Scientists assemble an intelligent biped robot in the Research Center for Intelligent Robot of the Hangzhou-based Zhejiang Lab. [Photo/ zj.zjol.com.cn]

Some experts believe it would be a practical choice for small and medium firms, especially those that can hardly afford the high costs of transitioning into intelligent manufacturing, to resort to the cloud platforms provided by industrial leaders and research institutes. As a matter of fact, many Zhejiang companies have already begun their journey toward intelligent manufacturing by joining Alibaba's next-generation cloud computing platform ET Brain and Zhejiang Lab's AI open-source platform Dubhe.

At present, Zhejiang has built a complete AI industrial chain involving core technology development, intelligent terminal manufacturing and intelligent applications in various industries. Studies show that the province's overall competitiveness in the AI tech industry is ranked fourth among all provincial-level regions in China, following Beijing, Guangdong and Shanghai.

As of the end of 2019, there were 482 AI tech companies in the province with a total operating revenue of 64.5 billion yuan, up 15.93 percent from the previous year. Their total R&D expenses soared by 58.54 percent year-on-year to 15.8 billion yuan while their total profits saw a 20.3 percent year-on-year increase to 24.9 billion yuan.

To date, Zhejiang has established 108 industrial internet platforms and promoted the use of cloud computing to more than 350,000 companies. A total of 89,000 industrial robots are currently in service in the province. The computer numerical control (CNC) rate in the province has also reached 60.7 percent.