Smart city residents appreciate advantages of connected lifestyle

New technology plays an ever-increasing role in the daily lives of many people in Tianjin, and there is nowhere that can be seen more prominently than in the rising popularity of cashierless convenience stores in Binhai New Area in the city.

Opened in January, the two stores operated by e-commerce retailer JD have been revolutionizing the way shoppers go about buying daily items and necessities.

Cashierless, or unmanned, convenience stores have appeared the world over with domestic rival Tmall launching a similar system last year and United States retailer Amazon opening its Amazon Go offering in January.

All unmanned shopping experiences operate in roughly similar ways. When entering the store, customers need to scan a QR code using their mobile phones, which initiates the shopping experience. Customers then need just fill their baskets with the items they wish to purchase and upon leaving the store, the bill is automatically deducted from their Alipay or WeChat wallets via facial recognition software.

Online retailer JD has invested heavily in the development of a smart city in Tianjin and its unmanned convenience stores form a part of that effort.

In January, JD announced strategic cooperation with the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as TEDA, to leverage its big data, artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies in order to help make the city more efficient.

As part of the agreement, Tianjin will serve as a research, manufacturing and testing base for JD's smart logistics technology, which consists of the use of robots, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and autonomous delivery vehicles.

An initial investment fund of an undisclosed amount, said to be worth billions of yuan, was established to support startups in advanced technology industries including robotics, AI, smart manufacturing, smart cities and smart ports.

"Tianjin offers a range of real-world applications for our technology and this cooperation will enable us to increase efficiency and convenience for Tianjin's residents, while providing unlimited scenarios for us to continue to improve our technology and increase its future potential," said Xiao Jun, vice-president and head of JD X, JD's logistics innovation lab.

According to JD, it will build an intelligent technology industry cluster worth 100 billion yuan within five years in Tianjin as well as its second logistics robot research and development center.

In recent years, Tianjin Binhai New Area has made great efforts to develop its intelligent manufacturing industry. It has been strengthening the research and innovation capabilities of its cloud computing, big data, management systems, high-performance servers, basic components and core information security technology.

A growing number of leading enterprises in the industry have been gathering in Binhai New Area in order to cultivate a better atmosphere for industrial development, which has attracted industry leaders like JD.

Many of the companies, such as Phytium CPU and Kylin Operation Systems, have already achieved promising scientific results, which are either in their application process or have already been industrialized.

One company that has made an impact in the area is Tianjin General Data Technology, which has developed a security CPU, an operating system and a database, and a mass production of the first domestically-made 28-nanometer intelligent mobilephone multichip.

At this year's World Intelligence Congress, Tianjin Efy Technology, a leading domestic manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles, showcased its latest UAV products for attendees from both home and abroad. In April, the company received investment of 100 million yuan.

Tianjin Efy Technology's UAVs have been widely used in the agricultural sector for crop spraying. The company's cloud platform has so far received 160 million entries of effective data, which will be used in the further protection of agriculture.

(China Daily 05/18/2018 page24)