The CVC celebrates 30 years of research and innovation in computer vision and artificial intelligence

To commemorate the 30th Anniversary, the Centre organised a series of activities throughout the year 2025, including an institutional celebration at the UAB's Casa Convalescència. The event was attended by Minister for Research and Universities Núria Montserrat and UAB Rector Javier Lafuente, and brought together professionals in the field of AI research and innovation, as well as institutional representatives, companies and institutions collaborating with the CVC during these three decades.

In welcoming the attendees, Rector Lafuente said that “a campus like the UAB facilitates contact between scientific disciplines and promotes cooperation between centres like the CVC, which generates lines of applied research in various fields, deploys a very relevant activity in the training of young researchers, and is actively involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching”. Rector Lafuente thanked all the people who have contributed to making the CVC a centre of international excellence “and especially Juanjo Villanueva, its first director and founder, and Josep Lladós, current director, for their work and leadership”.

For the director of the CVC, Josep Lladós, "celebrating 30 years is a collective success that fills us with pride. It is also an opportunity to look ahead and promote new horizons in a world in constant transformation, in which research and innovation must be at the service of society". In this sense, he emphasised that the anniversary is also an opportunity to highlight the impact that computer vision research has had on society, as well as to strengthen links with institutions, companies and citizens.

Minister for Research and Universities Nuria Montserrat welcomed these 30 years of success of the CVC: “it is a model of what we want from the government: to democratise research so that it contributes to the welfare of people and society,” she said, reviewing examples of real impact that have generated the applied research of the centre.

Thirty years of impact

The CVC has become a key player in the technological transformation of sectors such as health, mobility, industry, heritage and the environment, with a clear vocation for social return and a firm commitment to the positive impact on the region.

With a track record marked by excellence in research and transfer, the CVC has published more than 3,300 scientific articles and participated in more than 250 public projects. Its research, oriented towards the common good, has given rise to technological solutions applied in multiple fields with a direct impact on society.

In the field of health, the Centre has developed diagnostic assistance systems, tools for planning medical interventions and image analysis technologies that improve the detection and monitoring of diseases. In the field of mobility, the Centre has developed projects aimed at autonomous driving, particularly in rural environments, as well as the development of the CARLA simulator, which has been adopted worldwide as an open platform for research and innovation in smart vehicles.

CVC research also reaches the world of heritage and culture, with solutions for the analysis and preservation of historical documents and the verification of documents, as well as industrial applications that optimise production processes, favour more efficient agriculture and promote sustainability and environmental protection.

Since its beginnings, the centre has had a firm commitment to technology transfer, with more than 620 collaborations with companies and the foundation of 13 spin-offs. This has consolidated it as a benchmark in applied research and a connection with the productive fabric.

With a staff of more than 250 professionals, the CVC is a breeding ground for talent that continuously trains new generations of researchers and experts, with more than 180 PhD theses defended and an extensive network of alumni present in institutions such as MIT and leading companies such as Google, Meta, Apple and Nvidia.

The CVC within Catalonia's AI ecosystem 

In 2024 the centre reached a record number of 259 people connected, a growth that reflects the moment of expansion that AI is experiencing on a global scale and the growing role of the CVC in this scenario.

This 30th anniversary comes at a key moment for AI. In the midst of the expansion of artificial intelligence, the CVC reaffirms its commitment to responsible, open and people-centered AI, at the service of society and the region. The Centre is a key player in the Catalonia.AI strategy, driven by the Government of Catalonia, coordinating initiatives such as AIRA, the alliance for the promotion of AI research and talent generation in Catalonia, and the RDI-IA NETWORK, to provide the Catalan AI ecosystem with mechanisms for technology transfer and knowledge valorisation.