The tech-matching conference, held alongside the Pujiang Innovation Forum in Shanghai from September 11 to 14, bridged the gap between lab research and industry with full-chain services for technology transfer.

The conference released more than 10,000 technology demands and showcased 1,500 high-quality achievements and innovative products from small and medium-sized enterprises.

One exhibit was a video-based flow measurement system. Using a standard camera with artificial intelligence algorithms, it monitors river channels in real time, measuring water level and flow velocity at distances of up to 300 meters with accuracy within one centimeter.

"Through this tech-matching, we hope that we can continue joint research and development, and that the investment can support us in continuing this technology and constantly iterating it," said Yang Mingxiang, a professor at the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research.

At the event, matchmaking ran both ways: projects looked for opportunities, while technical managers looked for projects. A group of technical managers from the Yangtze River Delta region met project teams at the event to assess their potential and challenges.

"Concept validation centers will be set up later to specifically help faculty teams solve the first-kilometer problem in the laboratory, essentially the first step from zero to one," said Bao Yuehua, a supervisor for technical managers.

The conference built a closed loop for year-round online and offline technology transfer services: collecting and identifying demands before the event, gathering resources and matching them during the event, and maintaining long-term operations through an online platform after the event, all to support the commercialization of research results.