The 2026 World Science and Technology Development Forum opened in Chongqing on October 21. (Photo/ The 2026 World Science and Technology Development Forum)
Chongqing - The 2026 World Science and Technology Development Forum (2026 WSTDF) opened in Chongqing on October 21, bringing together around 800 participants, including experts and scholars, to explore how advances in automotive technology and robotics could shape future industries.
Developing future industries required not only breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies but also efforts to turn research findings into practical applications. Wang Guangqian, President of the China Association for Science and Technology, said that future industries were at the forefront of integrating science and technology with the economy.
He called for advances in cutting-edge technologies, closer integration of technological and industrial innovation, greener development and stronger technology governance to address the uncertainties of technological change.
Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said engineering served as a bridge between scientific discovery and industrial practice, stressed that achieving the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals required stronger international science and technology cooperation and ensuring that all countries and communities could participate.
Developing future industries therefore required both continued technological breakthroughs and closer links between research, engineering and industry, enabling innovation to address real-world economic and social needs.
Zhu Huarong, Chairman of China Changan Automobile Group, said cars are evolving into “embodied intelligent terminals,” integrating AI, chips and communications while connecting urban traffic management with green energy systems. (Photo/ The 2026 World Science and Technology Development Forum)
The transformation of the automotive industry offered a concrete example of how technology and industry could evolve together.
Zhu Huarong, Chairman of China Changan Automobile Group, said the automotive industry was rapidly shifting from traditional manufacturing toward a technology-driven sector, with cars evolving from means of transportation into “embodied intelligent terminals.” He described future cars as “self-evolving intelligent car robots.”
Zhu said the automotive industry was becoming integrated with AI, chips, communications and big data, while its applications were expanding into energy systems and urban governance.
In Chongqing, a trusted data space integrating vehicles, roads and cloud systems brought together data on vehicle operations, roadside sensing and traffic signal control to support urban traffic management. Through vehicle-to-grid interaction and integrated solar power, energy storage, charging and battery-swapping systems, vehicles could also become mobile nodes in a green energy network.
Cars were thus evolving beyond standalone manufactured products into platforms connecting technology, services, energy and urban systems.
Similar technological integration was taking place in robotics. David Lopez Perez, Professor at Universitat Politècnica de Valencia, Spain, outlined potential future applications, including drones navigating cities, robots conducting industrial inspections and humanoid robots assisting older adults.
David Lopez Perez, Professor at Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain, discussed how digital twins, intelligent systems and future 6G networks could help drones and robots perform complex tasks requiring reasoning, planning and coordination. (Photo/ The 2026 World Science and Technology Development Forum)
He said robots needed not only to react quickly but also to reason, plan and coordinate. Digital twins, intelligent systems and future 6G networks could support more complex tasks, while interoperability and standardization were essential to ensuring that different systems could work together.
The application of advanced technologies also extended to public health. Nils Stenseth, Member of Academia Europaea and Professor at the University of Oslo, described how he and his collaborators used air travel data to build a digital twin model to study how to prevent a local epidemic from becoming a global pandemic.
Such models could help researchers analyze the relationship between human mobility and disease transmission. Stenseth noted that when a new pathogen emerged, researchers might not yet understand its basic biology or transmission patterns.
Data from multiple sources, combined with digital technologies, could help address these complex questions. He also stressed the importance of establishing a strong global surveillance network to prepare for potential future outbreaks.
Nils Stenseth, Member of Academia Europaea and Professor at the University of Oslo, expressed how digital twins and air-travel data can help model disease spread and improve global preparedness for future pandemics. (Photo/ The 2026 World Science and Technology Development Forum)
From intelligent vehicles and robotics to infectious disease prevention, these examples showed how advanced technologies could be combined with expertise from different fields to expand their practical applications. Interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral and international cooperation were essential to making the most of these technologies.
The opening ceremony also saw the release of the Top 10 Science and Technology Foresights of 2026, identifying technological directions with the potential to bring major changes in the years ahead, including AI, brain-computer interfaces and space resource development. An industry map for intelligent sensing and other outcomes were also released.
The forum was held in Chongqing for the first time since its launch in 2019. It ran through October 23 and featured 12 parallel forums covering intelligent sensing, AI-powered simulation, embodied intelligence, smart manufacturing, green energy and new-energy vehicles, among other fields.