At the 2,000 square meter exhibition area of the Future Industries Conference, technologies ranging from humanoid robots that drew crowds, to walking-assist robots, exoskeletons, and even brain-controlled wheelchairs and brain-computer interface rehabilitation treatments, showcased a dazzling "tech show." Beneath this spectacle, future industries represented by embodied intelligence, low-altitude economy, and quantum technology are cultivating a massive market. According to the latest data released at the conference, Chengdu's future industry revenue is projected to reach 50 billion yuan in 2025, achieving double-digit year-on-year growth, with R&D investment intensity hitting 7%, which is 3.1 percentage points higher than the societal average.

"Chengdu has many advantages in developing future industries. Whether it's the cultural environment, the overall industrial ecosystem, or the government's awareness and support, they are all very good," said Wang Haizhou, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Chief Scientist at NCS Testing Technology, during an exclusive interview with NBD at the Future Industries Conference co-hosted by the China Center for Information Industry Development and the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology.

Speaking on the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, Wang Haizhou shared his insights. He observed that while there is widespread focus on "0-to-1" original innovation, other critical links in the process of merging tech innovation with industry are often overlooked. "The evolution of technological innovation, including future industry tech, should follow the pattern 'from N to 1 to 0 to N'. This means starting from real-world demand, condensing key problems, and then achieving technological breakthroughs through multidisciplinary integration. Without first understanding the foundation of 'N' real-world needs, the '0-to-1' process is likely to be a flash in the pan," Wang explained to NBD.

NBD: This Future Industries Conference focuses on frontier tracks like embodied intelligence, low-altitude economy, quantum technology, and brain-computer interfaces. In your view, do these seemingly disparate frontier fields share common underlying principles? Where might the key inflection points for future industries emerge?

Wang Haizhou: There are certainly common underlying principles. Ultimately, each distinct segment is driven by problem orientation. To improve the applicability and effectiveness of technological innovation outcomes, we should study the evolutionary patterns of these outcomes. People are more focused on "0-to-1," meaning original and disruptive innovation, hoping to establish a source of innovation. For future industries to achieve high-quality, rapid development, a key focus is discussing the disruptive technologies born from "0-to-1" original innovation. So how does "0" come about? And where does "1" go? How does it get there? These are important questions we must address. We need to bring forward extensive research that fully reflects the evolution of tech innovation, which should be "N to 1 to 0 to N." Its fundamental value lies first in considering the problems, discussing the important issues future industries should focus on and urgently solve. These key problems need further refinement. The scientific and technological foundations involved can be forged into new technological forces through multidisciplinary integration. Only by combining problem orientation with technical feasibility can we drive the development of future industries. For example, humanoid robots dancing or doing flips—these "performances" are not the end goal. The ultimate purpose is to use their various reactions, self-control, and performance to test the outcomes of products across all links in the industrial chain, identify problems in each, and build standards for each link through innovative technology. As for the industrial inflection point, we are already seeing a trend in future industries moving from "points" to "areas." There has been a certain level of accumulation. Various solutions are emerging, industries across different technological directions are all working on it and experimenting. Diversified thinking is an inevitable trend for the development of future industries.

NBD: You have proposed the "four-chain integration" theory of innovation chain, standards chain, data chain, and industrial chain. However, future industries are still in the exploratory stage. Should "standards" play the role of a "guide" or a "follower" in future industries? Could setting standards too early stifle innovation?

Wang Haizhou: It can't simply be defined as a "guide" or a "follower." An industry is a chain. Much of what we talk about today regarding industrial standardization and industrial transformation is based on this "industrial chain" foundation. Many companies only care about the final quality of their products, but in reality, from raw material supply to production processes to the final product, it's a complete closed loop. This loop contains many stages and nodes, each of which should have its own goals, standards, data, and quality. Only when the closed loop at each node is satisfactory can the entire industrial chain achieve high-quality development. Why consider integration? Because we need to map out the industry chain to identify what's missing and what needs improvement. We extract these issues, solve them through innovation, and then standardize the innovative results and embed them back into the chain. Standardization is a crucial foundation and support for ensuring the effectiveness of technological innovation outcomes and successfully transforming results. It can further enhance the applicability of these outcomes, ensure their validity, accelerate the transformation of tech achievements, and expedite the formation of new quality productive forces. Therefore, whether for future industries or new quality productive forces, the entire industry chain relationship, the quality foundation of each step, and the quality assurance at every point are fundamental. While market size is important, it depends on market demand and also on whether each node can form a closed loop. If a closed loop can't be formed, it's difficult to achieve lasting scale. At the same time, "standards" certainly won't restrict innovation because they need to be continuously iterated and updated—they aren't set in stone. This is the concept behind standardizing technological innovation. Any industry must continuously update and develop to meet new demands and achieve leapfrog progress.

NBD: Chengdu is currently building the first batch of Sichuan Province's future industry pilot zones. In your view, what key capabilities should be prioritized for the construction of future industry pilot zones?

Wang Haizhou: Chengdu has many advantages in developing future industries. Its cultural environment, overall industrial ecosystem, and the government's understanding and support are all excellent. It possesses the capability for innovation. Innovation is the soul of future industries, while demand is their foundation. If these two can be effectively combined, achieving high-quality development of future industries is only a matter of time.