With local technology companies expanding their global presence and strengthening their innovation capabilities, Tongxiang in Zhejiang province is accelerating the development of its robotics, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence industries, according to the city's business leaders.
The city, which hosts the annual World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit, has been leveraging its technological resources and industrial base to attract innovative businesses and support their expansion. This year's summit will be held from Nov 2 to 5 in Wuzhen, a historic water town in Tongxiang.
Singapore's Changi Airport placed its fourth order for commercial cleaning robots from Tongxiang-based CenoBots earlier this year, highlighting the growing global reach of the city's technology companies.
"Cleaning robots are being used in more places," said Shen Jizhong, CenoBots' co-founder and vice-president. "It is much like electric vehicles becoming a familiar sight on the roads — a trend that is gathering pace."
CenoBots has sold products in more than 40 countries and regions. Its customers include British retailer Tesco, the University of Minnesota and pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. The company has supplied about 600 autonomous cleaning robots for Tesco Express stores across the United Kingdom so far this year.
While CenoBots focuses on service robots, TEEMO, another technology company in Tongxiang, develops drive-by-wire skateboard chassis and core components for autonomous vehicles used in last-mile delivery, patrols and logistics.
One of its customers, autonomous delivery-vehicle maker Zelos in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, won all contracts under China Post's procurement program for 7,000 autonomous delivery vehicles.
Other companies in Tongxiang are also developing technologies to help machines better perceive and navigate the real world. Dayan Technology provides synthetic data and development tools for autonomous driving and humanoid robotics companies. Its haptic gloves and multi-camera headsets capture human movement and touch data to help train robots to grasp and handle objects.
Freetech develops intelligent-driving systems and 4D imaging radar for passenger and commercial vehicles. Its AI-powered production-planning system has increased overall efficiency by more than 20 percent at its manufacturing base in Wuzhen, the company said.
"Combining transportation with specialized functions will be a key trend in the future," said Zhang Lin, Freetech's founder and CEO.
AI applications in Tongxiang also extend beyond mobility. Shuhan Technology said its system reduced raw-material consumption by 6 percent at a coal chemical plant, while SENAD develops robots for loading, unloading, sorting and pallet handling.
In computing infrastructure, SynthCool is developing two-phase liquid-cooling systems for AI computing centers. The company said its technology can remove more than 3,000 watts of heat from a single chip.
