The 15th China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition – “AI + Construction Machinery” Division, co-organised by XCMG, concluded in Xuzhou on October 30, with companies and universities from several countries receiving awards for projects aimed at improving construction machinery and worksite operations through artificial intelligence. The competition attracted more than 2,750 teams from over 20 countries and regions and received more than 1,600 project submissions. Following preliminary and semi-final rounds, 106 projects qualified for the final stage. International participants secured awards in both the Customer Co-Creation and Professional Contest categories.
The event was hosted by the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, along with other government and industry organisations. Yang Dongsheng, Chairman of XCMG Group and XCMG Machinery, said the competition was aimed at translating industry requirements into innovation challenges and bringing together partners to address technical issues in construction machinery.
He identified embodied intelligence as an important area for future development and said XCMG would use its innovation platforms, testing facilities and industry funds to support the development and deployment of AI technologies at worksites and serve customers worldwide.
Austria-based VA Erzberg GmbH won first prize in the Customer Co-Creation category for its electric mining truck project. Fortescue Trading Shanghai secured second prize in the same category for a project focused on using operational mining experience to improve the full lifecycle of next-generation zero-emission mining equipment.
In the Professional Contest’s Team Group under the AI + Product category, Uzbekistan’s Urgench State University received third prize for SmartFleet UZ. The AI-based platform is designed to predict equipment failures and assist operators using UzXCMG construction machinery.
Indonesia’s Manado State Polytechnic won third prize in the AI + Worksite Scenarios category for TerraSight AI, a system developed to monitor earthwork progress and calculate work volumes automatically. Germany’s RWTH Aachen University received an Excellence Award in the AI + Product category for a solution designed to help autonomous mining trucks adapt to different operating conditions.
The closing ceremony also saw the signing of agreements covering six projects selected through the competition’s Open Challenge track and four projects identified for commercialisation. XCMG plans to continue supporting participating teams by connecting them with investors, industry partners, research institutions, suppliers and technical experts. The company will also facilitate opportunities to develop and commercialise selected technologies.
The competition forms part of efforts to promote cooperation between manufacturers, universities and technology companies in developing AI applications for construction machinery. Its focus includes equipment automation, predictive maintenance, intelligent operations and improved worksite management. Through the initiative, XCMG aims to bring research and development closer to practical industry requirements and encourage the adoption of AI-based technologies across construction and mining operations.
