By Xinyi Li, EDITOR

10 “Black Tech” were released on 23^rd August, the first day of 2018 Smart China Expo, at Chongqing International Expo Center.

With the increasing speed of development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), “black tech” gradually interiorize. “Black tech” refers to as “cool tech” in English, which indicates the really amazing technologies in the imagination, tales, or films. In the past few years, the public was inundated with new technologies, refreshing the perception of the world.

The process started from 18 July 2018 with the support from Tencent. Any tech product can get involved by either applying or being recommended, and 1082 applications were submitted. The 10 “Black tech” stands out, and these cutting-edge technologies have blown our imaginations time and again. They are not just cool but helpful in everyday life.

The 2018 Smart China Expo (SCE): 10 Mind-boggling tech products expecting the unimagined

They are (in no particular order): 

Dissolvable Electronic Component

（Zhejiang University）

Implanted electronics finds its wide applications in health monitoring, diagnosis, wound management and so on. It could detect and transfer information wirelessly to the doctor or patient for further actions. After that, if these implanted devices could then be degraded and even absorbed by the internal bio-environment in the body without any side effect, they might bring tremendous assistance for medical industrial.

iFLYTEK Mobile Translator 2.0

（iFLYTEK）

Signal translator 2.0 is a new generation of AI translation products, which has been developed by IFLYTEK following the “Xiaoyi" translator with offline translation function. This machine can achieve instant and professional translation among various languages, also provides convenient real-time automatic translation service for business, travel, meeting and other daily communications. Till now, it has achieved the translation between 33 different languages.

Laser-Induced Graphene (LIG) Artificial Throat

（Tsinghua University）

There are a large number of deaf-mutes in China. Therefore, how to restore their language function with efficient throat reconstruction has great social significance. Most deaf-mutes have the ability to make throat vibrations, such as sneezing, screaming, coughing, etc. As long as a regular vibration of their throats can be recognized, their thought can be reconstructed. If the device emits a controllable sound at the same time, the integrated function is expected to assist the deaf-mutes to "speak".

ReID

（CloudWalk Technology Co., Ltd.）

The re-identification is the process of identifying the person from images/videos taken from a different camera. Regarded as a vital supplement to face recognition techniques, re-identification is indispensable in establishing consistent tracks of the visual ambiguity in a person’s appearance across multiple cameras to enhance the spatiotemporal continuity of data. This technique can be widely used in video surveillance, intelligent security, intelligent business and other fields.

A Highly Stretchable and Expandable E-skin with Multifunctional Sensing 

Electronic skin (e-skin)

(Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Electronic skin (e-skin) consists of mechanically flexible and stretchable sensor networks that can detect and quantify various stimuli to mimic the human somatosensory system, with the sensations of touch, heat/cold, and pain in the skin. E-skin constructs a personalized intelligent prosthesis and demonstrate its use in real-time spatial pressure mapping and temperature estimation. Looking forward, this SCMN has broader applications in humanoid robotics, new prosthetics, human-machine interfaces and health-monitoring technologies.

Thought-Controlled Neuroprosthesis

(Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Limb movement is one of the most essential physiological abilities of human beings, and it is a major function of human-independent daily life and active participation in social activities. For upper limb amputees, wearing a flexible and reliable prosthesis is an important alternative way to reconstruct the limb function. Therefore, the product "thought-controlled neuroprosthesis" proposed is a multi-DOF myoelectrical upper limb control system, which meets the requirements of functionally restoring basic hand and wrist movement for upper limb amputees.

Nano-Robots in Medicine

(Harbin Institute of Technology and University of California, San Diego)

With the development of science and technology, micro/nano-robot, which can be used as the power plant, has been widely investigated by domestic and foreign scholars. Due to the lightweight, less volume and high thrust, micro/nano-robot can be widely used in the field of sensing detection, nanofabrication, self-assembly and nano-propulsion. Especially, micro/nano-motor can serve as promising biomimetic nano-robot for biomedical and nano-electronic applications. This micro-/nano-robot can be used for directed drug delivery to the targeted cancer cells. Under the control of the autonomous navigation system, the smart micro-vehicle can successfully recognize the cancer cells and efficiently approach the target in the environment of blood, cell sap, or crystalline lens.

ET Industrial Brain

(Alibaba Cloud)

ET Industrial Brain breaks the limitations of conventional recognition model. It integrates AI and big data into production lines, in order to build an intelligent processing unit for the manufacturing enterprise. Without changing the existing production line, the industrial brain can help industrial enterprises synergize the production flow, data flow, and control flow. The manufacturing process will be further streamlined, with better product quality, lower costs, and higher efficiency.

L4 Autonomous Vehicle Powered by New Energy

(Changan Automobile)

This autonomous NEV (new energy vehicle) integrates intelligent technology, connectivity, new energy solutions, and car sharing solutions. Featured intelligent technologies include L4 autonomous driving, APA 6.0 (Active Parking Assist), and in-vehicle voice control. Stronger connectivity is able to ensure the safe, secure and efficient mobility thanks to the V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle) and V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure) real-time communications, and a wider sensing range. Vehicle-to-Home technology allows the E-vehicle to power home appliances in case of emergencies. Moreover, users could easily hail an autonomous vehicle on the Changan Travel App. User’s identity needs to be confirmed via facial recognition technology before the service starts, and the vehicle will also automatically park itself to the designated place once the service ends.

AI Empowered Cancer Early Screening -- AI Medical Innovation System (AIMIS)

（Tencent）

As suggested by its name, AIMIS (Miying in Chinese pinyin) applies artificial intelligence into the medical field, incorporating cutting-edge technologies of image recognition, big data, and deep learning. It increases the screening accuracy of early-stage cancers and other diseases, including esophageal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, and diabetic retinopathy, and better informed-treatment could be administered. Other smart solutions for healthcare proposed by Tencent include intelligent information desk, smart medical record management system, and risk monitoring & control system.

10 mind-boggling techs had been released on 23rd August, the first day of 2018 Smart China Expo, at Chongqing International Expo Center

Some of the products have been brought to market, such as ReID by CloudWalk Technology and Mobile Translator 2.0 – the translation gadget used during the Two Sessions – by iFLYTEK. They will be timely updated and improved by the companies’ R&D teams. Others are still in the R&D process, but once applied in the real world, they will surely expand our vision and transform every aspect of people’s lives in the not too distant future.