Guangdong set to make event a high-level platform for inventors and entrepreneurs

Inventions and innovations including high-end equipment, artificial intelligence and biomedicine were showcased at the 25th National Exhibition of Inventions in the city of Foshan, South China's Guangdong province, on Dec 10-12.

Themed "invention and innovation, self-reliance and self-strengthening", the exhibition featured more than 2,300 inventions and innovations by creators from across China in a space measuring 40,000 square meters.

The exhibits were organized under national-level high-tech innovations; inventions and innovations by institutes of higher education; and energy conservation and environmental protection, among others.

Liu Hua, who heads the China office of the World Intellectual Property Organization, said at the opening ceremony that China has established itself as a global leader in innovation.

"China ranks 12th in the Global Innovation Index 2021, up two places from last year, and is the only middle-income economy to enter the top 15," she said.

Wang Xi, vice-governor of Guangdong province, said in his address that Guangdong is ready to turn the exhibition into a high-level and high-quality platform for inventors, scientists and entrepreneurs.

One exhibit was a technology for producing a high-performance material used in sound damping and vibration reduction, which was developed by Shandong Aozo and the Beijing Institute of Technology. It is proving key to solving noise and vibration problems, which had hindered China's progress in areas such as railways, advanced equipment and large-scale buildings.

Another project on display was an automatic book scanner called ScanBot. It was developed by Bisheng Intelligent Technology based in the eastern city of Fuzhou, Fujian province.

ScanBot is capable of turning pages, memorizing and making sense of words, mimicking the functions of a human's hands, eyes and brain.

It can scan a 100-page document in five minutes and produce a proofed, organized scanned copy that can be converted into different formats.

The exhibition also set up an area to display inventions and innovations by teenagers.

Zhong Mingxuan, 7, brought his invention, a smart public toilet that helps to prevent the spread of contagious diseases, to the exhibition.

The toilet lid opens upon detecting the wave of a hand, triggering a sensor. A second wave sets off an automatic toilet disinfection process.

The toilet is capable of performing contactless temperature measurement, monitors the number of users and collects rainwater for flushing.

At an awards ceremony held during the exhibition, WIPO announced winners in the categories of best inventions, women and teenagers.

The WIPO Award for the best invention went to Zhou Shaoqi for the application of new biological technologies in removing nitrogen from wastewater during fertilizer production.

Song Chang won the WIPO Award for the best invention by a woman for a type of high-precision hot-rolled steel sheet for hydraulic generators.

The WIPO Award for the best invention by a teenager went to Xue Haoyuan, who invented an eye-controlled electric wheelchair.

A skills and tech innovation competition for countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and members of the BRICS bloc－consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa－was also held during the exhibition. A total of 204 contestants competed in 10 categories.