A staff member displays artworks 3D-printed from recycled materials at the 24th China International Environmental Protection Exhibition and Conference and the eighth Conference on the Innovative Development of the Environmental Protection Industry in Beijing, June 2, 2026.
The word "handcrafted" often conjures up images of small, playful gadgets. But in China's tech scene, the term has also come to cover lightweight digital content, like AI-generated videos and apps, made quickly by a single person or small team.
Now, as AI and 3D printing technologies mature, the same DIY spirit is now making its way into industrial-grade production, enabling small teams to build industrial equipment like robots and drones in just days.
Tan Liwei, a user experience engineer at Chinese tech giant Huawei in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, decided to build a smart plant accessory in 2025 after noticing that while most households grow houseplants, few know how to keep them healthy. He came up with the idea of translating soil-monitoring data into facial expressions on a small screen, such as a frown when the plant needs water or a hand shielding its forehead from too much light.
Half a year later, he brought working prototypes to the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, drawing coverage from more than 70 global media outlets and garnering over 10 million views online. The product is now headed for mass production, with preorders launching in September.
