Institute of Automation

Official Chinese name	中国科学院自动化研究所
Official English name	Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chinese aliases	自动化研究所, 人工智能创新研究院, 人工智能学院
English aliases	Artificial Intelligence Innovation Institute
Acronyms	CASIA
Research fields	Intelligent integration of complex systems, pattern recognition, machine learning, computer vision, speech and language information processing, brain-like intelligence, intelligent robots, intelligent systems and intelligent chips
Total employee count	1,151 (as of the end of 2024)

Summary

Institute of Automation is categorised as a Core Defence Partner based on the following indicators:

Defence advisor

4 indicators

Defence award

2 indicators

Defence funding

3 indicators

Defence laboratory

1 indicators

Military-technology patent

4 indicators

Research collaboration with defence entities

4 indicators

Defence advisory roles

One member of the leadership of the Institute of Automation is a member of the National New Generation Artificial Intelligence Strategy Advisory Committee.^[1] The committee was established in 2017 to 'provide consultation on the implementation of the [New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan] and major science and technology projects, as well as related major deployment for national artificial intelligence development'.^[2] The plan explicitly promotes military-civil fusion in artificial intelligence, calling for the 'coordinated development of economic and national defence capabilities, two-way transfer and application of military and civilian technological achievements, and shared innovation resources across sectors to build an integrated, multi-domain, and highly efficient framework for civil-military cooperation'.^[3]

Service on defence-related expert committees by other members of the academy's leadership team cannot be fully ruled out as the underlying data are incomplete and lack sufficient detail.

Defence awards

Available information indicates that researchers affiliated with the Institute of Automation have received at least nine separate defence awards. These include one title of Outstanding Individual of the National Defence Science and Technology Innovation Zone '163 Programme' Project, one National Defence Science and Technology Award, one National Defence Science and Technology Progress Award, four PLA Science and Technology Awards and two Military Science and Technology Progress Awards.^[4]

Of the nine awards identified, the known dates of eight awards confirmed that they were granted to researchers while they were employed by the Institute of Automation. The date of the ninth award, the National Defence Science and Technology Progress Award, is not known.^[5] Further analysis found that the researcher spent from 2003 to 2009 at a different laboratory, working at the Institute of Automation from 2009 to the present.^[6] While the contemporary part of their career has been with the Institute of Automation, due to the extended time spent at a different institution, our analysis cannot confidently connect this award to work conducted at the Institute of Automation.

The identified awards were granted from 2005 to 2021.^[7] Only one of these awards was granted since 2021, which indicates limited recent recognition of the institute's work in defence science and technology circles.

Researchers and projects linked to the Institute of Automation have probably received one defence award since 2021. However, incomplete data and insufficient source detail prevent confirmation of whether awards were received during employment at the institute. This assessment is therefore made with medium confidence. Awards granted to individuals not surveyed, or awards that may have been received prior to their affiliation or more recently, cannot be fully ruled out.

Defence funding

Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the Institute of Automation authored 43 publications funded by Chinese defence entities, placing the institute in the 65th percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. Of the 2,820 authors affiliated with the Institute of Automation who published during this period, 54 (2 per cent) had at least one defence-funded publication. However, it is not possible to attribute specific funding to individual researchers based solely on publication data.

Defence laboratories

No publicly available information suggests that this institute hosts or is affiliated with any known defence laboratories. The Chinese language laboratory websites do not mention any links or references to defence-related activities.

Military-technology patents

Between 2021 and 2025, the Institute of Automation was granted 25 military-technology patents, placing it in the 96th percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. A total of 135 inventors affiliated with the Institute of Automation were listed on these patents.

Research collaboration with defence entities

Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the Institute of Automation co-authored 1,163 publications with at least one Chinese defence entity, placing the institute in the 96th percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis.

These collaborations include 74 publications with PLA academic institutions, 279 with defence laboratories, 23 with military hospitals, 906 with members of the Seven Sons of National Defence, 238 with members of the Seven Sons of Ordnance Industry and 14 with defence conglomerates.

Of the 2,820 authors affiliated with the Institute of Automation who published during this period, 744 (26 per cent) had at least one defence-related collaboration.

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