An impressive selection of intelligent robots and other AI-powered products are being presented at the ongoing 2025 World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, showcasing the wide-ranging applications and possibilities of this emerging technology.
The conference, running from Saturday to Tuesday, has showcased robots capable of making popcorn, working production lines, and even assembling stools, all powered by artificial intelligence.
While these achievements have drawn eyes, many exhibitors insist that the most exciting applications of AI technology require no special robotic hardware -- just a mobile phone. INTSIG Information Co. Ltd (INTSIG), a world-leading tech company specializing in business data, artificial intelligence, and mobile applications, showcased how their AI software can scan large artistic works piece by piece, creating a detailed digital replica of the whole.
"It is widely applicable, not only in the protection of cultural relics, but also in engineering, or even wall painting," said Chen Weihao, a representative for INTSIG.
The firm also showcased another technology that aims to protect people from telecom fraud amid the growing threat of deep-fake videos. Their software was able to detect AI-generated people in 99 percent of cases.
Another area where AI is quickly making surprising headways is in weather forecasting -- an increasingly crucial field as climate change-induced extreme weather becomes more frequent.
On Saturday, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) launched MAZU, a Joint Action for Early Warnings for All. As part of the initiative, it donated MAZU-urban, an AI agent for urban multi-hazard early warning, to Djibouti and Mongolia.
"It has already been tested and trialled in 35 countries and regions around the world, and many are from African areas," said Chen Xiaoyan, a representative for Shanghai Meteorological Information and Technical Support Center.
Breakthrough applications take center stage at World AI Conference
China's domestically developed T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fiber holds broad application prospects in strategic emerging industries, according to its developer.
The country on Wednesday unveiled SYT80, a domestically developed T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fiber, marking a major breakthrough in the China's high-performance carbon fiber technology.
This new material has achieved a hundred-tonne-level annual production capacity, making China the first nation to mass-produce this caliber of fiber, according to its developer, China National Building Material Group Co., Ltd. (CNBM).
Featuring lightweight and high-strength properties, the fiber's diameter is less than one-tenth that of a human hair, and yet its tensile strength is 10 times that of ordinary steel and its density is only one-quarter of steel's.
"Compared with the previous-generation T1100, T1200 has seen its tensile strength increase by more than 14 percent. With its ultimate lightweight and high-strength characteristics, T1200 can achieve weight reduction of over 10 percent for equipment in related fields. It holds broad application prospects in strategic emerging industries such as commercial aerospace, low-altitude economy, and humanoid robots," said Chen Qiufei, head of T1200 ultra-high-strength carbon fiber research and development at Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Company, a subsidiary of China National Building Material Group.
The new material also possesses many other outstanding properties.
As the fiber undergoes carbonization at nearly 2,000 degrees Celsius during production, its chemical properties remain stable and its corrosion resistance is excellent.
This fiber material also features strong fire and flame retardant properties, offering good safety performance.
The development of this fiber material demonstrates China's fully independent and controllable capabilities across the entire industrial chain of high-performance carbon fiber, spanning technologies and equipment as well as the transition from laboratory research to mass production, said Zhou Yuxian, chairman of CNBM.
China's high-strength carbon fiber shows strong potential in strategic emerging industries
