RealTime platform to boost efficiency

Zhejiang RealTime Technology Co Ltd, a Chinese Internet of Things developer, is investing 2 billion yuan ($309 million) in a new platform to help factories improve their efficiency.

Li Shantong, chairman of the Hangzhou-based firm, said the creation of such a platform could prove just as important to China's manufacturing sector, as "an operating system is to a computer".

The Internet of Things is the network of physical objects - devices, vehicles, buildings and other items - embedded with electronics, software, sensors and network connectivity that enables these objects to collect and exchange data.