Armasuisse Emerging Technology Tour to China
By Quentin Gigon, Junior Project Manager - Innovation & Entrepreneurship
As technology advances at an breathtaking pace and we are invariably impacted by innovations in our society, everyone is trying to stay up to date on the latest and greatest developments; The military is no exception, and to this end swissnex China had the pleasure of organizing a 3-day program from November 5 to 7, focusing on emerging technology trends in China for the visit of Mr. Quentin Ladetto of Armasuisse, a Federal Agency of the Swiss Confederation responsible for the procurement of armaments for Switzerland.
The program organized by swissnex consisted of three days. On the first day, swissnex China brought Mr. Ladetto to Hangzhou, a city neighboring Shanghai and famous for its West Lake as well as for hosting Alibaba’s HQ. With the help of Lucas Rondez, CEO and Founder of NiHub, an organization helping foreign startups in China, Mr. Ladetto had the opportunity to visit HIKVision, world leader in video surveillance products, NiHub’s latest office space, as well as Getui.com, a leading third-party push notification service provider, as well as We Meet, a platform for European SMEs to launch in China.
On the second day, Mr. Ladetto was able to visit the China International Import Exhibition (CIIE), the world's largest trade expo taking place in Shanghai. With enterprises from over 100 countries and every possible field, the Exhibition provided the ideal environment to explore the latest technological developments and innovations.
On the third and final day of the program, Mr. Ladetto visited the Beidou Research Institute, a non-profit platform promoting the Beidou Navigation Industry, China’s equivalent of America’s Global Positioning System (GPS). The Institute is also home to a “Robotics Testing & Training Area”, which is one of the largest indoor “sandbox environments” in China allowing for the testing and validation of mobile robots.
Mr. Ladetto’s trip then continued to South Korea, followed by Japan.