cloud-based IoT operating system from Siemens.