‘Created in China’ takes centrestage at CES show
China has once again proven itself as a global force for technology innovation at CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics show, which was held in Las Vegas earlier this month.
About one-third of the event’s 4,229 exhibitors came from China, of which 482 alone featured “Shenzen” – China’s Silicon Valley – in their name.
The numbers, however impressive, do not tell the whole story. What was notable was the quality of the head-turning technologies showcased by Chinese firms at this year’s event.
Flagship products included Byton, a Chinese-backed start-up founded by former BMW and Apple employees, which profiled its luxury smart car. The vehicle features facial recognition access, a 40-inch dashboard display, Amazon’s voice-based service Alexa, real-time health monitoring, gesture controls, and cloud storage, among other innovations. More importantly, when the car goes on sale next year it will sell for about half the price of a Tesla.
Baidu, China’s Internet search giant, unveiled Apollo 2.0, the latest version of its open-source autonomous driving platform. Supported by four computing platforms – Intel, NXP, Nvidia and Renesas – the new version includes updated HD mapping and support for cheaper sensors, and enables vehicles to drive autonomously on simple streets. Baidu launched Apollo 2.0 to accelerate the development of self-driving vehicles.
With more than 90 partners on board, including Ford, Nvidia, Bosch, TomTom and Hyundai, Baidu’s group president and chief operating officer, Qi Lu, said the rapidity of Apollo’s development was a further example of “China speed”.
Changhong moved the needle in home entertainment with the C7TU, its 4K laser television. While most laser televisions in the market use a single laser, the C7TU is the first to have three lasers – one each for red, green and blue – which significantly improves colour performance. It also has an artificial intelligence platform which uses voice-print identification to automatically switch to a user’s preferences and provides additional services, such as content recommendation based on previous viewing habits.
China has come a long way since its homegrown companies started attending CES in significant numbers a few years back.
Fears from international technology firms that Chinese start-ups were mostly there to steal their IP have pretty much dissipated. The country and its innovators are also now doing much more than simply sticking their flag in the ground to say “we can innovate too”.
Clearly, this year’s show marks a significant milestone for Chinese technologists. Many of their new products and services are truly groundbreaking. CES now serves as a springboard for their increasing forays into key international markets, such as the US and Europe, sending a clear message to the world: The days of “Made in China” are gone. Long live “Created in China”.