clicking in the air to control a system or machine may sound like a scene in a sci-fi movie, but young chinese entrepreneur han dongcheng has made it come true and brought the technology into life.
in 2016, as a graduating student of the university of science and technology of china, han dongcheng and his schoolmate fan chao decided to start the business on media-free aerial imaging technology, or holographic imaging technology.
photo taken on oct. 13, 2020 shows han dongcheng (r) and fan chao posing for a group photo in the office building of anhui easpeed technology in hefei, east china's anhui province. (xinhua)
things were not easy for the young men who were born in ordinary rural families. the start-up costs were a big challenge lying ahead and han decided to face the hardship head-on with fan. to raise funds, they took out all their scholarships earned and saved at university and ran a photography business in their senior year. with the initial 180 thousand yuan (about 28 thousand u.s. dollars) gained by taking photos, han moved on.
han dongcheng (l) and fan chao work at the workshop of anhui easpeed technology in hefei, east china's anhui province, oct. 13, 2020. (xinhua)
in august 2016, their start-up company anhui easpeed technology was established in hefei, east china's anhui province. but as the business grew, the company ran out of funds soon and han found himself confronted with financial difficulties once again. this time, han got eight million yuan (about 1.23 million u.s. dollars) of seed money from the local government, with which easpeed got the chance to manufacture aerial imaging products at scale.
photo taken on july 14, 2021 shows the exterior of anhui easpeed technology's office building in hefei, east china's anhui province. (xinhua)
with great efforts, han dongcheng and his team have successfully developed dct-plate and made "interactive holographic imaging" possible. five years on, easpeed has also grown into a company with more than 200 staff members from over 10 funding members.
furthermore, han's success has also contributed to the fight against covid-19. given contactless devices can dramatically reduce the risk of cross-infection, holographic imaging products have been put into use in crowded places, such as hospitals and metro stations.
han dongcheng demonstrates the use of a touchless self-service medical kiosk in hefei, east china's anhui province, aug. 12, 2021. (xinhua/liu junxi)
"i want to transform my knowledge into products that bring benefits to society," said han.
han dongcheng poses for a photo in the office building of the anhui easpeed technology in hefei, east china's anhui province, aug. 12, 2021. (xinhua/liu junxi)
