Photo shows an interior view of Zhangjiang Artificial Intelligence Island in Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]

East China's Shanghai has been ramping up efforts to promote the integrated development of artificial intelligence (AI) and the real economy in recent years, aiming to build itself into a hub of "intelligent plus" industries, local media reported on March 8.

Shanghai has made remarkable achievements in the development of AI industries. As the first AI innovation application pilot area in China, Pudong New Area currently has more than 600 AI enterprises, eight of which have been listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The AI innovation application pilot area in Pudong, approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in May 2019, has actively explored new ways in developing AI-related sectors, such as industrial layout, infrastructure construction, construction of standard systems, as well as intellectual property transactions, in an effort to accelerate the innovative development and application of the AI industry.

Local authorities said that the pilot area will focus on fostering several core industries related to AI, such as intelligent chips, intelligent connected vehicles, intelligent robots, and intelligent hardware, to improve the basic capacities of the AI industry.

A number of AI leading companies with global competitiveness will be introduced to the pilot area, while several characteristic industrial agglomeration areas will also be established in Zhangjiang, Jinqiao, and Lingang.

The innovative application of AI will be further promoted in the area, including medical AI applications, AI manufacturing, unmanned driving, and AI finance. In addition, the innovative products, platforms, and services developed will be first put into use in the pilot area in Pudong. A batch of pilot demonstration areas for the innovative application of the AI industry will be set up in Pudongs Expo Area, Lujiazui, Zhangjiang, Jinqiao, and Lingang.

The government will set up an innovation-supporting system for the development of the AI industry, including public service platforms to reduce the time and cost for innovation. Favorable policies will be rolled out to encourage enterprises, colleges, universities, and scientific research institutions to increase input in innovation.

Efforts will also be made to further reform the management system for science and technology, in an effort to speed up the commercialization and application of innovations. The government will put more focus on cultivating more high-level AI talents to develop the AI innovation application pilot area into a gathering place for AI professionals.

Equipped with rich application scenarios, Pudong has been bolstering efforts to promote the construction and development of characteristic application scenarios, including Zhangjiang Artificial Intelligence Island, which is designed to incubate real application scenarios, such as autonomous driving, smart healthcare, and smart cities for research and development (R&D), as well as testing.

Currently, Shanghai is carrying out the construction of comprehensive R&D scenarios, such as the self-service intelligent unmanned system produced by Shanghai's Tongji University, as well as the research center focusing on brain science and brain-inspired intelligence, fields closely linked with AI, located in Zhangjiang Laboratory.

With the support of its current industrial base for biological medicine, Pudong has cultivated many "invisible champion" enterprises involved in medical big data areas like Shanghai Upper Bio-tech Pharma Company and Shanghai Biotecan Pharmaceuticals Company.

The integrated development of AI and transportation will also be boosted in the area to promote the construction of such scenarios as unmanned driving, intelligent parking, as well as cooperative vehicle infrastructure systems. A special road for unmanned driving will be developed in the Expo Area, while a 315.6-kilometer testing area for unmanned systems will be built as well.

Currently, Pudong is speeding up the construction of an innovation park based on 5G and AI in the Jinqiao Development Subzone, which will effectively integrate upstream and downstream resources of the industrial chain, as well as help promote Pudong as a hub for 5G application and industrial innovation and development.