The 28th China International Gas & Heating Technology and Equipment Exhibition kicked off grandly at Xi'an International Convention and Exhibition Center on October 21. On the afternoon of the opening day, Viewshine hosted a launch event for its brand-new product, Weiran Hub.
Gas utility operators, industry experts and partners from across the country gathered to witness the debut of Weiran Hub, the next-generation digital foundation for smart gas systems. Before the official launch, an interactive lucky draw warmed up the audience. The booth drew large crowds, building great anticipation for the release.
Breaking Boundaries: From Passive Metering Terminal to Weiran Hub
Zhu Shenbin, General Manager of Viewshine R&D Center and Dean of the Research Institute, delivered the keynote speech and shared insights on industry trends. As smart gas and whole-home intelligence gain momentum, the sector faces new challenges. On one hand, barriers remain in interconnecting household smart devices, with a lack of stable, reliable entry-level access hubs for end-users. On the other hand, traditional gas operation models are under pressure to boost collaboration, efficiency and service quality.
Against this backdrop, Viewshine presents an innovative solution with a brand-new architecture for gas meters. As a new-generation smart gas safety terminal and unified home intelligence hub, Weiran Hub reshapes the form of conventional meters, transforming gas terminals from simple metering devices into intelligent agents that sense, judge and respond.
Reimagined Architecture: Reliable Metering as the Foundation, Intelligent Control for Unlimited Potential
The core innovation of Weiran Hub lies in its physically separated dual-unit design: a metering terminal and an intelligent control terminal, following the concept "Metering secures the baseline, intelligent control unlocks upper limits".
Metering Terminal: Mounted on the gas pipeline and powered by an independent lithium battery. It focuses on legal metering, guarantees trade settlement, mandatory verification and measurement accuracy, with traceable records for regulatory compliance.
Intelligent Control Terminal: A standalone unit powered by mains electricity. Free from battery power and computing constraints, it supports edge AI computing, home ecosystem interconnection and iterative safety algorithms, with permanent network connectivity. It acts as the home gas intelligence hub to enable continuous innovation.
This design brings disruptive changes. For the first time, a gas meter integrates stable power supply, robust computing power, high-frequency data and constant network access. Instead of one daily aggregate data snapshot, the system captures instantaneous flow readings every 2 seconds - up to 43,200 data points per day, like a continuous video recording rather than a single photo. Supported by edge AI and SparkLink technology, it enables local real-time analysis and valve shutoff within seconds.
Reinvented Business Model: Empowering Users to Choose Gas Meters Like Smartphones
This breakthrough architecture reshapes the industry business model and creates win-win outcomes for all stakeholders. For end users, gas meters evolve from industrial hardware into consumer-grade products, allowing families to select their preferred meter just like picking a smartphone. For gas utilities, metering rights are authenticated via encrypted security cards. This shifts the operation model from heavy-asset meter procurement to a lightweight service model centered on credential provision and value-added services, greatly lowering costs and lifting revenue.
As Dean Zhu emphasized: "Safety is product capability; peace of mind is user experience." Weiran Hub addresses household concerns such as slow gas leakage, abnormal consumption spikes, forgotten cooking burners, multi-device energy monitoring and gas safety risks for elderly residents living alone, translating technical safety features into genuine peace of mind for families.
Midway through the launch, Liu Yong, President of Huawei Gas Pipeline Business Unit, made a surprise guest appearance. He shared updates on the HarmonyOS ecosystem and the Gas-Hong Smart Connect architecture behind Weiran Hub, and expressed expectations for deeper collaboration on the HarmonyOS gas ecosystem and home intelligence hubs. The partnership announcement marked a highlight of the event.
After the launch, Viewshine's booth remained packed with visitors. Many gas utility customers examined the physical prototype of Weiran Hub and discussed pilot deployment, encrypted authentication cards, data compliance and alarm responsibility boundaries with our technical team. They showed strong interest in this separated "metering + intelligent control" architecture, which aligns with upcoming industry standards.
