On August 18, 2017, the first session of the Edge Computing Consortium (ECC) Advisory Committee was held in the Northeast University International Hotel, Shenyang. At the conference, the committee reviewed the ECC Technology White Paper to be released. In attendance at the conference were more than 30 experts including Yu Haibin, Chairperson of the ECC and Director of Shenyang Institute of Automation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yang Zemin, Consulting Expert of the ECC Advisory Committee and Secretary General of China Communications Standards Association, Dong Jingchen, Consulting Expert of the ECC Advisory Committee and Professor of the Manufacturing Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Yan Xing, Secretary General of the ECC Advisory Committee and Vice Director of Huawei Industry Development Dept, and representatives of ECC Council members.

Figure 1-1 The first session of the ECC Advisory Committee

Yang Zemin delivered an opening speech at the conference, in which he said, "The reason why we are discussing edge computing here and why we want to use edge computing to support the smart manufacturing is that rapid development of technologies in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry in the past 20 years has equipped us with a technical foundation that makes edge computing possible. However, the foundation is not solid enough, and we still have a long way to go before making edge computing and smart manufacturing readily available. For example, we need to solve the problems associated with application bottlenecks, dedicated chips, and module assembly. I believe that leveraging organizations like the ECC is the most effective way to solve these problems. The ECC integrates the greatest strengths of some professions in Information Technology (IT), ICT, and Operation Technology (OT) industries. Leading enterprises in manufacturing and ICT industries, members of the ECC, are expected to leverage their advantages and lay a practice foundation for, invest resources into, and make breakthroughs in important projects that can bring wide and significant application meanings. They are also expected to share precious treasures like design specifications and standards formulated during the practice of important projects with other enterprises."

Shi Yang, Chairperson of the Requirement and System Group of the ECC, presented a report to the experts in attendance about the current working progress of the Edge Computing Technology White Paper from the perspectives of industry insight, composition roadmap, and core contents and key points of the white paper. Experts in attendance spoke highly of the current working progress of the Edge Computing Technology White Paper and put forward many valuable suggestions.

Yu Haibin, Chairperson of the ECC, added at the end of the conference, "The intended audience of the white paper includes device developers, network developers, and control system vendors. The ECC needs to clarify the following three points in the Edge Computing Technology White Paper: the ECC's opinions and standpoints, the current development situation of edge computing, and the values that edge computing can bring to users in the future. The composition of the white paper still encounters many difficulties and challenges, and we expect to combine the strength of all members of the ECC to make the Edge Computing Technology White Paper really valuable to the industry development."