Recently, the inaugural meeting of the Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Urban Spatial Sensing and Digital Governance and the first meeting of its Academic Committee were held in Beijing. At the event, the laboratory was officially inaugurated. Li Deren, recipient of China’s Highest Science and Technology Award, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was appointed Chair of the Academic Committee. The establishment of the laboratory marks a significant step forward for Beijing in the fields of intelligent spatiotemporal information sensing, digital twin cities, and refined governance of megacities.
Guided by China’s national artificial intelligence strategy and Beijing’s priorities for smart city development, the laboratory focuses on cutting-edge research in intelligent urban spatial sensing and digital governance. Its key research areas include intelligent sensing, data integration and interoperability, digital-intelligent twins, and intelligent decision-making. Through technological innovation and demonstration applications, the laboratory will provide scientific and technological support for planning and natural resources management, smart city development, and the modernization of urban governance in the capital.
The laboratory is hosted by the Beijing Institute of Surveying and Mapping and jointly established with the Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping and Wuhan University. Integrating basic research, technology development, commercialization, and talent cultivation, it aims to build an open and collaborative innovation ecosystem that brings together industry, academia, research, and application, and to establish itself as a leading hub for innovation, talent development, and scientific achievement.
The laboratory’s first Academic Committee comprises 17 renowned experts from the host and partner institutions, as well as Tsinghua University, Peking University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, the National Geomatics Center of China, the China Construction General Exploration and Design Research Institute, and the Beijing Society of Surveying and Mapping.
Li Deren chaired the first meeting of the Academic Committee. Committee members engaged in in-depth discussions on the laboratory’s research priorities, technological innovation, commercialization of research outcomes, and talent development, offering recommendations to support its high-quality development and build consensus on its future direction. During the meeting, Li delivered a keynote lecture entitled “Civil-Commercial Integration, Space-Air Intelligence, and Building China into a Space Power.” He noted that, in the era of the Internet of Everything and artificial intelligence, the discipline of spatiotemporal intelligence has emerged to address applications ranging from deep-space exploration and satellite communications to defense, low-altitude drones, smart agriculture, and underwater research. Looking ahead, he emphasized that spatiotemporal intelligence will become an important driver of new quality productive forces by serving both public and commercial users and fostering trillion-yuan emerging industries. He also encouraged the laboratory to pursue independent innovation and strengthen its indigenous research and development capabilities.
Looking ahead, the laboratory will fully leverage the strategic advisory role of its Academic Committee, integrate high-quality resources from industry, academia, research, and application, and continue making breakthroughs in core technologies. Through scientific and technological innovation, it will contribute to the modernization of urban governance in the capital and provide strong support for Beijing’s development into an international center for scientific and technological innovation and for its high-quality development.
