Photo:Courtesy of Terminus Group

The development of science and technology is changing people's way of life. Robots, for example, which appeared in science fiction movies, are now ubiquitous in shopping malls and restaurants. They can talk to people, give directions and sell products to customers. 

The manufacturing of robots reflects a high level of ICT technologies, so it has become a field of fierce competition for many large companies. Terminus Group is a China-based world leading AIoT company and the exclusive robot solution and AIOT application service provider of Expo 2020 Dubai. 

Founded in late 2015, the company currently has about 1,000 employees worldwide, of which 55% are researchers, and it has obtained more than 1,000 patents in total.

Founder and CEO of Terminus Group, Victor AI was a well-known investor. In the past three years, he invested in Sense Time technology, Xiaopeng Automobile, Miss Fresh, JD Logistics and other companies. But he has always believed that the development of global technologies will usher in an era driven by artificial intelligence, so he always wanted to start a company that would bring the most cutting-edge technology and ideas to people's lives. This resulted in the founding of Terminus Group.

According to Victor, Terminus Group focuses on the digital transformation of cities and aims to alter future urban development through leveraging new AIoT technologies. With 6 years of development, the company has become a world leading AIOT solution provider and is eventually recognized by the Expo 2020 Dubai. The Expo 2020 Dubai announced Terminus Group to be one of its Official Premier Partners in July 2020, and the two sides will carry out a very comprehensive collaboration.

According to Victor, the partnership is divided into two phases. The first phase is during the Expo, Terminus will supply more than 150 robots to provide various services including interacting with visitors and dealing with all kinds of emergencies over the six-month event. The second phase is remolding District 2020 as a future city after the Expo, creating an innovative ecosystem for the region.

Victor explained how the AI City is different from smart cities. An AI City is a new development stage of smart cities. Compared with smart cities that focus on providing single-scenario solutions, an AI CITY focuses more on the overall automated operations of a city. 

An AI CITY can form the ability of autonomous perception, thinking and problem solving. Victor believes, in the future, cities may even evolve their own awareness and provide data-driven customized urban services tailored to the needs of specific city residents.

Terminus Group's main service target is to develop a comprehensive architecture for future cities that can benefit everyone who lives in a city. According to Victor, the architecture developed by the company connects the digital urban infrastructure with new urban technology services enabled by the company's SaaS clouds, and robots can be considered as part of the digital urban infrastructure. In the company's understanding, human-robot interaction could become a major entry point for data in the future. Various scenarios in the city can be connected through the comprehensive architecture to make it possible for new services and new lifestyles.

Victor said, "we have provided solutions and achieved collaborations in various fields such as smart building, smart community and cultural tourism. In the past six years, we have landed nearly 8,000 projects and accumulated a lot of experience."

Through the partnership with the Expo, Terminus Group launched its Middle East and North Africa region center in Dubai on September 22 to support its operations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha. This is Terminus Group's first MENA region center, and Victor hopes to expand into Southeast Asian markets such as Singapore in the future.

In his view, AI has brought historic opportunities to China. And tech companies in China will continue to seize the opportunity by developing world-changing solutions and promoting the landing and application of innovative technologies. "Hopefully, China's technology industry will further expand its leading position and become a leader in the era of artificial intelligence and smart new economy in the next decade, Victor said.