On the morning of November 16th, hosted by Chaihuo Maker Space, guided by Shenzhen Science and Technology Business Incubator Association, with Seeed and Make Community, Shenzhen University of Vocational Technology as strategic partners, and co-organized by Vanke Cloud Design Commune, the International Makers Summit of Maker Faire Shenzhen 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the “Summit”) was held on schedule at the Design Commune of Vanke Cloud Design Commune in Nanshan, Shenzhen. The theme of the Summit is “Enchant Everything with AI”, which consists of a Maker Forum, Tech Application Exhibition, Innovation Workshops, Satellite Events and other sections. The summit gathered 120+ exhibitors from home and abroad, and attracted professional visitors from nearly 20 countries and more than 20 provinces in China.
Since the introduction of Maker Faire by Chaihuo Maker Space in 2012, the event has come to its 13th year in Shenzhen. Over the past 13 years, from the initial dissemination of science and technology culture and display of Chinese and foreign science and technology exchanges to the hosting of Shenzhen Maker Week and National Shuangchuang Week, which promotes the exchange of international bi-innovation and transformation of scientific and technological fruits, the mission of the previous events has evolved continuously, and gradually became “a platform for docking science and technology innovation and collaboration with traditional industries”. As of this summit, the event’s audience has radiated to nearly 100 countries and regions around the world, showcasing tens of thousands of innovative applications as well as a variety of new technology application programs, and serving as a platform for dialogue and collaboration between industries and professional makers.
Maker Forum: Big Shots Gathered to Explore “Enchant Everything with AI”
The rapid development of technology is revolutionizing our lives. In recent years, AI has become a hot topic, from ChatGPT, Apple Intelligence to AI cell phones and AI glasses, all kinds of new AI models and products are emerging – AI is like an omnipotent wrench, prying the future of technology. With the theme of “Enchant Everything with AI”, this forum focuses on AI hardware innovation, demonstrates the broad prospect of the deep integration of AI and various industries, and shares the achievements of makers in embracing AI.
This event brings together experts, scholars, entrepreneurs and makers in the field of AI to discuss the latest development trend of AI technology, share their innovative stories and successful experiences, inspire more people to join the wave of AI innovation, and promote the popularization and application of AI technology. We hope to stimulate innovation and explore new ideas to deal with the changes in AI technology and market, and promote the wide application of AI in the field of creators through the diversified and inclusive topic setting.
In “The AI-driven Maker Era” session, the forum gathered six important guests, including Eric Migicovsky, Founder of Pebble watch, Beeper; Eric Pan, Founder of Chaihuo Maker Space, Founder of Seeed; Derek Qian, Marketing Director of Arm China; Sharron Liu, Robotics Solution Architect of NVIDIA; Taotao Zhang, Head of Project Center of Innox Shenzhen; and CX Strategist of Omi.me, Arseniy Sergeyev, experts, business leaders, technology leaders and professional makers in the field of AI gathered together to focus on the current cutting-edge advances, development trends and application scenarios of AI technology. From the perspectives of “AI+Hardware/Software, Marketing Trends, Technological Advancement”, we discussed how AI can become a powerful driving force for the makers’ movement to realize the future value and promote the innovation and sustainable development of various industries.
Eric Pan, Founder of Chaihuo Maker space and Founder of Seeed, and Eric Migicovsky, Founder of Pebble Watch and Beeper, discussed the topic of “Do Not Build an AI Startup”. They discussed the opportunities and development of Shenzhen, analyzed how its changes are attracting makers back, talked about the path of startups and hardware innovation, survival and breakthrough strategies under the pressure of limited resources and giant competition, discussed the future value of AI + hardware, and how to define a good AI product.
In the “AI for Science” session, the organizer of Chaihuo Maker Space, together with the Light Cone Frontier Science and Technology Fund initiated by Guokr Future Light Cone, invited scholars and industry pioneers in the field of cutting-edge science: Jianxi Luo, Professor of Systems Engineering at the City University of Hong Kong; Max Yin, Assistant Professor at the City University of Hong Kong; Boxiang Wang, Co-Founder and CTO of Link-Spider; Henri PANG, Greater China Region Strategic Representative at Kickstarter P.B.C.; You Chen, Founder of Guangzhou Eacinbio Co., Ltd.; Chen Xiong – Associate Professor， Deputy Dean of the Department of Civil Engineering, School of Civil and Transportation Engineering at Shenzhen University; Jianjun Zhuang, Professor at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Director of Engineering Training Center. We discussed the latest cutting-edge advances in the fusion of AI and cross-disciplinary and the core challenges, in-depth exploration of “AI + Science”. By focusing on the potential of AI in promoting breakthroughs in scientific research, improving efficiency and generating new knowledge areas, we will further promote in-depth interdisciplinary cooperation and collaborative innovation, and bring more wisdom and value to the development of society.
In the “AI for Good” session, the guests were mostly practitioners from international organizations, environmental protection, scientific research and other fields: Lucio Pentagna Guimarães Neto, Entrepreneur and Innovator, Founder of Xinfab and Algarve FabFarm; Ally Nyamawe, Researcher at the United Nations University Institute in Macau; Lakshantha Dissanayake, Embedded Computer Vision Engineer at Ultralytics; Jessica Zhou, Head of Innovation Startup Department at ABeam Consulting China; Nik Fadzly, Associate Professor at USM Malaysia; Arihant Chindalia, Co-founder at Sustainable Living Lab India; Zi Li, Strategic Expert of The Greater Bay Area. They shared the great potential and role of AI in promoting sustainable development, and discussed how to responsibly use AI to realize the deep integration of science and technology innovation and social values, and promote the construction of an inclusive, fair and prosperous society.
The rapid rise of digital technologies such as open-source hardware, AI and IoT is fundamentally transforming traditional agricultural production. At the forefront of this digital transformation is a group of cross-disciplinary agricultural entrepreneurs who aim to leverage scientific and digital solutions to address targeted challenges.
In the “Cyber Farm” session, we highlighted their stories, showcasing how these technologies enhance productivity and create new opportunities in rural areas.
This forum invites experts and scholars from the business sector, government representatives, science and technology fields to explore how digital technology can bring about disruptive changes in agriculture and rural development, how it can effectively help the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, and how it can ensure the harmonious coexistence of society and the environment in this process. The forum specially invited a number of leading figures in the field of rural digitization and the integration of new technologies as guest speakers, who not only have cutting-edge Internet thinking, but are also active practitioners of new agricultural production and management modes. Through the platform of “Cyber Farms”, the guests shared how they utilize digital technology to empower the countryside, improve the efficiency of agricultural production, and bring unprecedented development opportunities to the countryside. Meanwhile, the forum will also invite experts and scholars in the field of agricultural science and representatives of the media to conduct in-depth exchanges and sharing of the latest developments, challenges and practical experiences of the digital countryside, so as to work together for the prosperous development of digital agriculture.
Tech Application Exhibition: showcasing global technology and innovation applications, with prominent AI hardware projects
As a highlight section of the past events, the Technology Application Exhibition has attracted more than 2,000 individual makers, teams and corporate exhibitors from nearly 50 countries and regions around the world since its inception in 2012. With Enchant Everything with AI as the core theme, this year’s Technology Application Expo has selected 120+ exhibitors from nearly 20 countries and regions around the world, and more than 30% of the exhibitors have brought AI hardware projects. They are from the UK, the US, Japan, France, South Korea, Russia, India and other countries, as well as China’s Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Inner Mongolia, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Hong Kong and Taiwan and other cities and regions.
Diversified application scenarios and wide range of industries involved are the major attractions of this year’s Technology Application Exhibition. According to the organizers, in the 2-day exhibition, this year’s technology applications show projects, programs, products served by the industry involves more than 30, mainly focusing on AI, robotics, intelligent manufacturing, science and technology education, entertainment, smart city, smart agriculture. Many familiar industry pioneers also appeared at Maker Faire Shenzhen to exhibit, such as NVIDIA, Raspberry Pi, Seeed Studio, Ultralytics, Makeblock and other well-known companies. In this era of rapid development, colleges and universities bring together excellent research talents and resources to promote the breakthrough and application of key technologies. This year’s summit also gathered 18 colleges and universities from all over the country, including Shenzhen City Vocational College, Shenzhen Vocational and Technical University, Shenzhen University, Southwest Jiaotong University, North Central University, Xijiaotong Liverpool University, Nanfang University of Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, and many other colleges and universities.
In addition to showcasing specific applications of innovation in the industry through booths, this year’s Tech Application Exhibition also used interactive punch card projects to highlight innovative applications of technology. Through ten featured projects: Booster Robot Π, SenseCAP Watcher, Modular Theater, ecoEye V10 AI Monitoring Camera, GPT One-Tap Ask Big Button and other AI hardware projects, the audience was able to gain an immersive understanding of the specific applications of cutting-edge technology in the industry.
Innovation Workshop: Hands-on Learning and Maker Innovation to Empower Industrial Digitization
As an important part of previous Maker Faire Shenzhen, the Innovation Workshops not only provide an immersive hands-on experience for the audience, but also provide an opportunity for them to quickly explore and learn skills. This year, MFSZ24, in collaboration with industry innovation partners and exhibitor partners, organized 21 thematic hands-on workshops within 2 days. They were mainly divided into “Industry Innovation Workshop” and “Interactive Experience Workshop”.
The Industrial Innovation Workshops were organized by Kittenbot, Chaihuo Maker Space, Seeed, DIGUA Robotics, Arm China and ABeam, where participants were led by professional instructors to experience the sense of achievement of getting started with hard technologies and contemplate the possibilities of applying the technologies to real-life scenarios at the same time. This year’s summit featured a total of five industrial innovation workshops, including the SiRider S1 Development Board Evaluation Workshop, Arduino Miniaturization and TinyML Application Workshop, RDK X5 Development Workshop for DIGUA Robotics, AI Model Creation Workshop, Advanced Perception System Workshop, and Digital DX Workshop.
The AI Modeling Workshop demonstrates how to seamlessly integrate AI technology with hardware through Silicon Power’s SenseCraft AI platform. No need to have AI background, you can easily make your own AI space sensor. The Interactive Experience Workshop, on the other hand, is jointly organized by the organizing committee and a number of exhibitors and teams, focusing on interactivity and entertainment, and is committed to providing an opportunity to experience the charm of science and technology up close and personal!
Satellite Events: co-located science and technology activities matrix, demonstrating innovative Shenzhen dynamics
In order to further enrich the activity experience of Maker Faire Shenzhen, this year’s summit will continue to organize colorful satellite events. The organizers have joined hands with 11 partners, including Seeed, Vanke Cloud Design Commune, Shenzhen ware, KiCad, Huaqiu Electronics, Arduino Chinese Community, and Shenzhen Institute of Science and Innovation, to create a satellite event matrix consisting of 11 series of science and technology innovation activities. These events took various forms, covering sharing sessions, hardware innovation factory visits, co-creation research, makers’ talks, etc. Some of the events explored the in-depth application of AI in industrial automation, smart manufacturing and edge computing, and demonstrated how AI can help the iteration and development of the maker ecosystem. These activities fully demonstrated the unique charm of Shenzhen as the “Maker Capital” of China’s innovation and entrepreneurship, radiating the domestic and overseas maker groups through the matrix of scientific and technological activities, connecting the global makers with the innovation ecology of the Greater Bay Area, and jointly polishing Shenzhen’s innovation business card.
The reporter found that there are three satellite activities at the summit site that are particularly popular, one is the “Maker Tea House”, “Maker Flash Talk” and “NVIDIA Tutorial. All three events are centered on the relationship between AI and makers, where AI provides makers with more automation tools and open resources, enabling them to focus on creativity, explore new possibilities, and drive the birth of more efficient and personalized products and solutions. In the age of AI, makers also need to keep innovating and learning to arm themselves.
9 Amazing Projects of Cyber Space Co-Creation Camp
In order to embrace makers more actively and create the future together, Vanke Cloud City launched the Cyber Co-Creation Camp in collaboration with Chaihuo Maker Space.
Vanke Cloud City is a miniature city integrating innovative industrial offices, green ecological leisure, diversified fashion culture and intelligent and convenient life. As the creation unit of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Industry Demonstration Park and Shenzhen Municipal Cultural Industry Park, Vanke Cloud City Design Commune is positioned as the three major industry clusters of cultural creativity, design service digital creativity, and introduces the industries of new consumption, industrial design, interior design, home design, and cultural and entertainment media.
This time, Vanke Cloud City Design Commune opens up the real operation pain points of the park and invites makers to give free play to propose solutions to improve the quality of work and life in the park with the power of science and technology. Through the activity of “Vanke Cloud City: Cyberspace Co-Creation Camp”, the makers produced a total of 9 projects, including intelligent parking, security monitoring, intelligent lighting, digital management of restrooms, art interactive installations and so on, which showed us the infinite possibilities of the future community by turning their whimsical ideas into reality. At Maker Faire Shenzhen, the organizer displayed these 9 projects for everyone, and many visitors actively joined in to feel the charm of the digital park.
With the theme of “Enchant Everything with AI”, this year’s summit brings together the power of global science and technology innovation, and showcases the cutting-edge technologies and applications of AI in various fields. Through the Maker Forum, Tech Application Exhibition, Innovation Workshop and a series of satellite events, the audience can not only gain a deeper understanding and experience the charm of AI-driven science and technology innovation, but also expand the vision of the application of AI in various industries, and jointly discuss the future trend and direction of AI development.
The success of this summit further promotes the deep integration of AI and industrial development, builds a bridge for communication between AI and industrial applications, promotes sustainable development, and helps rural revitalization and industrial digital transformation. It is believed that under the leadership of AI science and technology innovation, more intelligent innovations will emerge in the future, bringing well-being and development opportunities to society, and helping various industries realise new breakthroughs and progress.
Feel free to scan the QR code below to access this year’s live event photo page!
