An ecosystem of businesses in Wuxi is at the center of the global push for the integration of networks with human activity.
From cameras the size of a bullet that scout your gut for stomach cancer, to a grid of sensors in signs, stoplights, roads and other infrastructure that communicate with automated vehicles city or even nationwide, an ecosystem of businesses in Wuxi is at the center of the global push for the integration of networks with human activity.
That integration, called the Internet of Things [IOT], is leading to a revolution in intelligent vehicles, automated manufacturing, robotics, and new energy development that will transform lives. China, through its strategic industry development plans that will help its industries move up the global value chain, is betting on Wuxi as a focal point for that advancement.
IOT industries have generated around $540 billion in revenue in China, according to Wu Zhenlong, governor of Jiangsu province, speaking at the opening of the World IOT Expo in Wuxi in mid-September. Wu said that artificial intelligence and the digital economy will “bring about an unprecedented revolution” and be a major driving force for high-quality economic growth.
Wuxi is trying to pilot the LTE-V2X [Vehicle to Everything] system, that is aimed at saving lives and making traffic more manageable and efficient. Sensors have been placed roadside infrastructure in the pilot zone to communicate with vehicles with drivers and possibly later autonomous vehicles, showcasing how urban roadscapes could be in the future.
“There are over 13,000 accidents a year in Jiangsu province, and reductions in that can only be realized if cars are smarter,” Xu Wenwei, Huawei’s chief marketing officer said.
Xu envisions up to 500,000 roadside cameras and a million or more traffic lights in China being equipped with sensors that will communicate with vehicles to guide them safely, alter speeds and choose efficient routes. The process is only starting in Wuxi, with currently only around 240 intersections piloted.
As our vehicle cruises down the road, a warning from a voice announces the potential for a collision. A pedestrian shows up on the screen, promoting the vehicle to slow. An ambulance racing up from behind results in warnings sounding for us to pull out of the way. It appears to work well, but one glitch and it could go horribly wrong.
“We are only at the very early state of autonomous vehicle and artificial intelligence and if a machine is not trained well or if the machine is not guided clearly the result will be dangerous,” Xu said.
Huawei and partner such as China Mobile, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Traffic Management Research Institute of the Ministry of Public Security hope eventually that V2X standards can be adopted nationally and perhaps globally, though as with the rollout of 5G development worldwide, there will be intense competition not only for the technology but about who decides the standards.
Throughout Wuxi you can see businesses transforming to adopt IOT technologies. Envision, a Wuxi-based leader in wind turbine technology, is increasingly adopting IOT technologies as part of a global management system that utility companies can use to better utilize renewable energy, stored energy and traditional energy as it is fed into grid system.
SunRa, which produces electric vehicles, is partnering with Shenfeng Express, one of China’s top delivery companies, to provide drivers with all electric bikes that will reduce urban air and noise pollution.
The United Kingdom’s AstraZeneca is working with local hospitals in Wuxi to provide better care through developing technological solutions that reduce waiting times, increase response times in emergencies, and bring better care for patients with chronic diseases like lung cancer and gastrointestinal disorders.
Miracle Automation, which produced production lines that seven out of ten vehicles produced in China are made upon, is increasingly fine-tuning its automated conveying systems to make the vehicle production more efficient. The company is also increasingly moving toward producing lines that assist new energy equipment maker and has also set up systems that can manage the whole lifecycle of vehicles, from creation to the eventual recycling.
While these revolutions in IOT are creating both great excitement and great anxiety, as sensors and screens pervade our lives, concerns rise about invasions of privacy and the security of the vast amounts of data that are being collected. Concerns rise about workers being displaced by machines.
“We all feel anxious about the complexity, we want to keep up, not be left behind,” Sun Pishu, CEO of data company Inspur Group said.
New technological tools could both cause advancement or harm, depending on how they are used or who wields them. Educating the public about the costs and benefits will be paramount in whether they are effectively adopted.
Source: The Organizing Committee of 2018 World Internet Expo
