Well-being advances focus of attention at capital's showcase

Innovation projects initiated by Beijing companies and related to improvements in people's well-being have been in the spotlight at the 2018 National Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week, which ran from Oct 9 to 15.

This year, the projects ranged from medical services and artificial intelligence to rural revitalization.

Among the displays was an endoscopic surgery robot presented by Beijing Surgerii Technology, which can carry out more accurate surgery.

The machine's core innovation is its snake-like, remote-controlled flexible manipulator arms, which can help surgeons to perform accurate operations, said Xu Kai, a professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the developer of the robot.

"With the aid of the robot, we can perform more sophisticated operations than the surgeons who conduct operations," Xu said.

The snake-like manipulator arms make the robot the first of its kind in the world, Xu said.

"We developed the robot not to replace people but to assist surgeons to do operations," Xu said.

To date, the manipulator has won invention patents in China and the United States and will be put through clinical trials next year.

"We hope the cost-efficient equipment will provide better treatment services once it is adopted in hospitals," Xu said.

Another high-tech project was an AI chip, developed by Photoncounts, a Beijing-based chip developer.

The chip, with a high calculation rate and low power consumption, can be used in fields such as computing, self-driving cars and smartphones. As it is totally self-developed in China, it can be processed in the domestic market, said Bai Bing, founder of the company.

"We are capable of designing good chips in this country but lack high-grade lithography machines to complete their processing."

"We can complete the whole production, ranging from research and development, designs to processing, without reliance on foreign machines," he added.

The AI chip is expected to be put into production next year and reach the market in 2020, Bai said.

In addition, agricultural innovation is also being highlighted during the event.

The thumbelina kiwi berry is a new type of small berry fruit with smooth hairless edible skin, produced by Beijing Qingshui Yunfeng Fruit Industry Co.

"In cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, we have selected this new variety and used advanced technologies in its planting," said Shen Zhen, founder of the company.

The technologies include a double irrigation system, which combines drip irrigation to save water and spray irrigation for disaster prevention, Shen said.

The selected variety has a good flavor and a short storage period, Shen said, adding that these are the characteristics of an exquisite agricultural product that can be produced in Beijing.

The fruit has been planted at the Qingshui township in Mentougou district of Beijing and the plantation covers 66.67 hectares.

"Agriculture is an industry that matters not only for basic foods but also environmental protection," Shen said.

"Beijing is a good place to develop agriculture due to its huge local demand," he said.

The company has also paid attention to the local communities. Employing local farmers in their plantations helps to raise them out of poverty, Shen said.

liangkaiyan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/16/2018 page7)