Academician Chu Junhao's keynote speech: The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Intelligent Era

Academician Chu Junhao, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and professor at Fudan University, released a report on the theme of "The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Intelligent Age".

Academician Chu Junhao shared the driving force, characteristics and trends of the Fourth Industrial Revolution from multiple aspects such as "the Fourth Industrial Revolution, welcoming the intelligent era, and cultivating innovation capabilities", discussed the core technologies of intelligent complex systems, and explored countermeasures in the context of the intelligent era. Academician Chu Junhao's sharing at the forefront of science and technology aroused great interest among the audience. While understanding industrial transformation and the intelligent future, it also strengthened the confidence to strengthen the country in science and technology and realize the Chinese dream. The event was broadcast live on the Xinhua News Agency's on-site cloud platform.

Chu Junhao is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, a professor at Fudan University, the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Infrared and Millimeter Waves, a member of the presidium of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a former representative of the 10th and 11th National People's Congress, a consultant to the Shanghai Municipal Government, and vice chairman of the Shanghai Association for Science and Technology.

褚君浩院士长期从事红外光电子和半导体物理研究。获得国家自然科学奖三次、部委级自然科学奖或科技进步奖12次。2014年评为十佳全国优秀科技工作者，2017年获首届全国創新争先奖章；2017年评为“光荣与力量”感动上海年度人物”。

Academician Chu Junhao shared the driving force, characteristics and trends of the Fourth Industrial Revolution from three aspects: the Fourth Industrial Revolution, welcoming the intelligent era, and cultivating innovation capabilities. He discussed the core technologies of intelligent complex systems and explored countermeasures in the context of the intelligent era. The following is a summary of the report:

The first industrial revolution originated in Britain and was characterized by mechanization. The second industrial revolution was characterized by electrification. The third industrial revolution was characterized by informatization. At this stage, we are in the fourth industrial revolution, which has the following three characteristics: information science and technology are further improved on the basis of physics, mathematics, and biology; inventions and discoveries emerge in many fields, and multiple tracks are parallel and cross-promoted; information science and technology are deeply integrated with multi-field science and technology, infiltrating information into various fields, and improving the energy level with information technology.

The technological trends of the new industrial revolution are mainly reflected in six aspects: first, intelligent distributed new energy systems and energy Internet; second, intelligent complex systems, artificial intelligence, and smart cities; third, intelligent manufacturing technology, advanced materials, and extreme manufacturing; fourth, intelligent diagnosis, repair technology, and smart medical care; fifth, intelligent upgrading of traditional industries; and sixth, the Internet, sensors, the Internet of Things, and big data.

Welcome to the intelligent era

The core of the intelligent era is the intelligent system, which has "three pillars" - dynamic perception, intelligent recognition, and automatic response.

Dynamic perception can be regarded as the "five senses" of intelligent systems. Since QR codes and barcodes are not dynamic, intelligent systems need to rely on sensors to achieve dynamic perception. Intelligent recognition can be regarded as the "brain" of intelligent systems. Intelligent recognition needs to rely on big data analysis, and big data analysis is mainly reflected in two aspects, one is text big data and the other is physical big data. For automatic response, the existing basic information platforms, such as the Internet, the Internet of Things, integrated circuits, chip technology, and communication technology, can greatly improve the automatic response capabilities of intelligent systems.

An intelligent system can implement multiple behaviors within a specific area. As the area gets larger and the number of behaviors increases, the intelligence of the intelligent system becomes higher and higher.

Taking smart cities as an example, intelligent systems are built on the basic information technologies of the Internet, Internet of Things, big data, and cloud computing, so smart cities should have at least four layers of architecture: perception layer, interconnection layer, analysis layer, and response layer. Intelligent systems are widely used in five major areas: comprehensive urban management, transportation, logistics and trade, energy and environmental security, medical care, culture and education, and urban community settlement.

Two core technologies for achieving intelligence

To realize intelligence, two core technologies are needed: one is the real-time perception technology realized by sensor chips, and the other is the intelligent analysis system realized by models and big data analysis.

Sensors, as a device, can convert light, sound, heat, electronic, and biological signals into electrical signals. The sensor field attaches great importance to basic research because basic research can provide methods, means, models, and theories. For devices with different forms of motion, it is necessary to discover their laws, and then improve and realize them technically to make sensors.

Taking photoelectric sensors as an example, in the context of the intelligent era, photoelectric sensors need to have the following devices: infrared detectors that can distinguish between few photons, single photons, and photon numbers; ultra-large-scale focal plane array devices; photoelectric devices in different bands; multi-band fusion photoelectric devices; infrared focal plane devices that work at room temperature; and focal plane devices with new readout methods. We need to understand the physical structure of material devices and be able to describe and control them in detail, so as to improve the technical level and achieve innovation.

Sensors are important core technologies in intelligent systems. It is very important to develop high-performance sensor chips to achieve faster speeds and more intelligent applications at lower costs. With good sensors, we can grasp the core technology and transmit the sensor information for analysis through the Internet technology, thereby realizing the multifunctional integration, wireless communication, flexibility and miniaturization of sensors.

The core technologies of the intelligent analysis system are intelligent analysis, model analysis, and big data analysis. At this stage, we are in a "wave" world, and each wave has its frequency, intensity, phase, and polarization. People will first store the acquired spectral characteristics in a database, then compare the measured spectrum with the data in the database, and then analyze and judge.

The impact of the new industrial revolution on manufacturing

Basic research is the "scientific source" of every industrial revolution and has been developed in every industrial revolution. Basic research will promote the development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and give birth to new discoveries and new technologies in the context of the intelligent era.

Industrial revolutions are always accompanied by technological revolutions, and manufacturing has gradually moved from the traditional era to the intelligent era. As industrial robots, 3D printing, and digital factories have replaced traditional labor, the proportion of labor costs in total costs has continued to decrease, causing many manufacturing industries in my country to face a survival crisis, but it has also promoted the development of artificial intelligence robots.

In the future, the network sharing economic model will derive distributed production models, such as smart factories and Internet factories. The trends of manufacturing transformation are as follows: the driving force has changed from relying on resources and investment to relying on technological progress; production capacity has changed from relying on expansion to relying on the accumulation of technological capabilities; from production-oriented manufacturing to service-oriented manufacturing; the value chain of manufacturing has developed towards the high end; from squeezing the environment to being environmentally friendly.

In terms of countermeasures to the new industrial revolution. First, we should do a good job in the top-level design of promoting the new industrial revolution. Secondly, we should actively invest in important infrastructure needed for the new industrial revolution, including macro new infrastructure, as well as infrastructure construction in provinces, cities, townships and towns. Thirdly, we should cultivate an innovative environment and promote a wave of technological innovation. We should build a cultivation system for future industries and guide industrial innovation. Finally, we should promote the construction of mechanisms and systems that meet the needs of the new industrial revolution. Among them, there are four aspects of work that need to be strengthened. First, we should strengthen the three steps of scientific laws, core technologies and industrial development. Second, we should strengthen the pilot research and development of laboratory results. Enterprises should intervene early and the government should share risks. Third, we should effectively strengthen the cooperation between industry, academia and research, establish joint laboratories and joint research and development centers for industry, academia and research, and the government should guide and support them. Fourth, we should enhance the awareness of independent innovation of enterprises and enhance their independent innovation capabilities.