New technologies impress visitors at 2021 World Manufacturing Convention

New business models and forms, new technologies, and new products in the manufacturing sector amazed visitors at the 2021 World Manufacturing Convention (WMC) held in Hefei, east China’s Anhui province, from Nov. 19 to 22.

Over 400 enterprises, including leading companies in emerging industries and hidden champion enterprises in the manufacturing industry segments, showcased their achievements at the event’s exhibition area, which covered an area of 43,000 square meters.

To make the spillovers of the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) held earlier this month continue, the 2021 WMC, also the 4th of its kind, invited a number of internationally renowned companies that took part in the CIIE to be exhibitors at the grand event of the manufacturing sector.

Liu Hao, a resident in Lu’an city, Anhui province, was so amazed by the foldable screen of the laptop he saw at the exhibition booth of LCFC (Hefei) Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. at the 2021 WMC that he immediately told his friends about it.

The foldable screen has been applied mainly to increase the portability of laptops, said Qian Li, director of public affairs at LCFC, adding that users can switch between the modes of laptop screens as needed in life and work.

At the artificial intelligence (AI) exhibition area of the 2021 WMC, a robot that plays Go game (Weiqi) attracted a steady stream of visitors.

Equipped with an AI engine supported by reinforcement learning technologies, the robot has reached the level of 9-dan professionals, the highest level for Weiqi players, according to Huang Jie, an algorithm researcher at iFLYTEK, a Chinese intelligent speech and AI company that developed the robot.

It can be used for Go game training, helping improve players’ strategies in a targeted manner and providing auxiliary information for professional players to think more creatively, Huang pointed out, adding that interaction with the robot can also help more teenagers understand the charm of Weiqi culture.

A contactless smart integrated cooker exhibited at the 2021 WMC was also eye-catching. Because of interactive aerial imaging technology, the cooker’s buttons are shown virtually in the air, thus effectively avoiding oil stains, according to Geng Dexue, a staff member of Anhui Easpeed Technology Co., Ltd., developer of the smart integrated cooker.

“The interactive aerial imaging technology we developed independently has been applied in health care and other fields. At the beginning of this year, contactless self-service machines equipped with the technology were put into use in many hospitals in Anhui,” Geng noted.

Many cutting-edge technologies and advanced products were also put on display at the event, including quantum computing, high-end new energy vehicles, the 6th-generation flexible display screen, and panchromatic laser.

The 2021 WMC not only provided a stage for products but generated orders and benefits for companies.

During the event, China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology Co., Ltd., based in Changzhou city, east China’s Jiangsu province, inked an agreement with Hefei to expand its industrial base in the city, according to Peng Danli, project director of the company.

The company signed a cooperation project worth over 20 billion yuan (about $3.13 billion) with Changfeng county, Hefei, in August, Peng disclosed.

Among all the projects signed during the WMC held in the past three years, 1,643 projects or 93.8 percent had been registered, and 1,518 projects or 86.6 percent had seen their construction work begin as of the end of October, said Zhang Hongqiang, leader of a team established to facilitate the signing of projects at the WMC as well as director of a bureau under the commerce department of the province, adding that 662.16 billion yuan of funds for the projects had been in place.