News

RIAIoT leads global dialogue on semiconductor innovation at 3rd Microelectronics Technology Forum 2026

The 3rd Microelectronics Technology Forum (MTF) 2026, held as part of the IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS) Celebration Series marking the 100th anniversary of the Field-Effect Transistor (FET), took place successfully on 18 June 2026 at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).  Jointly organised by the Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things (RIAIoT) under the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) and the Semiconductor Nanotechnology Alliance (SNA), and co-organised by IEEE EDS, the forum brought together renowned researchers, industry leaders and technology innovators to discuss the future of semiconductors under the theme “Semiconductor Technologies in the AI Era”.  The event celebrated a century of transistor innovation while showcasing emerging technologies that will drive the next generation of artificial intelligence, computing and intelligent systems. The forum opened with remarks by Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU, and Prof. CHAI Yang, Director of RIAIoT and Chairman of SNA.  In his opening remarks, Prof. Teng reaffirmed PolyU’s commitment to advancing frontier research, fostering innovation and strengthening academia-industry collaboration, while underscoring the University’s ambition to contribute to regional and global leadership in microelectronics and semiconductor technologies.  Delivering the welcome address on behalf of the organising institutions, Prof. Chai highlighted RIAIoT’s vision of advancing intelligent systems through the convergence of artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductor devices, sensing technologies and computing hardware.  He also outlined three key technological pillars shaping the future of AI—continued Moore’s Law scaling, emerging computing architectures such as neuromorphic, quantum and optical computing, and advanced power devices that enable energy-efficient intelligence. The technical programme featured a distinguished line-up of speakers and presentations spanning the semiconductor innovation value chain.  The morning sessions celebrated the centenary milestone of FET development, covering innovations beyond traditional scaling approaches and topics such as heterogeneous integration, 3D complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) architectures, advanced memory technologies and computing-in-memory (CIM) solutions to meet the growing demands of AI. The afternoon sessions focused on industrialisation and ecosystem development, highlighting advances in semiconductor equipment, metrology, chip packaging, smart manufacturing and AI data centre infrastructure, as well as strategies to strengthen regional innovation capabilities and accelerate technology commercialisation through cross-sector collaboration and investment. A highlight of the forum was a series of panel discussions that brought together industry leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and researchers.  The discussions explored the evolution of microelectronics over the past century, opportunities for emerging chip startups in the Greater Bay Area, and pathways to translate breakthrough research into real-world industrial impact through stronger academia-industry collaboration. The forum closed on a positive note with a call for continued collaboration among academia, industry and government to accelerate innovation in microelectronics and semiconductor technologies.  The insights shared and partnerships forged during the event are expected to drive future advancements in AI-enabled hardware and semiconductor innovation.  Looking ahead, RIAIoT will continue to foster cross-sector collaboration, drive advances in microelectronics, and support Hong Kong’s sustainable innovation-led growth in the AI era.

Centre for Humanistic Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and Hanson Robotics Limited (Hanson) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Centre for Humanistic Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CHAiR) for translational research with the goal of advancing the well-being of humanity.

RIAIoT Call for Challenging Problems (Oct 2021)

Mechanism for Allocation of Funding The Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things (RIAIoT) conducts problem-driven multidisciplinary research. Periodically, RIAIoT issues Call-for-Problems identifying major challenging problems in AIoT applications and the technical fields. Then, Call-for-Solutions will be issued to seek end-to-end solutions leveraging the combined expertise of members. The mechanism of allocating funding for projects is as follows: RIAIoT periodically issues Call-for-Problems and holds regular meetings to discuss and identify grand challenging problems. RIAIoT issues Call-for-Solutions to invite project team leaders and members (may recruit non-members if necessary). Project teams submit proposals with a budget plan. RIAIoT management committee sends the proposals to experts for review. RIAIoT management committee holds meetings to evaluate the proposals against the award criteria and select qualified proposals for funding. Call for Challenging Problems in the Major Research Areas In this Call-for-Problems, RIAIoT invites applications from interdisciplinary researchers to identify the problems with grand challenges in the major research areas as follows: AIoT smart sensors and devices. Future AIoT network connections. Future edge for AIoT and distributed intelligence. AIoT robotics. AIoT security, privacy, and blockchain-based AIoT data sharing. AIoT for strategically important applications in infrastructure and construction, health, connected vehicles, smart logistics, etc. Other AIoT-related areas of strategic, academic and/or applied importance. Please prepare and send your proposal to Shan JIANG (shanjiang@polyu.edu.hk) using the following outline: Title Background Problem Specification Challenges of Solving the Problem Interdisciplinary Nature of the Problem Benefits and Impacts of Solving the Problem.

Opening of Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things

To facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration for impactful research within PolyU with a view to addressing key societal challenges in areas where PolyU has significant strategic advantages or a significant strategic interest, the University has established seven new research institutes on 1 May 2021. Artificial Intelligence of Things is one of PolyU's strategic focus areas and Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things (RIAIoT) is one of the research institutes under PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR). Prof. Jiannong Cao is the founding director of RIAIoT. Prof. Cao is also the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Professor in Data Science, the Chair Professor of Distributed and Mobile Computing in the Department of Computing, the Dean of Graduate School, and the founding director and now the associate director of University Research Facility in Big Data Analytics (UBDA). In the future, RIAIoT will organize international conferences and symposiums in areas related to AIoT, promoting our research and achievements and providing a forum for exchange of ideas with regional or international participants.