FROM lip reading to foldable phones and smart electricity networks, Chinese technology companies are showcasing the latest high-tech products at an ongoing expo in Southwest China. Liu Jian’s electricity network received a “Black Technology” award at a ceremony in the 2017 China International Big Data Expo in Guiyang, Guizhou Province. Black technology refers to the latest products such as hardware, software and materials that are seen as innovative and unbelievable. “I have been looking for breakthroughs in the electricity industry,” said Liu, 42. The Fengneng smart electricity network was a big breakthrough for him. It started in 2014, when he met a group from Tsinghua University at a competition in Guizhou. There, they embarked on a journey towards developing an efficient electricity network, which is now known as Fengneng. “The network can control the use of electricity smartly. Once you switch it on, a cloud computing system starts to analyze the users’ habits of using electricity,” Liu said. “It can save electricity by an average of 20 percent.” A mobile application allows users to switch on or turn off domestic appliances with a few clicks on a phone display. “The domestic appliances are just like bees collecting the honey of data for the cloud computing system network,” Liu said. “With the statistics collected and analyzed, users save energy.” Another award recipient at the show is Hydata, which has developed lip reading technology that knows what you are talking about without hearing your voice. According to Liu Qiuwen, who works with Hydata, during speaking there are multiple shapes made by the lips that relate to different sounds and various meanings. The technology works out the most likely connection between the lip shapes and words. “The company’s lip reading technology currently has an accuracy of 71 percent and 80 percent in Chinese and English, respectively,” Liu said. In addition to the top 10 Black Technologies, more than 300 exhibitors at the big data expo displayed a variety of innovative high-tech products. (Xinhua) |