Electric shocks coursing up the spine tend to focus one’s attention quickly. But what really bothered me was that no one responded to my pleas to just … unplug … me… NOW! This after I’d had a health diagnosis from a guy who’d photographed my right ear and could ostensibly tell everything that was wrong with me from the photo. Ah, yes, the 11th China High-Tech Fair is in town and a lot of advanced technology, the diagnosis based on my ear notwithstanding, was apparent all around.
The week-long Hi-Tech Fair is now an annual event here in Shenzhen, which hosts headquarters for a number of China’s major technology companies, and is the primary forum by which Chinese companies (and organizations from 50+ other countries) highlight new technologies for buyers from around the world. It’s a great place to see the kinds of things that are going to be making their way into our lives or into other machines and then into our lives in the next few years. The fair sprawls over nearly 25 acres of booths, usually has more than 500,000 attendees, and so far this year, nearly a dozen foreign ministers.
There are some interesting things on the way. For the techno-geek couch potato types, there’s the 100-inch 3D laser TV set. (The mind boggles at the Super Bowl implications.) Lots of things coming for folks with a green bent: solar panels not made from silicon (cheaper but less efficient), a solar-powered car (looks a little small to me), “smart” houses with lots of buttons and control panels, and home-based wind energy technology that can store power for up to eight days. And if anyone actually thinks there’s going to be anything left of privacy after all the cameras, monitors, and sensors available or in development get deployed, well, more power to you.
My personal favorite, though, was the home-based game that combined elements of tai chi, a state fair arcade game, and a touch of Wii.(Nope. Not even going to try to describe it for you.)
The image of China is often that of a low-priced manufacturing center. But that’s not the future vision. High-tech parks to incubate new businesses are up and running or on the drawing boards in many cities, along with local tax breaks and a push for improved worker skill sets.
As for the electrical shocks, that was new technology intended to replicate acupuncture treatment. The Chinese friend who accompanied me also tried the treatment and bounced around like popcorn after they plugged him in. I’d recommend waiting for the next generation of that particular technology.