The 2019 World Internet of Things Exposition opens on Saturday in Wuxi, eastern China's Jiangsu province, showcasing the latest applications and products.

As the top IoT event in China, the expo has gotten creative to introduce something new to visitors.

Among the highlights of this year's World IoT Expo is the WIoT-Park, which is a technology exhibition area that features immersive and interactive experiences.

"The WloT-Park debuts at this year's expo and it is a great innovative attempt of the expo," said Zhang Peng, chief business officer at the organizing committee of the WIOT 2019.

The WIoT-Park has involved some 30 industry giants, including China Telecom, one of the country's three major telecom carriers; JD, China's e-commerce retailer; 36Kr, a leading internet startup service provider; Beijing Uni-Construction Group; and Aecom, a US architecture and infrastructure consulting company, according to Zhang.

Joining hands with these companies, the WIoT-Park allows visitors to experience intelligent applications, which cover smart shopping, smart medical service, smart catering and smart home, Zhang added.

The park is located at the central square of the Wuxi Taihu International Expo Center, where the 2019 WIOT is being held. The WIoT-Park has a total exhibition area of 2,000 square meters and consists of three venues.

The applications of 5G technology are exhibited at the WIoT-Park, including livestreaming, remote control patrol cars, mechanical arms and engineering trucks.

Some augmented reality films and virtual reality games are also available at the park.

In a bid to make visitors aware of the influence exerted by these technologies on people's lives, the WIoTPark provides a life scenes experience for visitors, which covers shopping, living, dining and entertainment.

The experience of a smart hotel, smart healthcare services, a 5G restaurant, a self-service supermarket, smart home and a smart cinema aims to immerse the visitors in the world of an intelligent life, according to Zhang.

"By offering visitors the vivid technology exhibition, the WIoT-Park is expected to help popularize the IoT industry to a greater extent.

"It is the first time for the WIOT to adopt such an immersive and interactive technology exhibition. It will be further promoted in the following years and is expected to replace the traditional exhibitions gradually," Zhang noted.

zhangdandan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/07/2019 page20)