Firms use IoT to ramp up added value

Chinese companies and institutions are accelerating their application of internet of things technologies to improve their efficiency and provide added-value to their customers.

A total of 526 companies from China and overseas took part in the four-day World Internet of Things Exposition in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.

Domestic industry giants such as home appliance company Haier and telecom firm China Tower presented their latest applications related to communication, manufacturing, smart life, transportation and urban management.

An intelligent lamp post combining the functions of illumination, meteorological monitoring, environment monitoring and video surveillance was the key IoT application demonstrated by China Tower at the exhibition.

Chen Sen, deputy general manager of the marketing department of China Tower, said it started to install such lamps last year in Shuhe, Yunnan province, a famous tourist destination. So far 247 lamps are in place, involving a total investment of 28 million yuan ($4 million).

"We can collect, store, distribute and apply the information using the lamp and provide fundamental services to the local government to better develop the local travel industry. We are able to save up to 8.7 million yuan for the local government by avoiding redundant construction," he said.

Haier demonstrated the industrial IoT platform COSMOPlat which it has developed. Guan Xiangzhen, director of intelligent manufacturing services at Haier Institute of Industrial Intelligence, said the platform helps Haier to differentiate itself from its peers in the European and US markets since Haier involves users in the entire life cycle of the product.

By applying IoT technology, each home appliance device is connected to Haier's system and its information will be uploaded to the cloud. Haier will thus collect the information and discover the similarities in their use. In this sense, Haier will be able to carry out large-scale but customized production, said Guan.

Wuxi-based garment and textile giant Hodo Group has also applied IoT technology at its 1,700 brick-and-mortar menswear stores across China. By installing heat-imaging sensors and a video surveillance system, the management team will be able to monitor the sales, shop display and customer flow in real time, said Tang Hengyao, marketing manager of Hodo IoT Technology Co Ltd.

Leading global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca demonstrated its citywide chest pain center in cooperation with the local government of Wuxi, which was the first of its kind in the country.