XUZHOU, China – November 06, 2026 -- More than 2,750 teams from over 20 countries and regions registered for the 15th China Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition's "AI + Construction Machinery" Division, which XCMG co-organized and which concluded in Xuzhou on Oct. 30. Agreements covering six Open Challenge projects and four commercialization projects were signed at the closing event.
106 of 1,600 submitted projects reached the finals
The competition received over 1,600 project submissions. After preliminary and semifinal rounds, 106 projects advanced to the finals. International teams won awards in both the Customer Co-Creation and Professional Contest tracks. The Torch High Technology Industry Development Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology hosted the event together with other government and industry organizations.
Mining electrification dominates the customer track
Austria's VA Erzberg GmbH won first prize in the Customer Co-Creation track for its electric mining truck project. Fortescue Trading Shanghai took second prize in the same track. Its project applies real-world mining experience to optimize the full lifecycle of next-generation zero-emission mining equipment.
Universities win on predictive maintenance and earthwork monitoring
Uzbekistan's Urgench State University received third prize in the Team Group's AI + Product category for SmartFleet UZ. The AI platform is designed to predict equipment failures and assist operators of UzXCMG construction machinery.
Indonesia's Manado State Polytechnic took third prize in the AI + Worksite Scenarios category for TerraSight AI, a system designed to automatically monitor earthwork progress and volumes. Germany's RWTH Aachen University earned an Excellence Award in the AI + Product category for a solution designed to adapt autonomous mining trucks to multiple operating scenarios.
XCMG chairman targets embodied intelligence
XCMG Group and XCMG Machinery Chairman Yang Dongsheng said the contest aims to "turn real industry needs into innovation challenges." He identified embodied intelligence as a key development area. He said XCMG would use its innovation platforms, testing resources and industry funds to bring AI innovations to worksites and serve customers worldwide.
XCMG will continue connecting competition teams with funding sources, industry and research partners, talent and suppliers to help bring their innovations to market.