Baidu will now take lead in building China’s National Engineering Laboratory of Deep Learning Technology and Application, and participate in establishing the National Engineering Laboratory of Big Data System Software, and the National Engineering Laboratory of Brain Technology and Application.
“We are very honoured that Baidu is granted the opportunity to initiate and construct the National Engineering Lab of Deep Learning. Baidu will source our three most important assets to the new establishments: computing resources, algorithm resources, and big data resources.” Said Lu Qi, Baidu’s president and chief operating officer.
Recently, China’s National Development and Reform Committee formally approved Baidu to lead the construction of National Deep Learning Technology and Application Engineering Laboratories, which will further the development of deep learning technology and application alongside other researchers.
China needs to provide basic infrastructural support to the development of AI technologies. Led by Baidu, this laboratory will focus on developing in seven major areas, which include deep learning, computer vision, computer auditory, biometric identification, human-computer interaction, standardization service, and deep learning intellectual property. It is determined to be an institution that is “first in China and first-class in the world”, at the same time making research breakthroughs, working with industries, transferring technologies, and cultivating new talents in order to enhance the overall competitiveness of China’s AI technology.
The lab will be directed by Baidu’s deep learning laboratory director Lin Yuan Ping and chief scientist Xu Wei, Tsinghua University academician Zhang Bo, and Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronaut academician Li Wei. As the lead, Baidu will work with Tsinghua University, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China Information and Communication Research Institute, China Electronic Technology Institute, and other institutions to develop deep learning technology and applications.
At the same time, Baidu will open-source to the laboratory its three world leading resources: computational resources, algorithm resources, and big data resources, as well as the industry’s most cutting-edge deep learning research topics, which will attract top talents to participate in research, and use the laboratory as a training site for more researchers and postdoctoral candidates.
Baidu’s president and chief operating officer Lu Qi issued a congratulatory note for the approval of laboratory:
“Two years ago, Robin put forward the “Chinese brain” proposal. Today, the National Engineering Laboratory is under construction. In less than two years, we witnessed the surfacing of artificial intelligence technology in China, and its great speed of development. We are very excited that China’s information technology industry is catching up to the developed markets.”
“We are also very honoured that Baidu has the opportunity to be the lead in building China’s own deep learning national engineering laboratory. We will give the laboratory team high quality resources to ensure it is enough to complete the mission of the state, and live up to the expectations of our society.”
As the leader of Artificial Intelligence in China, Baidu invested heavily in research in the recent years. The company’s Institution of Deep Learning (IDL) was established in 2013, followed by the Big Data Laboratory (BDL) and Silicon Valley Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SVAIL), Augmented reality Laboratory (ARL), and etc. Also, Baidu released a leading deep learning platform (named Paddle Paddle), and built a comprehensive artificial intelligence R&D system. In the field of voice recognition, image recognition and unmanned vehicle, Baidu’s applications are now among the global leaders.
Nowadays, the day request volume of Baidu brain speech synthesis is 250 million, and speech recognition rate is up to 97%, especially the face recognition accuracy rate is as high as 99.7%. In 2016, Baidu voice recognition technology is named “2016 global breakthrough in the top ten technology” by MIT Technology Review. In addition, Baidu has been selected as the world’s second most intelligent company.
Using Baidu’s artificial intelligence, facial recognition technology are now applied to check-in gates, financial risk control and, other fields. In the 2016 World Internet Conference, Wuzhen attractions took the lead to apply Baidu’s facial recognition system, which increased the check-in efficiency at the conference. Other applications such as voice recognition and image recognition are also applied for indemnification, which effectively reduce the dim light, noise and other environmental factors on the accuracy of recognition, significantly enhancing the recognition rate and prevent fraud.
There are 19 national engineering laboratories that are approved this time. Baidu not only took the lead in the construction of deep learning technology and application, but also participates in big data systems and brain intelligence technology building.
All in all, the development of artificial intelligence can significantly enhance the competitiveness of the country. Not surprisingly, deep learning technology has become one of the most important battle of science and technology competition.
Original Article from Baidu | Localized by Synced Global Team: Meghan Han , Rita Chen
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