High-techproductswerethehighlightoftheExpoCentralChina2017,heldinHefei,AnhuiProvince,fromMay17to19.CFPINNOVATIONisacknowledgedasaprimaryforceforpromotingeconomicdevelopment.Consequentlymanycountriesgloballyseekinnovativetechnological,industrialandmechanisticbreakthroughs.Thepositiveimpactofinnovationirrefutablyproven,itisaconceptthatleadsChina’sdevelopment.
AnhuiProvince,locatedincentral-easternChina,isanimportantpartoftheYangtzeRiverDelta.Theconstructionofthe“BeltandRoad”andtheYangtzeRiverEconomicZonehavebroughtAnhui,atthecrossroads,rareandabundantdevelopmentopportunities.
ManypeopleassociateAnhuiwithHuangshanMountain’sbreathtakingscenery,delectablecuisine,orthelonghistoryofpapermaking.However,uponpayingavisittoAnhuitheirforemostimpressionisofboldinnovation.
LeaderofTechnologicalInnovation
HowisinnovationapparentinAnhui’sscienceandtechnology?TheanswerisplaintoseeattheInstituteofAdvancedTechnology,UniversityofScienceandTechnologyofChina.LocatedinHefeiStateHi-techIndustryDevelopmentZone,theinstitute’sfocusisondevelopinghigh-techR&Dandcultivatinghigh-leveltalents.ItisintegraltoadvancingtheUniversityofScienceandTechnologyofChinatoaworld-classresearchuniversity.
OndisplayinoneoftheInstitute’shallsareexamplesofAnhui’sindependentinnovativetechnologiesandproducts.TheyincludethefirstChineseindependentR&Dplatformfortheinteractiverobot,thelargesizedliquidcrystaldisplaypanel,thegraphenebasedcomposite,microturbines,nano-waterpurificationtechnology,insulincapsules,theCheryaluminiumelectricvehicle,andtheJACiev6selectricSUV.
InAugust16,2016,Chinalaunchedworld’sfirstquantumexperimentalcommunicationssatelliteMozi,whichcanachievequantumcryptographycommunicationbetweenspaceandEarth.ThecontrolcenteroftheexperimentalquantumcommunicationsystemisattheInstituteofAdvancedTechnology,UniversityofScienceandTechnologyofChina.
OnJune16,2017,Chinawasthefirsttoachievethe1,000-kmlevelofspace-Earthtwo-wayquantumdistributionofentangledphotonpairs.Thisbroketheprevious,longstandinginternational100-kmlevelrecord,asannouncedbyPanJianwei,chiefscientistonquantumexperimentalsatelliteandvicepresidentofUniversityofScienceandTechnologyofChina.Thisexperimentalsobroughtplauditsfrominternationalexpertsinthisfieldwhohaileditas“world-leading.”
Inadditiontothequantumscientificexperiment,Anhuihasalsocontributedmanyotheruniquescientificachievements.TheyincludetheopeningoftheShanghai-Hefeisectionoftheworld’sfirstquantumcryptographynetwork.Theworld’sthinnest0.15mminformationdisplayedtouchsensorhasalsogoneintomassproduction.Moreover,TokamakattheHefeiInstituteofPhysicalScience,ChineseAcademyofSciences,hasachievedtheworld’sfirstminute-levelsteadystatehighconstraintmodeoperation.Andtheworld’sfirstintelligentinteractiverobotthatprovidescustomerservicehasbeendevelopedandputintooperation.
Innovationistheprimaryforcedrivingdevelopment.AccordingtoChineseRegionalInnovationCapacityReport2016,AnhuihasmaintaineditsninthrankinginChinaasawholeandpolepositionincentralChinaforfiveyearsrunning.Inthefirstquarterof2017,amongallindustrialenterprisesabovedesignatedsize,Anhui’shi-techindustryaddedvaluereachedRMB103.83billion,anincreaseof14.4percent,andtheproductionvalueofitsstrategicemergingindustriesreachedRMB272.36billion,a22.7percentincrease.
OnJanuary10,2017,theNationalDevelopmentandReformCommissionandtheMinistryofScienceandTechnologyofficiallyauthorizedAnhui’sconstructionofthenationalcomprehensivesciencecenterinHefei.Thisisthesecondofitskindtoreceiveofficialgovernmentapproval,thefirsthavingbeenbuiltinShanghai.ThedecisionsignifiesAnhui’sim-portantpositioninthenationalinnovationconfiguration;andalsotheimportanceofitsroleinrepresentingChinainthecompetitiveglobaltechnologyandcooperationmarket.
PROVIDEDTOCHINADAILY
Innovationistheprimaryforcedrivingdevelopment.AccordingtoChineseRegionalInnovationCapacityReport2016,AnhuihasmaintaineditsninthrankinginChinaasawholeandpolepositionincentralChinaforfiveyearsrunning.
QiDongfeng
TheCEOofAnhuiInformationInvestmentbelievesthatforinnovativestart-ups,industrializationismuchmoreimportantthantechnologyitself.Sotheevaluationindexforenterprisesinthezoneisnotexpertiseoradvancedtechnologies,butrathertheirmarketshare.
XuYulin
AccordingtoXuYulin,vicepresidentofIflytek,asofApril2017,theIflytekplatformhasacquiredonebillionusersandprovidedservicesfor300,000start-ups.Thenumberofinteractionsnowstandsat3.5billionperday.ThisimpliesthattheAIecologycenteringonIflytekisunderconstruction.
CuiZijing
ThemarketingdirectorofAnhuiMimouserevealsthatsalesofthecompany’sintelligentvoicemousehadreachedmorethanRMB40millionbyJanuary2017.Themousecanconductfast,accurateonlinesearches.Italsocontainsspeech-to-textcapabilitiesthroughvoiceidentificationandrecognizesseverallanguages.
FromTechnologytoIndustry
Innovationisthepointofintersectionbetweentechnologyandindustry.Heighteningtheindustrializationoftechnologyhasbeenahugeobstacletoinnovation.
Toacceleratetheindustrializationofartificialintelligence(AI),integratevariousresources,tosetupanindustrialplatform,AnhuiInformationInvestmentestablishedthefirstAIpresentationhallinAnhui.Named“ChinaSpeechValley,”itislocatedintheHefeiStateHi-techIndustryDevelopmentZone.
“Left-clickthemouseandspeak,andsovocallysurftheInternetandkeyinwords.”CuiZijing,marketingdirectorofAnhuiMiMouse,demonstratedthecompany’sintelligentvoicemousetoreportersinthe1,000-sqmeters“ChinaSpeechValley”experiencecenter.Uponhissaying,“WelcometoAnhui,”thecorrespondingChinesecharacterswereimmediatelydisplayedonthescreeninWord.Cuithensaid,“IwanttowatchIntheNameofPeople.”TheURLofthissoapoperaimmediatelyappearedonthescreen.Whetherforpurposesofsurfingorkeyinginthroughvoiceidentification,themousefunctionsbothaccuratelyandfast.ItisalsocompatiblewithEnglish,Russian,Japaneseandotherlanguages.ByJanuary2017salesofthemousehadreachedmorethanRMB40million.
TheintelligentvoiceandAItradesarestrategicemergingindustries.Enterprisesintheselinesaremainlystart-upcompanies,andhighlyinnovative.Buttheyhavelimitedabilitytoadapttomarketcompetition.“Theabsenceofanypolicytosupportthisplatformmakesitdifficultfortheseinnovativestartupstosucceed.”YuYanxing,therepresentativeofthestart-upAnhuiSamxvmInformationTechnologyCo.,Ltd.,introducedChinaSpeechValleyanditsfocusonsupportingintelligentandinnovativebusinessincubation.ChinaSpeechValleyprovidesservicesforenterprisesinthezonethroughsettingupvariousresourcesharingplatformsthatimprovetheircooperationanddevelopment.Ithasalsobecomeanimportantstageforenterprisestopromotetheirproductsandinvestinthemarket.
“Forinnovativestart-ups,industrializationismuchmoreimportantthantechnologyitself.Sotheevaluationindexforenterprisesinthezoneisnotexpertiseoradvancedtechnologies,butrathertheirmarketshare,”CEOofAnhuiInformationInvestmentQiDongfengsaid.Qiwentontosaythatinordertofacilitateenterprises’morerapidentryintothemarket,beforeaproductisreleasedaprofessionalmentorteam,comprisingCEOsoftechnologycompaniesorinvestmentexperts,providesthemwithguidance.Meanwhile,duringthemarketingprocessChinaSpeechValleyholdsandparticipatesinmanyscienceandtechnologyexhibitionstoexpandtheexposureofR&Dproducts.Italsoproactivelybuildsvariousresource-sharingplatformsthatpromotethemonthemarket.
AsmallrobotusedintheelectronicsindustryisalsoabletowriteChinesecalligraphy.UncreditedphotosbyZhengLiang
IntelligentvoicetechnologyisusedintoysdevelopedbyIflytek.Technologymustbeappliedtoproducts,whichshallbedevelopedintoindustries.Andsingleenterprisesmustconvergeintointegratedzones.“TheChinaSpeechValleyexperiencecenternotonlyhelpsenterprisestodealwithmarketingdifficulties,butmoreimportantly,utilizesthecentralmodeleffectstopromoteindustrialagglomeration,soattractingmoreandmoreartificialintelligence-relatedindustriestoChinaSpeechValley,”QiDongfengsaid.
Inthefuture,ChinaSpeechValleywillincubatemorethan1,000companiesandcultivateanumberofgiantenterprises,soformingastrengthenedAIindustrialchain.Atthesametime,ChinaSpeechValleywillutilizethebenefitsstemmingfromanindustrialcluster.TheindustrialscaleisexpectedtoreachRMB100billion.
LeadingtheEraofAI
OnFebruary3,2017,theNewYorkTimespublishedanarticleonAIdevelopmenttrendsinChinaandtheU.S.,givinghighpraisetotheleadingtechnologyofIflytekCo.,Ltd.LiuQingfeng,chairmanofIflytek,proudlyannouncedthatfromintelligentvoicetoAI,Iflytekhastheworld’smostadvancedalgorithms,andthisisputtingthecompanyattheforefrontofthesector.
“NobodyinChinahadexploredtheintelligentvoiceindustrywhenwefirststarted.Ourcompanyincurredlossesduringthefirstfouryears,andbythefifthyearourprofitsjustaboutcoveredtheloss,”LiuQingfengsaid.
Lookingbackoverthe18yearsofprogress,VicePresidentofIflytekXuYulintoldthereporter,“Innovationandpersistencehavebeenourmostpreciousresources.”XurecalledthatIflytekihadbeenoffered,butrejectedmanychancestoturnaquickprofit.
Havingprogressedfroman18-memberteamandexperiencedan18-yearexpansion,Iflytekhasbecomeaworld-classintelligentvoiceenterprisewithamarketvalueofmorethanRMB40billion.Itsproductsnowcover27languages,andthoseinChineseandEnglishconstitutetheglobalNo.1.ThisChinesebrandhasachievedworldwiderecognition.
In2014,astheartificialintelligenceeraapproached,Iflytekproposeda“newsuperflybrain”plan.Theaimwastomakerobotsablenotonlytolistenandspeakbutalsounderstandandthink,sotocreateaChineseintelligentcognitiveengine.Thiswillleadtothefutureapplicationofintelligencetodomestictasks,education,customerservice,healthcare,andotherareas.Andin2015,Iflytekredefinedthecriteriaforhuman-computerinteractionintheInternetofThingseraandreleasedtheAIUI–ahuman-computerinteractiveinterfacethatrepresentsamilestoneintheAIindustry.Furthermore,in2016,therapidgrowthofusersandstart-upteamsrelatedtotheIflytekAIplatformledoveramillionpeopletomassentrepreneurshipandinnovation.
OnApril26,2016,PresidentXiJinpingvisitedanexhibitiononAnhui’sinnovativescientificresults.HealsowatchedtheIflytekintelligencevoiceandAIpresentation.XihighlycommendedtheirachievementsandencouragedthemtofocusonR&D.HealsohopedthatIflytekwouldmaintainitsleadingroleandsimultaneouslyapplythecoretechnologiestoeverydaylife.
XuYulinacknowledgedthisasgreatencouragementtoIflytek.“ThiswillinspireustomakemoreR&Deffortstobringthepeoplebetterservice.”XualsomentionedthatIflytekispromotingmanynewapplicationsfortheeducation,finance,medicine,informationsecurityandotherfields.
AsinApril2017,theIflytekplatformhadacquiredonebillionusersandprovidedservicesfor300,000start-ups.Thenumberofinteractionsnowstandsat3.5billiontimesperday.ThisimpliesthattheAIecologycenteringonIflytekisunderconstruction.
Artificialintelligenceinfuturewillnotbecompetitionbetweentechnologies,norcompetitionbetweenenterprises,butcompetitionbetweenecologies.“Facedwithopportunitiesandchallenges,Iflytekisconfidentofbecomingaworld-classgiantITenterprise,”XuYulinconcluded.
TheintelligentvoiceandAItradesarestrategicemergingindustries.enterprisesintheselinesaremainlystart-upcompanies,andhighlyinnovative.Buttheyhavelimitedabilitytoadapttomarketcompetition.
ECOLOGIES
Artificialintelligenceinfuturewillnotbecompetitionbetweentechnologies,norcompetitionbetweenenterprises,butcompetitionbetweenecologies.