IoT (Internet of Things) applications took center stage at the 2017 Cross-Strait Startup Competition that just wound up its three-month run in late August at Shanghai Jinshan Cross-Strait Youth Entrepreneurship Base, with China-based ZiFiSense clinching the championship with its low power wide area (LPWA) IoT network.
According to Yen Xiaojie, ZiFiSense's marketing director, the firm's ZETA-branded LPWA network can bring connected intelligence to things, anytime and anywhere. Yen said the biggest harvest his company has scored in participating in the contest is that it has built connections with Taiwan-based Advantech, a leading player in industrial control and IoT applications, in addition to its IoT network winning recognition from Advantech, a member of the judge panel for the competition event.
ZiFiSense is partnering with ZTE, a China telecom and information tech firm, using the latter's RoseFinch 7100 NB-IoT chip to realize NB-IoT network applications, Yen said. The IoT chip modules jointly developed by the two companies have been successfully applied to LED smart lighting systems installed in many major cities in China, and the modules can also be used to conduct remote control of LED lighting equipment set up in harbors and production plants, Yen added.
Another IoT application awarded at the event was a modularized farming service robot developed by a Shanghai citizen, named Wang Jinyue. Quitting his job as a high-pay white-collar company executive years ago, Wang has developed a series of farm-use robots that can perform rice transplanting and weeding and can collect data concerning pH value of soil, pesticide residuals, weather and humidity, so as to help farmers grow suitable agricultural products and secure consistent product quality.
There were a total of 475 innovation startup projects joining the competition, including 210 from China, 192 from Taiwan and 73 from other countries. Besides IoT applications, participants also showed strong innovation momentums in IoT, AR, and VR applications as well as 3D printing, new materials, smart retail, smart living, and Internet+ areas.
The event was mainly designed to encourage young talent in Taiwan and China to work out more innovation startup projects associated with advanced technologies, and provide them with opportunities for locating potential angel investors or customers to materialize the projects.
