The exhibition area of iFLYTEK in Smart China Expo (Photo by CQNEWS)

By Keqiao Cheng, EDITOR

When AlphaGo defeated World Go Champions Lee Sedol in 2016, it shocked the world.

With more and more A.I. plays a part in our lives, say restaurant waiter, bank lobby manager, automobile manufacturers and so on, we know it facilitates our life in a way out of imagination.

iFLYTEK, a pioneer in China's intelligent industry, is taking the lead in A.I. Humanoid Question Answering Project, which is listed as a key project in China’s 863 Program. The goal is to make the A.I. participate in the National Higher Education Entrance Examination (known as gaokao in Chinese) and pass the admission scores of top-tier universities by 2020.

iFLYTEK has settled its headquarters of southwest China in Chongqing two years ago and will release some smart products on the coming Smart China Expo.

iFLYTEK, ranked as one of the world's most intelligent companies

Starting from the Intelligent Voice technology 19 years ago, iFLYTEK gradually becomes a leader in A.I. field, possessing a series of core technologies.

“Let the robot speak like the human is the mission of voice synthesis,” says Lou Chao, the general manager of iFLYTEK Southwest China branch.

The voice synthesis technology of iFLYTEK is unique because it is the only one that makes the synthesized voice of Chinese and English even better than real human pronunciation.

In navigation apps, you may hear the voices of Chinese celebrities. Actually, it is not the real voice but the use of the synthesis technology.

iFLYTEK even made a documentary named China Reinvents Itself with CCTV, which revivifies the voice of the late famous Chinese dubbing master Li Yi.

In June 2017, iFLYTEK was enlisted on the world's 50 most intelligent companies by the MIT Technology Review, ranking sixth in the world and the first in China.

In Blizzard Challenge, which is the world’s most important voice synthesis contest, iFlytek has ranked up consecutive wins for 13 years.

Robots participating in gaokao

What is even more shocking for us may be the robots taking China’s gaokao.

The A.I. Humanoid Question Answering Project is a crucial part of iFLYTEK Hyper Brain Program. According to Lou Chao, the goal is to enable robots to participate in gaokao and pass the admission scores of top-tier universities by 2020.

On June 7 of 2017, the A.I.-MATHS Robot from this project participated in the math test of gaokao in Chengdu. Under the condition of been disconnected with the question database and the Internet, and with no human interference, the robot solved the problem through the integrated logical reasoning platform, and finished two math tests in 22 minutes and 10 minutes, respectively.

In the end, it scored 105 points and 100 points respectively (out of 150 points). When Lou Chao talked about their project, he showed much confidence.

In addition, the A.I. Medical Assistant Robot has participated in the National Qualification Examination for Medical Practitioners 2017 in Anhui Province and scored 456 points. This grade greatly exceeded the minimal admission requirement of 360 points and ranked in the top 4% of the 530,000 candidates. This robot has been employed already in several hospitals in China.

For iFlytek, the destination of a robot is not merely hearing and speaking, but thinking and reacting like humankind, which is being realized step by step by the A.I. Humanoid Question Answering Robot.

Smart experiences in Smart China Expo

At the forthcoming Smart China Expo, iFLYTEK will bring a full range of products including smart education, smart administration, smart medical care, smart customer service and among others. It also will release some important new A.I. products and innovative industrial applications.

Visitors could learn about A.I. technology in the iFLYTEK exhibition area, and experience its star products like iFLYTEK Translator, Alpha Egg, etc.

For instance, the Smart Class system will be exhibited. It is based on the analysis of dynamic learning data and the use of cloud computing, network, and terminal to digitalize the teaching decision-making, instant evaluation feedback, interact communication, and make the transmission of resources intelligent.

As for automobiles, iFLYTEK enables drivers to make orders, send messages and make calls through their voice when navigating.

Now, iFLYTEK has cooperated with a lot of car manufacturers in China and abroad, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Chery Automobile and SAIC Motor, etc.

Source: CQCB