The 2018 World Internet of Things Exposition is held in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on Sept 15-18. [Photo by Xiao Da/chinadaily.com.cn]

The 2018 World Internet of Things Exposition has facilitated a surge of investment in internet of things-related projects and businesses, the expo's organizers stated in a press conference on Sept 18, the final day of the event in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.

Over 13,500 guests were invited to join the four-day event, which included one main summit, one internet of things (IoT) application and production exhibition, 10 high-end forums and 16 other activities.

A total of 189,000 visitors from home and abroad enjoyed the exhibition featuring the latest IoT applications for communication and platform support systems, smart manufacturing and sensors, smart daily life, smart transportation and smart cities, as well as the internet of vehicles.

As part of the exhibition, the world's first city-level Internet of Vehicle LTE-V2X (vehicle to everything) application demonstration area attracted 1,300 citizens interested in a brand new way of transportation.

The project is supposed to be completed by the end of 2018 and will cover 211 intersections scattered around Wuxi's urban area, Taihu Lake New Town, high-speed railway stations, the airport and five viaducts, serving 100,000 vehicles in the city.

And in 2019, the LTE-V2X is expected to be applied in all the areas of Wuxi. In 2020, the city should be the first base for the V2X industry and the industry will then be promoted throughout Jiangsu province.

To date, the auto manufacturers involved in the project include Audi China, FAW Group, Ford Motor Co, Chang'an Automobile Co, Volvo, Volkswagen and Peugeot Citroen. They showcased their latest achievements of new energy cars at the exhibition as well.

A visitor tries on VR equipment on the exhibition of 2018 World IoT Expo, Wuxi, Sept 15. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A total of 526 exhibitors from 20 countries and regions gathered at the world IoT expo, 35 of which were Fortune Global 500 companies. They showcased the latest cutting-edge IoT technology focusing on technological transformation and innovation.

Domestic industry giants such as home appliance company Haier and telecom firm China Tower presented their latest applications related to communication, manufacturing, smart life, transportation and urban management.

Leading global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca demonstrated its citywide chest pain center, the first of its kind in the country, which was developed in cooperation with the local government of Wuxi.

Several reports were also released at the expo exploring development trends in the IoT industry. This included a report released by Gartner, a world-renowned consulting firm, on the trends and forces associated with the IoT.

According to a report released by China Economic Information Service, the IoT market will continue to grow rapidly over the next few years, and is expected to hit 1.5 trillion yuan by the end of this year.

The 2018 World IoT Wuxi Summit invites seven world famous entrepreneurs and scholars to give keynote speeches on IoT and digital economy on Sept 15. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]