Newsletter No. 342

No. 342, 4.9.2009 1 第三四二期　二零零九年九月四日 No. 342 4 September 2009 現 實中，新研製的電腦也逐步接近人類，有視覺及 聽覺等感知能力，甚至懂得以說話和動作來表達 訊息，這些新技術應用於日常生活中，惠及人類。 於8月7日揭幕的中大利群計算及界面科技教育部— 微軟重點實驗室(實驗室)，以人機界面為研究重點，通過 模仿人類從創造、傳達以至使用訊息時的溝通模式，使 電腦人性化，並藉此開發不同的技術，把訊息力量應用 到生活中。 當天主禮的嘉賓有中大校長劉遵義教授( 上圖右三 )、國 家教育部科學技術司副司長武貴龍先生( 右四 )、特區政 府教育局副局長陳維安先生( 左三 )、中央人民政府駐特 區聯絡辦公室教育科技部部長潘永華先生( 左二 )、中大 博文講座教授及實驗室國際顧問委員會主席姚期智教授 ( 右二 )、微軟亞洲研究院院長及實驗室聯席總監洪小文博 士( 左一 )，以及中大工程學院院長及實驗室聯席總監任德 盛教授( 右一 )。 微軟—香港中文大學利群計算及界面科技聯合實驗室於 2005年成立，科研人員在計算機視覺、計算機圖形、語 音和多模態處理、多媒體處理與檢索，以及通訊與計算 機網路技術等五項領域開展了多項前沿研究。聯合實驗 室去年獲教育部授予重點實驗室地位，證明其豐碩的科 研成果備受國家認同和肯定。 劉遵義教授對此感到十分鼓舞：「聯合實驗室獲評為重 點實驗室，正式納入教育部管理，不但是國家對我們 科研工作的肯定，也標誌着中大訊息科技研究更上層 樓。」 T hough in real life, robots can’t fall in love, some of the more sophisticated ones are able, thanks to advances in technology, to imitate some uniquely human features. These robots have perceptual abilities such as the senses of sight and hearing, as well as expressive abilities, such as the ability to speak and to gesture. When such technologies are applied to daily life, people stand to benefit. The CUHK MoE (Ministry of Education) – Microsoft Key Laboratory of Human-Centric Computing and Interface Technologies, which held its plaque unveiling ceremony on 7 August, strives to develop human-centric computing and interface technologies by imitating the natural modalities of human communication, in particular, how humans create, convey and consume information, enabling computers to be more user-friendly, accessible and relevant to daily life. The officiating guests of the ceremony were Prof. Lawrence J. Lau (3rd right, top photo), CUHK Vice-Chancellor; Mr. Wu Guilong (4th right), deputy director-general, Science and Technology Department, Ministry of Education; Mr. Kenneth Chen Wei-on (3rd left), under secretary for education, Education Bureau, HKSAR Government; Mr. Pan Yonghua (2nd left), director general of education, Science and Technology Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR; Prof. Andrew Yao Chi-chih (2nd right), Distinguished Professor-at-Large, CUHK and chairman, International Advisory Board, Key Laboratory; Dr. Hon Hsiao-wuen (1st left), managing director, Microsoft Research Asia and co-managing director, Key Laboratory; and Prof. Peter Yum Tak-shing (1st right), dean of engineering, CUHK and co-managing director, Key Laboratory. Since its establishment in 2005, the Microsoft – CUHK Joint Laboratory for Human-Centric Computing and Interface Technologies has focused on five major areas, namely, computer vision, computer graphics, speech and multimodal processing, multimedia processing and retrieval, and communication and networks. In recognition of its abundant scientific and research achievements, the Joint Laboratory was conferred national status by the MoE last year. Prof. Lawrence J. Lau was pleased with MoE’s recognition. ‘With the conferment of national status, the Joint Laboratory is now a key laboratory managed by MoE. This reflects not only the state’s recognition of our research efforts, but also the University’s success in pioneering advancement in information technology.’ ( 續下頁 To be continued ) 教育部重點實驗室揭幕 發展人性化電腦 Ministry of Education Key Lab to Develop Human-Centric Computing 本刊由香港中文大學資訊處出版，每月出版兩期。截稿日期及投稿方法載於 www.cuhk.edu.hk/iso/newslter/ 。 The CUHK Newsletter is published by the Information Services Office, CUHK, on a fortnightly basis. Submission guidelines and deadlines can be found at www.cuhk.edu.hk/iso/newslter/ . 電影《太空奇兵．威E》裏，威E與伊芙 兩具機械人在太空翩翩起舞； 《我的機械人女友》中的機械人能為 愛人犧牲，都教觀眾感動不已。 銀幕上的機械人仿如有生命，有感情， 這會否在現實世界裏出現呢？ In the movie Wall·E , robots fall in love and dance in space; while in the movie Cyborg She , the protagonist sacrifices her life for her lover. Robots on the silver screen have lives and feelings. Is this the case in real life? ♥ ♥ ♥