Maceij Kranz, VP at Cisco, praised China for its widespread IoT use. Photo Via YouTube

Cisco VP Praises China for IoT Development

Despite accusations against China of industrial and digital espionage, Maceij Kranz, a VP at Cisco, says the United States should model itself after the country for its use of the Internet of Things to improve daily life.

Interviewed after returning from a trip to Beijing, Kranz praised China’s IoT efforts, as reported in an article for xinhuanet.com. Kranz said IoT in China “permeates almost every business segment and public system, not only manufacturing and industrial sectors but also transportation, city services, health care, retail, agriculture and more.”

In Kranz’s view, China’s success in IoT is largely due to two key factors: the support and guidance from the government, and an extremely dynamic IT market teeming with an array of ambitious startups unafraid of making mistakes.

The IoT, a term coined in 1999, describes the network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances and other items connected to the internet. All “things” on the network are embedded with electronics which enable them to connect and exchange data.

“I was struck by signs all around that China is no longer a tech imitator⎯it has matured into a tech innovator, solidifying its place as an IoT leader,” said Kranz.

China Creates Smart App within Space Debris

SHANGHAI (Xinhua)⎯Chinese scientists turned the final stage of a launch rocket debris, which is discarded in space after sending a satellite into orbit, into a smart application platform by fitting it with intelligent chips. The space-based connections could speed up countrywide transmission of signals.

Xinhuanet.com reported in December 2017 that Chinese developers placed chips into the jettisoned stage of their main rocket booster. Chief scientist Zheng Lironghe  developed the program in Shanghai at Fudan University. He explained that the launch rocket will jettison a section when it runs out of propellant to decrease the mass. The final stage of the rocket gets delivered into orbit along with the payload.

“With these intelligent chips attached, space debris can be transformed into a low-cost science experiment and communication platform,” Lirong said.

The chip program demonstrates how China puts IoT solutions in every aspect of development. Already, IoT is a fact of daily life, ranging from wearable smart gadgets and driverless vehicles to GPS-tracked grazing. Lirong said current applications experience common problems such as data congestion and slow transmission speeds, especially in remote and underserved regions. With the development of the space-based network, these areas could be better served.

Tracking space junk with blockchain tech, will keep a much closer eye on the junk and its thousands of orbits circling our planet. Knowing where they are and how they are acting in orbit is crucial in avoiding space collisions in what is becoming a very busy area of space. Namely orbiting our blue marble safely.

read more at xinhuanet.com