The ongoing 2017 World Internet of Things Expo has witnessed brainstorms in IoT technology and application, industrial development and innovation through the launch of 10 forums and 8 series activities.
With the traditional dividend of industrial development disappearing, the Internet of Things is becoming a new engine for the industry to take off, and its explosion will provide an effective path for economic transformation and upgrading.
Ranging from intelligent manufacturing and industrial internet forum and sensor and intelligent system application forum to the press conference for new technologies and new products, the IoT Expo has witnessed successive brain storms dealing with the hot issues such as hot to make the brick-and-mortar economy integrated with the IoT and how to materialize the transformation of the traditional manufacturing sector.
Wang Hongtian, CEO of Inspur Group Co.Ltd, said ‘The internet of things has greatly helped our industrial production. Equipped with these data and the ensuing access to the data in other fields, we are able to expand industrial transformation to a larger scale for greater production efficiency. I think it's a big help.’
John Senese, Engineering Manager of Panduit Corporation, USA, said ‘A lot of hardware loaded with sensors not only facilitates the work of the engineers, but also makes it easier to make decisions. The sensor technology will help the industrial transformation to upgrade into the next stage of development.’
The charm of IoT is not only in itself, but also in its ability to connect the existing industry and factor resources through mutual infiltration, integration or fission for the realization of the extension and breakthrough of the industrial value chain.
Such integration and transformation, in essence, is to make production more convenient and to make life more quality-oriented.
The participants suggested that the brick-and-mortar enterprises should find suitable technologies and means for their own purposes amid the pursuit of intelligentization.
Li Peigen, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said ‘In the past automation replaces human physical energy and now intelligence will replace a considerable amount of human brainpower such as the routine work of many engineers, which are replaceable with the use of artificial intelligence.’
Xi Ning, RAS President Elect 2016-2017 of IEEE, said ‘The concept of intelligentization is also evolving, but the purpose is basically the same, which is to make products more personalized and suit the needs of different products from system to system. ‘
China's Internet of Things industry saw its output value exceed 900 billion yuan last year with a compound annual growth rate of over 25 percent. With a huge market, a complete industrial chain and the world's biggest mobile telecommunications network, China will soon take the lead in some frontier IoT sub-sectors. The market size of China's IoT industry is expected to exceed 1.5 trillion yuan in 2020, up from over 900 billion yuan in 2016.
In the eyes of the attendees, the momentum behind this rapid development requires a sustainable driving force.
Thomas Noltin, chairman of German Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Research Institute, said ‘Jiangsu-based enterprises have made rapid progress in the application of the IoT technology, including the level of hardware and software and the narrowing gap with Germany. The challenge is the problem of talent and a pool of talent is needed to support the continued competitiveness of the advanced manufacturing industry.’
Ma Yun, chairman of Alibaba Holdings, said ‘The future is no longer the problem of Made in China or Made in the USA but Made in the Internet. The future manufacturing industry is all done on the Internet. Please remember that the future manufacturing industry is essentially a service industry.’
