What Happened at the 2026 AEA Global Smart Film Installation Competition?

A New Category Emerges: The Rise of Photoelectric Smart Film

As the automotive aftermarket moves deeper into intelligent territory, a new product category is reshaping how installers and car owners think about vehicle films. Photoelectric smart film — following window tint, paint protection film, and color-change wrap as the fourth major film category — combines photoelectric technology with smart dimming to deliver an experience that none of the earlier categories could offer. But a category-defining product also demands category-defining installation skill, which is exactly the gap this year's competition was built to close.

From March 20 to 23, the 2026 AEA Photoelectric Smart Film Advanced Installation Training and Global Installation Competition took place at the Shenzhen Jiuzhou Auto Ecology Expo, at Booth 80213 in Hall 8H of the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center. Founded in 2003, ASTRACE served as the exclusive headline sponsor, using the event as both a training ground and a public standard-setting exercise for the emerging "fourth film" category.

Technology First: Setting the Core Barrier for the Fourth Film Era

Since our founding, we have focused on film materials as a core discipline, first replacing imported high-end film products and later becoming one of the first companies to complete the full chain from material R&D to automotive-grade application in the smart film era. Our self-developed OMTD photoelectric display film and 3MDT dimming film lead the category across visual aesthetics, optical performance, electrical response, long-term weather resistance, and dimming speed, and both have cleared two of the toughest barriers in the industry — automotive-grade certification and installation on complex, large-curvature surfaces.

That combination means what we bring to installers isn't just a film, but a complete, market-tested smart cabin lighting solution built to hold up over time. Sponsoring and supporting this competition reflects our role as an ecosystem builder in the category — a way of transferring years of accumulated technology, production quality control, and installation standards to partners around the world in an authoritative, hands-on format.

Four Days, Four Stages: Inside the Competition Format

Held at Booth 80213 in Hall 8H from March 20 to 23, the event was structured around four stages: systematic training, hands-on competition, an awards ceremony, and a public results showcase. Each stage built on the one before it, moving installers from theory to certified, competition-tested skill over the course of four days.

Competition Schedule and Outcomes

A Judging Panel Built on Industry Standards

Three industry veterans served as judges, each evaluating the installations from a different angle. As part of our commitment to standardizing this category, we invited judges whose backgrounds span brand development, technical standards, and hands-on window film craftsmanship:

• Ping Zunci, Brand Director for panoramic roof film at ASTRACE, who framed 2026 as the year the fourth film category becomes a must-have, with the competition designed to push standardized application and accelerate market education
• Li Yan, Technical Director at ASTRACE, who described the goal as bringing zero-tolerance, aviation-grade standards into smart film installation, with the competition serving to build shared norms, share technology, and cultivate talent
• Liu Peng, National Technical Director for window film at Youjiu Technology, who brought more than 20 years of experience driving process upgrades through technical innovation

Meet the Technical Masters Behind the Training

The core of the training program came from four master installers, each contributing a distinct area of expertise:

• Han Wanqiang, Craftsmanship Master — a gold medal winner at Saint-Gobain's China film installation competition, widely recognized as the "king of detail" and the figure who translated precision craftsmanship into ASTRACE's smart film installation standards
• Li Shuai, Delivery Pioneer — a senior technical expert at ASTRACE with deep, on-site installation experience, known for precise control over the physical properties and installation tension of photoelectric smart film, especially on large-curvature and irregularly shaped glass
• Feng Wenjie, Field Commander — an ASTRACE ace technician with installation experience across more than ten thousand high-end vehicles, known for solving a wide range of smart film issues in the field
• Li Mingzhen, Standards Benchmark — an ASTRACE ace technician whose long-standing focus on refined installation has contributed to several of our internal standardized procedures, setting the industry benchmark for zero-defect delivery

Together, this team combined theoretical instruction with hands-on practice to cover the full range of core skills: the physical characteristics of photoelectric smart film, standardized installation procedures, troubleshooting advanced problems, and passing strict acceptance criteria. For participants, the training wasn't only a technical transfer — it was also a path toward joint certification from ASTRACE and the Shenzhen Jiuzhou Expo, marking them among the first generation of recognized smart film specialists in the industry.

What the Competition Means for the Installation Industry

After three days of intense competition, the fourth film installation championship closed on a high note, with installation specialists from across the country exchanging techniques and competing side by side. The event brought the training, competition, and public showcase full circle, closing out what has become a defining moment for the category this year.

For us, headlining and supporting this competition is part of a longer-term commitment: covering the full value chain of advanced film technology — R&D, customization, branding, and full-service support — so that as photoelectric smart film becomes standard equipment, the installation skill behind it keeps pace with the technology itself.