Over the weekend, the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering (MEE) at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) announced the formation of a joint laboratory between the SUSTech Institute of Robotics (SIR) and Aeronext Inc, a Japanese firm that specializes in unmanned aerial vehicles.

Nanshan District Science and Technology Innovation Bureau Director Liu Shiming, SUSTech Secretary-General Chen Siqi, College of Engineering Dean Xu Zhenghe, MEE Department Head Rong Yiming (SIR Executive Dean), joint lab head Wei Liu and Aeronext Inc. CEO Keisuke Toji all attended the signing ceremony. The ceremony was hosted by Shenzhen International Investment Promotion Association Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Zi Xi.

Director Liu Shiming said that innovation has been a leading strategy for Nanshan District’s development and the Joint Laboratory is another example of industry-university research cooperation between China and Japan. He hoped that the transformation of technological innovations that come from the Joint Laboratory will help enhance the development of the Greater Bay Area.

SUSTech Secretary-General Chen Siqi talked about the goals of the Joint Laboratory, and highlighted the application-oriented innovations that SUSTech has achieved in a short period of time. The industry-university research cooperation in unmanned aerial vehicles will maximize the benefits for both parties and will strive to make original breakthroughs in key technologies to promote innovative products in this industry.

Aeronext Inc. CEO Keisuke Toji is looking forward to working with the SUSTech community and the teams at the Joint Laboratory. He hopes to obtain the data needed to develop the basic technology of the new generation of UAVs and meet the safety standards through a large number of empirical experiments, and develop the specific application scenarios of “flying robots.” Aeronext Inc. has won several awards for their technological achievements in unmanned aerial vehicles and will build their research & development base in Shenzhen.

The Joint Laboratory aims to develop into an advanced manufacturing innovation platform that integrates scientific research, industrial technology R&D, talent pipelines and technological results transformation.

Professor Rong Yiming and Aeronext Inc. CEO Keisuke Toji signed the agreement for the joint laboratory. Representatives from SIR, contracted companies, association experts and other relevant experts and scholars witnessed the signing ceremony.