Artificial intelligence plays key role

An artificial intelligence industrial cluster characteristic of intelligent manufacturing has been formed in Songjiang District with its G60 High-tech Corridor development vision, a cross-region development program between Songjiang and eight cities in the Yangtze River Delta, attracting leading industrial companies to the district.

So far, Songjiang has 816 AI-related companies with 52 large-scale, 135 high-tech and three having been listed. The large-scale companies generated an industrial output value of 10.6 billion yuan (US$1.48 billion) in 2018.

The industry sectors include robot research and development, production line system integration, simulated aircraft and simulation software development, Internet of Things and sensor development, and actuating motor and speed reducer manufacturing.

A batch of national or global leading AI companies, such as Kuka Robot (Shanghai) Co, CSG Smart Science and Technology Co and Comau (Shanghai) Engineering Co, have gathered in the district that has formed a complete AI industrial chain ranging from key parts manufacturing, ontological manufacturing to AI integration service provision.

Complete industrial chain

Weben Smart Manufacturing System (Shanghai) Co, an AI integration solution provider in the district’s economic and technical development zone, offers one-stop AI integration solutions to factories and helps them transform from traditional to smart.

The industrial chain’s upper-and lower-reach companies in the district, instead, provide Weben with convenient purchasing and sales channels.

“We have good cooperation with quite a few AI companies in Songjiang District,” said Peng Rong, Weben’s CEO.

“Last year and in the first half of this year we purchased a total of 917 industrial robots from Kuka, whereas Baolong Automotive and Yanfeng Visteon Automotive in the district are our customers,” said Peng.

Meanwhile, the AI Plus industry in Songjiang is also developing quickly. Related companies number almost 200 and include Haier’s COSMOPlat, Yonyou Cloud and NewTon IOT of Shanghai MJ Intelligent Co.

The Dongjing AI Smart Industry Cluster in Songjiang, which covers 23.8 square kilometers and includes the Jiuting High-tech Industrial Zone, Sijing Industrial Zone, Sijing High-tech Development Zone, Dongjing Industrial Zone and North Sheshan Industrial Zone, will exert brand influence and establish an industrial foundation for the development of the AI industry.

CSG, a leading AI company, set up its headquarters in Dongjing in 2016 and the cluster became the first national-level AI industry cluster in China in 2017.

Last year saw the CSG robot industry zone going into production, a Yangtze River Delta AI foundation worth 10 billion yuan disclosed at the 2018 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, and the establishment of the G60 Brain Intelligence Innovation Park.

Fruitful achievement

Earlier this year, the world’s first genetically edited cloned monkeys were born at the G60 Brain Intelligence Innovation Park. Also, Baolong Automotive developed a vehicle dynamic vision and radar sensor, bringing AI’s application in self-driving to a further step.

In May this year, Songjiang District formed its G60 Corridor AI Industrial League that will actively connect different phases of the AI industrial chain such as industrial parks, companies, incubators, investment ventures, colleges and institutions together.