Oppo and PolyU Renew Collaboration to Focus on AI Imaging Technology

Oppo and Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) signed a renewal agreement on Friday to further their collaboration and make technological breakthroughs. The Chinese smartphone brand has been partnering with PolyU for the last three years to develop new technologies that have been adopted by the company. Now, with the latest agreement, Oppo will provide the university funds for a period of five years to set up a research centre focused on artificial intelligence (AI) imaging technology. The research centre is announced to be built in January next year.

Oppo, PolyU Join Hands to Develop AI Imaging Technology

In a newsroom post, Oppo highlighted that the representatives from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Oppo held a signing ceremony to officially commemorate the occasion. Notably, this is a renewal of a previous three-year partnership that started in 2022. As part of the new deal, the smartphone manufacturer will increase funding and technology investment to the university and help set up a research centre dedicated towards AI imaging technology.

The new agreement was signed by Prof. Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU and Mr Zheng Qin, Head of Industry-Academia Affairs of Oppo. The Chinese brand will provide funding of CNY 30 million (roughly Rs. 35.5 crores) over the next five years.

The monetary fund will be given to set up a Joint Innovation Research Centre and to expand the scale of co-trained PhD and postdoctoral researchers. The entire effort will go towards making breakthroughs in AI imaging technology.

Professor Jin-Guang Teng of PolyU and a witness to the ceremony highlighted that the university will officially establish the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences in January 2025 which will house the Joint Innovation Research Centre. The department will be created to “address the opportunities and challenges of the AI era”, to meet growing technological needs, and support talent nurturing.

While the company did not reveal specifics of the AI imaging technology it intends to develop, it likely refers to AI models with computer vision that can view and process images, videos, device screen, and even real-world environment. Oppo could be developing this technology to further its AI offerings to users.