German sensor technology for China’s Greater Bay Area

Shenzhen’s International Sensor Technology Exhibition (Sensor Shenzhen) is one of the most influential trade shows exclusively dedicated to sensors and measuring. It regularly attracts over 400 exhibitors from China and around the world, introducing the latest innovations to more than 15,000 industry experts, government representatives and institutional visitors.

German inertial sensor specialist ASC had been invited to participate by a Shenzhen government delegation who visited ASC’s German headquarters earlier this year. At Sensor Shenzhen, therefore, ASC joined the sensor platform diribo and Shenzhen’s Smart Sensor Industry Cluster in showcasing solutions for the Chinese market.

Sensor technology is regarded a critical component in meeting the Chinese government’s goal of “accelerating digital development and building a digital China”, as stipulated in the country’s 14th five-year plan and long-term 2035 objectives. Smart sensor solutions are expected to usher in a new era of industrial progress, strengthening the Greater Bay Area’s international competitiveness, economic and social development.

The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) is a megalopolis in the South of China consisting of nine large megacities including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Huizhou and Zhaoqing as well as the special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macao. They are often perceived as one continuous urban area connected by common transport systems, economic, ecological and other standards. The region is among the four largest bay areas in the world alongside New York City, Tokyo, and San Francisco and hosts around five percent of China’s total population.

Shenzhen as such is China’s third largest metropolis with a population nearing 20 million. The world’s fourth busiest container port connects Hong Kong with the Chinese mainland. Often dubbed China’s Silicon Valley, Shenzhen is a global center of technology, research, manufacturing, business and economics, finance and transportation. It is among the top ten cities with the largest economies worldwide. The city’s rapid success since the 1980ies resulted in the Chinese government turning the metropolis into the country’s first special economic zone, a model city for others to follow.

At the heart of the city administration’s Strategic Emerging Industry Clusters are “intelligent sensor solutions”. At the Sensor Shenzhen 2023 expo, ASC introduced its portfolio of high-precision inertial sensors across a range of applications. The ASC AiSys^® smart sensor systems reliably track all properties and behaviors of individual components, structures, vehicles and machinery and are therefore used in real-time condition monitoring. Their greatest benefit lies in the ability to merge historic with current data to predict future trends, fatigue and the evolution of critical parameters.

Based on these analyses and predictions, for instance, a digital twin of existing infrastructure can be created that helps automate the monitoring process, increasing efficiency and significantly enhancing the timely maintenance of roads, bridges, tunnels, buildings and other essential infrastructure. Highlighting the benefits of structural bridge monitoring, the case study of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge was used, the world’s longest bridge-tunnel sea crossing of 55 kilometers which is already being monitored with ASC sensors.

With its rapid industrial and societal development, and the emphasis placed on innovative sensor technology as a key enabler for sustainable growth of the Greater Bay Area, China promises to become a strong focus for ASC German sensor technology in the coming years.

Learn more: https://www.asc-sensors.de/en/news-en/german-smart-sensors-for-china