At the Artificial Intelligence (AI) park of Chongqing High-tech Industrial Development Zone, robots serve as waiters, receptionists, doctors, security guards, food delivery drivers, couriers, etc. They can carry out the following tasks: food and water delivery, road guidance, temperature regulation, disinfection for epidemic control, security patrol, person search, material distribution, and so on.
"It is one of the areas with the highest density of robot services in the world," said Ai Yu (Victor), CEO of Terminus Group, which is the project contractor.
In the park with an area of 5,600 square meters, there are over 60 robots that are capable of fulfilling the duties of various occupations. The investment per square meter reaches more than 50,000 yuan (about 7,761.1 U.S. dollars).
Why is the park so "smart"? Victor explained that over 200 kinds of intelligent terminals, over 50 kinds of IoT protocol applications, 63 kinds of intelligent algorithms, one supercomputer center, and eco-partner products from more than 30 suppliers constantly provide services for the park.
Will high-density AI applications lead to high energy consumption and carbon emissions? No. Victor said that the park emits much less than it absorbs. According to a professional calculation, the park can not only achieve carbon neutrality by itself but also absorb 170,000 tons of carbon dioxide in the next 50 years.
How does the park make it? It can be attributed to the unique design and mature operations technology. In terms of design, the buildings are divided into permeable structures in the park. The contour of a valley is created to ensure the maximum comprehensive light exposure and thus reduce indoor artificial light sources in the daytime. The temperature inside and outside the buildings is regulated through the lawn garden on the roof and indoor landscape plants to reduce the use of air conditioners and absorb a large amount of carbon dioxide.
In terms of operations, Terminus has implanted a super building control system into the park, which enables the buildings to perceive and breathe, automatically detect energy, monitor the energy usage of each floor in real time, and optimize the energy solution.
To build an intelligent park, AI enterprises and entrepreneurs are attracted from around the world. However, behind this high-profile idea of promoting investment hides the innovated business model: attention is not paid to a single enterprise but the entire industry eco-system.