HCMC actively seeking practical AI-related solutions

Taking full advantage of the young and talented scientific-technological human resources, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is gradually forming a strategy for AI development to become the foundation for smart city establishment. AI-based solutions to tackle current issues in the city is particularly prioritized and heavily invested.

Young contestants are registering their solution to tackle urban traffic problems for the contest. (Photo: SGGP)
Young contestants are registering their solution to tackle urban traffic problems for the contest. (Photo: SGGP)

Answering the request of HCMC People’s Committee, the HCMC Department of Information and Communications collected advice and prepare the program ‘Studying and Developing AI Applications in HCMC from 2020 – 2030’.

It is expected that in 2025, AI applications will enter different fields of construction, banking, tourism, transport, and telecoms to create strong infrastructure and suitable environment for innovation and breakthroughs of HCMC’s digital economy.

To fulfill that goal, a contest named ‘AI-related Solutions in HCMC 2020’ was launched on June 25 to seek feasible AI-based solutions to address current problems in HCMC during the smart city transformation process.  

The contest is chaired by HCMC People’s Committee and co-held by HCMC Department of Information & Communications, Vietnam National University – HCMC, HCMC Computer Association, and Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of HCMC.

Participants in the contest are organizations, state units, businesses, and Vietnamese people living in the country and abroad, foreigners living in HCMC.

The contest is divided into two categories, the first of which is AI-Challenge – themed ‘AI and Smart Traffic’ – under the form of a scientific test like similar international ones. Its aim is to search for effective solutions to tackle concerned road issues at the moment in HCMC, using AI-based algorithms.

The most outstanding in this category will be integrated in potential products of the city and introduced to units which are chosen to carry out e-government and smart city establishment tasks. They will also be supported to register, incubate, and then perfect their algorithms.

Until now, there have been 528 competitors in 216 teams registering for this test.

In the second category, named AI-Solution, contestants will submit solutions and products that implement AI in manufacturing processes, trading, transport, finance, healthcare, education, tourism, agriculture, and social services.

Solutions or products in this category must be already commercialized or implemented in the smart city transformation and e-government building processes, research papers packaged and ready for transfer, and startup projects applied into reality.

Winners in this category will have their products displayed in the HCMC IT and AI Festival 2020. They will also be supported to form links with units chosen to carry out e-government and smart city establishment tasks.

Until now, the Organization Board has received 37 papers.

Deputy Director of the HCMC Department of Information and Communications Le Quoc Cuong shared the Organization Board’s hope to promote innovation in AI-related scientific-technological solutions and to attract the interest of both domestic as well as international research teams in tackling existing issues in HCMC, and further in the whole nation or region.

Winners of the contest will receive valuable prizes. The first, second, and third prizes are worth VND100 million, VND30 million, and VND20 million (approx. US$4,300, $1,300, and $865) respectively. There are also minor prizes like the most impressive video clip and the most favorite poster, each of which is worth VND5 million ($215).

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