Professor Wei Xiang builds intelligent systems that connect the physical world to artificial intelligence. The La Trobe Distinguished Professor and Cisco Research Chair of AI and IoT is turning real-world data into real-world decisions.
When Professor Wei Xiang talks about artificial intelligence (AI), he doesn’t start with algorithms or abstract theory. He starts with data: where it comes from, how it’s used, and what happens when decisions are made too far from the real world.
“AI is nothing without data,” he says. “And these days, the majority of data is actually produced by machines.”
That simple concept underpins Prof Xiang’s work as Cisco Research Chair in AI and IoT at La Trobe University, where he is also a Distinguished Professor and Founding Director of the Cisco–La Trobe Centre for AI and IoT. His focus in Innovation Central Melbourne is on building end-to-end intelligent systems that connect the physical world with real-time analytics, and then act on that information where it matters most.
IoT refers to networks of connected devices – such as sensors, cameras, and machines –which collect data from physical environments. Prof Xiang works at the point where those devices meet AI, enabling systems not just to sense what is happening, but to respond intelligently and quickly.
“That’s why IoT can’t live without AI,” he says. “And AI can’t live without IoT.”
Research built to be used
In 2020, Prof Xiang founded the Cisco–La Trobe Centre to be the first one of its kind in the world and the only one of its kind in Australia. He has shaped it around two equally important goals. “From day one, we had a two-pillar strategy,” he says. “One pillar is world-leading research. The other is research impact.” And impact only happens, he stresses, when research is implemented and used beyond the university.
“You can’t say you’ve changed the world just by publishing a paper,” he says. “Someone has to use it. That’s how you create impact on people’s lives.”
That mindset drives close collaborations within Innovation Central Melbourne, which partners with industry and public-sector partners across agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare, and the environment. One example is the Centre’s work with agricultural technology start-up Aglantis, where sensor-driven smart irrigation systems now operate at large scale on sugar cane farms in Queensland. For Prof Xiang, the significance lies in proving that advanced systems can operate reliably outside controlled laboratory conditions.
Another project speaks to national priorities well beyond agriculture. In partnership with the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Prof Xiang and his team have applied advanced AI techniques to create photo-realistic 3D digital twins of sections of the Great Barrier Reef.
The challenge is scale and complexity. Thousands of underwater photographs capture only fragments of a living structure. “If you look at thousands of pictures, they’re all two-dimensional,” Prof Xiang says. “Each one only captures a small portion of the reef.”
Using AI, those images can be ‘stitched’ into a photo-realistic 3D model that allows scientists to explore from any angle, measure precisely, and revisit over time. The result is a faster, more accurate way to understand how coral structures change and respond to external environmental disturbance.
For Prof Xiang, the value is practical. Better models help scientists assess reef health more efficiently and support better-informed decisions about protection and recovery. They also make reef science more accessible to the public. “People don’t have to jump in the water to experience the reef in three dimensions,” he says.
Jeff Jones, Director of Innovation Central Melbourne, says a common thread is clear across Prof Xiang’s work. “It’s research designed for deployment, grounded in real-world problems, and built to make a measurable difference. And that’s where the ICM and its industry partnership add value to the work.”
Industry partners interested in applying AI and IoT at scale can engage through the Cisco–La Trobe Centre for AI and IoT, working with Innovation Central Melbourne to turn research into deployed solutions.
