RealTime platform to boost efficiency

Zhejiang RealTime Technology Co Ltd, a Chinese Internet of Things developer, is investing 2 billion yuan ($309 million) in a new platform to help factories improve their efficiency.

Li Shantong, chairman of the Hangzhou-based firm, said the creation of such a platform could prove just as important to China's manufacturing sector, as "an operating system is to a computer".

The Internet of Things is the network of physical objects - devices, vehicles, buildings and other items - embedded with electronics, software, sensors and network connectivity that enables these objects to collect and exchange data.

"We are devoted to building a local smart manufacturing platform in China to help domestic companies transform and upgrade their businesses," Li said.

He said RealTime is aiming to build and perfect the smart-manufacturing platform within five years, with a first-generation design expected by the end of this year.

He said the platform will adopt cloud computing and Internet of Things technologies and allow agents and clients to create personalized systems to meet their needs.

Cloud computing is a kind of Internet-based computing that provides shared processing resources and data to computers and other devices on demand.

RealTime will set up an Internet of Things lab in Hangzhou to spearhead the development, said Li.

The latest Deloitte report shows the Internet of Things, smart products and smart factories are now helping define "Industry 4.0" - the fourth industrial revolution, which is a collective term embracing a number of contemporary automation, data exchange and manufacturing technologies.

Created in 2007, RealTime has provided more than 80 Chinese manufacturing companies with smart manufacturing solutions using Internet of Things technology.

It received first-round financing of 40 million yuan in 2011, a further round worth 100 million yuan in 2015, and a third is now in negotiation.

It is also applying for an initial public offering on China's Nasdaq-style market ChiNext board in Shenzhen in September.

Leading global smart manufacturing platforms include Predix, from General Electric Co, IBM Corp's Bluemix, Siemens AG' NX and SAP SE's NANA application server.

But in China the development of similar is much less mature.