Chinese carmaker FAW propels intelligent transformation of traditional manufacturing industries

The scientific and technological innovation base and the factory operated by China's leading automaker FAW Group in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, are driving the intelligent transformation of traditional manufacturing industries through the utilization of green and low-carbon facilities and automatic assembly technology.

An autonomous minibus at the sci-tech innovation base features only two rows of seats and a screen, without a steering wheel, a gas pedal and a brake. The camera and laser radar installed on the minibus assist in environmental perception, enabling it to navigate within the base and autonomously yield to pedestrians.

Moreover, a nearly 100-meter-long pathway with electromagnetic induction coils is installed at the base. As the minibus travels on it, wireless charging is initiated, thus ensuring the uninterrupted operation of the minibus.

The intelligent connected laboratory at the base is utilized to evaluate the overall performance of intelligent driving systems. Spanning an area of 15,000 square meters, the facility is outfitted with over 6,000 spraying devices and hundreds of LED light sets, facilitating smooth transitions of different experimental environments.

In the laboratory, a vehicle equipped with an intelligent driving system has undergone evaluation. In low-light and heavy rain conditions, the vehicle activated adaptive cruise control to trail the vehicle ahead. When the vehicle ahead changed lanes, the intelligent driving system identified risks more quickly than the driver and timely initiated emergency braking.

In another test scenario, the system promptly responded to the sudden appearance of a pedestrian, averting potential hazards stemming from the driver's blind spot.

In this laboratory, different vehicle models undergo repeated experiments, adjustments, and documentation in various environments so as to continuously enhance the intelligent driving system.

Five kilometers away from the base lies the FAW-Hongqi Prosperity Factory. The roofs of its workshop are covered with photovoltaic panels that can generate 14 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity per year, amounting to eight percent of the factory's total annual power usage.

The interior of the factory also showcases a high degree of intelligence. Over the past decade, FAW-Hongqi has launched over 20 vehicle models, including fuel, electric, and hybrid vehicles.

The final assembly workshop boasts 11 automated production lines capable of seamlessly transitioning between different vehicle models. Every minute, a Hongqi vehicle completes its production journey and rolls off the assembly lines.

Chinese carmaker FAW propels intelligent transformation of traditional manufacturing industries

With the beginning of the cotton harvest season, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is anticipating higher yields from advancements in agricultural technology and mechanization.

Xinjiang is the largest production area of high-quality commodity cotton in China. The 2.47-million-hectare cotton growing area in the region has produced more than 5 million tons of cotton for six consecutive years.

The northern and southern parts of the vast autonomous region have different climates, different cotton varieties and also different growing periods. Currently, cotton picking started two weeks ago in northern Xinjiang, while the harvesting has just begun in the southern areas.

In Tumxuk City, located in southern Xinjiang, cotton farmers are using all-in-one harvesters to help them pick cotton, separate the flowers from the stalks and pack them into bundles.

"In the past, we picked the cotton manually. It took us more than a month to pick 100 mu (6.67 hectares) of cotton, and the cost reached 1,000 yuan per mu (about 2,106 U.S. dollars per hectare). Now, we use domestically produced cotton pickers to gather them, which have high efficiency and low cost. It now takes less than a day to harvest my 100 mu of cotton, with a cost less than 200 yuan per mu," said Turaxun Samat, a local farmer.

This year, Xinjiang has vigorously promoted the new cotton planting technology of drip irrigation under the mulching film at the appropriate emergence temperature, replacing the old method of irrigating before sowing. The technology can greatly improve the emergence rate while also saving water resources.

In addition, the precision sowing supported by BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and remote sensing monitoring by the agricultural big data platform have also been widely adopted across Xinjiang, contributing to the growth of cotton output.

"This year, a total of 1,057,800 mu (about 70,520 hectares) of cotton have been planted in Tumxuk City, and the unginned cotton yield is estimated at 451.4 kilograms per mu, an average increase of 11.7 kilograms per mu over the previous year," said Chen Yongsen, a member of the leadership of the city's Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

The cotton harvesting in Xinjiang is expected to end in early November.

Xinjiang enters cotton harvest season with higher yield expected