Representatives from Zhejiang University and Xihu district in Hangzhou sign a cooperation agreement to establish the Brain-Machine Intelligence Research Center. [Photo/hzxh.gov.cn]

Xihu district in Hangzhou signed an agreement with Zhejiang University on Jan 6 to establish the Brain-Machine Intelligence Research Center.

Brain-machine intelligence is a combination of brain science and artificial intelligence. It is a trending scientific discipline which spans biology, physics and information technology. 

"Brain-machine intelligence enables robots to figure out what people are thinking and give instantaneous feedback," said Duan Shumin, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the Department of Medicine at Zhejiang University, explaining why developing brain-machine intelligence technology matters.

"Imagination is what is lacking in artificial intelligence. To make up for this, artificial intelligence needs to resort to human brains to figure out things it previously couldn't," Duan added.

The deal is worth more than 450 million yuan ($64.74 million), according to an official with the local government in Xihu district.

He said that the brain-machine intelligence technology will be applied in Xihu, with technological support from Zhejiang University and policy support from Xihu district.