Quantum communication, artificial skin, brain-machine interface in focus at Tencent summit

Top experts and scholars from the fields of physics, astronomy and bioscience shared their views, the latest research findings and breakthroughs on cutting-edge science and technology at WE Summit 2020 held by Chinese tech behemoth Tencent on Saturday.

Pan Jianwei, a quantum physicist and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the quantum communication provides an unprecedented secure communication method in principle and the use of the quantum computing offers very powerful computing capacities, which can be used for the research of various complex systems.

"With the development of quantum computation, we can apply it to speed up the decryption of classical codes, weather forecasting, financial analysis, drug design and so on," Pan said.

"After 10 to 15 years of hard work, we hope to be able to completely develop space-ground integrated quantum communication network. Based on this, we can apply it in the fields of national defense, government affairs, finance and energy, which is to lay the foundation for the next-generation national information security ecosystem," he noted.

"In our opinion, there will be great changes in electronic industry in the future. We will use human skin-like electronic devices to communicate with each other. This is what we call the concept of electronic skin," said Bao Zhenan, a chemist and department chair and K. K. Lee professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University.

Bao said thanks to all the researches they have done in the past few years, they now have a series of materials and electronic devices which enable them to prove that artificial skin is possible and the concept has been demonstrated.

She noted that artificial skin has inspired them in many ways. For instance, they have produced a blood pressure meter made from artificial skin that can be attached onto a newborn or prematurely born baby's body.

Miguel Nicolelis, neuroscientist and professor of neuroscience at Duke University, shared his views on brain-machine interface, which means connecting brains of living animals or human beings to electronic, mechanical and even virtual devices.

Nicolelis helped a paraplegic young man kick a soccer ball with the aid of a mind-controlled robotic exoskeleton at the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil.

"We have always been inspired by people to improve lives with technology," said David Wallerstein, chief exploration officer of Tencent, at the summit, adding "the future of the planet in a broader sense helps us as a company think more about how we can apply new technologies to address the great challenges around us."

Tencent's WE Summit has been held for eight consecutive years, focusing on important scientific issues related to the future of mankind, exploring how to use technology to change human lives.