The 2017 World Internet of Things Exposition kicked off in Wuxi on Sept. 10. The four-day event has pooled a great number of VIPs from related areas of IoT.
Scholars and insiders from the IoT industry gathered in a high-end talk on the afternoon of Sept. 10, to discuss the opportunities and challenges that the industry faces, so as to find new momentum for its development in China.
“The internet of things is not one thing. It’s about thousands, maybe tens of thousands of applications. It’ll be dozens of multibillion dollar companies and all kinds of different areas.” Curtis Carlson, former president and CEO of SRI International pointed out.
The development of IoT is bringing much benefit. “A medical IoT system based on the sensor technology could help people who have walking or other physical problems resume their body functions.” Dr. Carlson raised one simply example.
More is yet to come.
“Just think about the robotic technology that was not possible a few years ago. We are going to see endless versions of IoT and it will create endless new applications beyond anything we could imagine.”
The prevailing mobile payment, shared bicycles and mobile car-hailing platforms are all signs of development in IoT. However, for China, despite the huge progress made in the IoT applications, the industry is still calling for a solid fundamental infrastructure, according to Chen Dapeng, deputy director of Institute of Microelectronics of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The key of IoT lies in informatization, where China has been a late comer. The rapid development of IoT applications requires a strong industrial base, on which more benefit could be sought.
Apart from that, cooperation among countries is also becoming increasingly important. “The miracle of the internet was that there is really no country barrier.” said Michael Condry, senior IEEE member and former CTO of Intel.
“The beauty shines when scientists work together. And my opinion is that the more countries and scientists work together, the more advanced we will become.”
As opportunities come along with the booming of IoT, more innovations are underway. Global Alliance for Innovators and Entrepreneurs (GA), a cross-country platform that offers matching selections, policy support, innovative projects, global connections and so on, is to serve as a bridge for multi-national innovative cooperation.
As honorary chairman of the board founder of GA, Dr. Carlson suggested that innovation is not only about technology and products, but also about the whole process of a project. For emerging companies to the IoT applications, innovation in management and customer maintenance is of equal importance as in technology.
