International Digital Entertainment Creative Association (IDEA) aims to be a catalyst to integrate segments of Taiwan's digital entertainment industry to create synergy and boost its internationalization, according to IDEA chairman Ken Chen.The industry consists of segments of videos/movies, animations, cartoons, online and arcade games, music and literature, and each segment is more or less interrelated to another or more, Chen said. Computers, as a strong tool, have linked these segments into a digital content supply chain with large business opportunities.Chen in 1998 established Gemhorn, a Taiwan sales agent for 3D and animation software such as Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya as well as plug-in VFX (visual effect) and after-effect software. From his business operation experience for many years, Chen has found there are internationally competitive local experts in each segment but there is lack of cooperation or exchanges for horizontal linkage among segments.Chen in 2017 set up IDEA for combining various local expertise in creation of digital entertainment content and providing an international platform for locally created content to go internationally.In the international market, movies, animations and games have been linked into a particular digital entertainment industry due to IP (intellectual property) licensing and high compatibility, Chen noted. The Taiwan government, in its efforts to promote creation of digital entertainment content, has to understand the situation to make really effective policies and design efficient subsidization programs, Chen indicated. IDEA not only helps local content creators but also will play a bridge between the industry and the government, Chen noted.Viewing that quite many locally created animations are of good quality but there are no platforms to advertise and market them, Chen and Chang Yen-jung, an assistant professor with National Taiwan Normal University's Department of Graphic Arts and Communications, established aniFlix Online, an open platform for animation creators to launch their works and set prices themselves to support local creativity for animation.Launched in December 2018, aniFlix Online has an English version to promote Taiwan-produced animations in the international market, Chen indicated, adding in the future, the English version will facilitate launches of animations from abroad to boost international exchanges.IDEA chairman Ken ChenPhoto: Vincent Mao, Digitimes, April 2020

Samsung and TSMC have been engaged in a fierce race in advancing manufacturing processes, with the Korean foundry aiming to beat its Taiwanese rival to 3nm production. But Samsung may have difficulties moving its 3nm node to volume production in 2021, as the coronavirus pandemic is delaying equipment installation. In China, the outbreak may have eased, but consumer confidence has yet to recover, sending consumer NAND flash prices falling.Samsung unlikely to move 3nm to volume production until 2022: Samsung Foundry, the foundry operations of Samsung Electronics, has set its goal of moving its advanced 3nm process technology to volume production as early as 2021. But the Korean firm will probably have to reschedule it to 2022, as the coronavirus pandemic's impacts on logistics and transportation services are causing delays to deliveries of EUV and other critical production equipment, according to industry sources.Consumer NAND flash prices falling in China retail market: NAND flash device prices in China's retail market have started showing weakness, as the coronavirus pandemic is weighing on consumer sentiment and dragging down demand, according to industry sources.

TSMC may not have been entirely unscathed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has disrupted production and chilled end-market demand, but the outlook of for the foundry's advanced manufacturing processes remains robust, with its 5nm node on track to start volume production in second-quarter 2020. The server sector has also seen robust orders thanks to the pandemic that is fueling demand for support for stay-at-home needs. Server assemblers say they will have significant shipments in second-quarter 2020. But the handset supply chain is having a much harder time. Production capacity in China may have been resumed, but Chinese handset vendors have seen a quick chill in demand from overseas markets.TSMC on track to ramp 5nm chip production: TSMC is on track to move 5nm process technology to volume production in second-quarter 2020 as scheduled, and continues to see the process capacity fully booked despite recent speculation claiming that the foundry has been requested by Apple to defer production of its next-generation A-series chips, according to industry sources.Server assemblers continue enjoying strong orders though IC designers see slowdown: Though IC design houses have recently seen demand from US-based datacenter clients slow down, server makers continue to enjoy strong orders from such clients, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.Pandemic hurting handset supply and demand: The fast spreading coronavirus pandemic is hurting both supply and demand of the global handset industry. China's supply chain makers face the harsh reality of having fewer or even no orders while still trying hard to resume their production capacities undercut by the pandemic.

Stay-at-home needs triggered by the coronavirus-imposed lockdowns in many parts of the world have boosted demand for enterprise and educational notebooks and tablets. Taiwan-based notebook ODMs now expect robust shipment growth in second-quarter 2020. But many of them expect the growth to be shortlived for a mature market that can hardly support their long-term growth. They remain keen on developing non-notebook devices to shore up profitability. Also being propelled by stay-at-home economy is the memory sector, which has seen significant demand from the server, gaming, notebook and STB sectors.Notebook ODMs eyeing robust shipment increases in 2Q20: Taiwan's notebook ODMs are poised to see strong shipments in the second quarter of 2020, particularly those of enterprise and educational models to meet massive remote work and learning needs amid the coronavirus pandemic, allowing them to raise shipment projections for the first half of the year, according to industry sources.Taiwan ODMs stay keen on expanding non-notebook sales: Taiwan's ODMs including Compal Electronics and Quanta Computer will continue to generate more revenues from non-notebook segments for further profit improvement in 202 despite recent strong demand for notebooks, according to industry sources.Memory demand propelled by stay-at-home economy: The coronavirus outbreak has spurred stay-at-home economy, driving demand for related applications such as servers, commercial notebooks, gaming consoles and set-top boxes (STB), according to sources at memory backend houses.

Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI) has worked with ICT industries and academic organizations to formulate short-, mid- and long-term strategies for developing smart machinery in Taiwan, according to TAMI chairman Alex Ko.Short-term strategies focus on equipping machines with Internet connectivity and visual displays of operating conditions; mid-term ones on establishing a machinery cloud and developing industrial sensors; and long-term ones on setting up an AI-based smart machinery knowledge bank, Ko said.Smart machinery is a cornerstone of smart manufacturing, Ko noted. For Internet connectivity for data collection and visual displays, the government and TAMI have been promoting installation of SMBs (smart machine boxes) on old and new machines since 2018, with SMBs expected to be installed on nearly 10,000 machines cumulatively in 2022, Ko indicated.The mid-term goals of setting up an open cloud computing platform seek to facilitate development of various software solutions for use in analysis of collected data mostly via download. Besides, in view of heavy reliance on expensive imported industrial sensors, local development and production of such sensors will be promoted to reduce cost.For the long term, a bank of AI-based smart machinery knowledge generated from accumulated data and analysis results in the two preceding stages will be established. The smart machinery knowledge can help machine makers extend business operation from producing machines to providing system integration services.Machinery makers are expected to play a major role in the stage of short-term strategies and academic organizations in the stage of long-term strategies, while private organizations and government-sponsored research units can function as a bridge between the former two in the stage of mid-term strategies, Ko analyzed.With smart machines as main driving power, Taiwan's machinery production and exports in 2020 may each grow 5-10% in value on year, TAMI noted.TAMI chairman Alex KoPhoto: Michael Lee, Digitimes, March 2020

A university research team has been developing AI-based analysis of general blood data to screen out phlebotomy cases with high risks for blood cancer.The Taipei Medical University team uses machine learning to analyze cell population data of CBP (complete blood picture) produced from regular blood inspection via phlebotomy, explained the team leader Syed Abdul Shabbir.The team cooperates with a medical center affiliated with South Korea's Konkuk University, which povides 457 cases of malignant blood tumor and 425 ones of benign blood tumor for training the machine, Shabbir said.Seven machine learning algorithms have been used in the AI-based analysis: SGD (stochastic gradient descent), SVM (support vector machine), RF (random forest), DT (decision tree), linear regression, logistic regression and ANN (artificial neural network), said Shabbir, an associate professor at the Taipei university's Graduate Institute of Biomedical Informatics.Based on tests of the 882 cases, ANN shows the highest accuracy level of 93.5%, he said.As blood cancers are comparatively uneasily diagnosed, most of detected blood cancers are in stage 3 or 4 and thus it is too late for the best medical treatment. The AI-based analysis can detect high risks for blood cancers based on conventional phlebotomy.Taipei Medical University associate professor Syed Abdul ShabbirPhoto: Mark Tsai, Digitimes, March 2020

TexTip, a startup offering an online AI platform for selecting fabrics, has introduced a new use of its services in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic: customized covers for face masks.TexTip, incubated by HerMin Textile, has launched an app for consumers to choose gauzelike fabrics and matching designers to customize covers that can prolong the use of surgical face masks.TexTip has set up a database of digital images of Taiwan-made fabrics available for online ordering. TexTip said it offers over 1,000 fabrics suitable for use to make mask covers, with fabric makers including HerMin, Chia Her Industrial, Everest Textile, Merryson and Asia Fit International.The Taiwan government has actively helped local makers expand production of face masks to cope with outbreak.A face mask cover made of Taiwan-produced fabricPhoto: TexTip

Demand from the server sector has been fueld by work- and study-from home activities in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. But IC designers have recently seen a slow-down in orders for server applications, sending them worrying about demand in the second quarter of 2020 if the pandemic prolongs. Intel is expected to release new 14nm CPUs in April, but demand may be dampened by the pandemic. MSI remains optimistic that new products from Intel, AMD and Nvidia will boost its sales in the second quarter.Taiwan IC design houses see orders for servers slow down: Taiwan-based IC design houses engaged in the supply chain for servers are expected to see orders coming from the sector buoy their sales during the second quarter of 2020, but have recently seen orders slow down from brand clients based in North America, according to industry sources.Intel to release new 14nm CPUs in April: Intel is set to unveil its new 14nm processors and chipsets in April, but the coronavirus pandemic may seriously hinder end-market demand for related PCs and motherboards, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.MSI expects small drop in 1Q20 revenues and rising sales starting April: Micro-Star International (MSI) expects revenues to drop less than 10% on year in the first quarter of 2020 and will see its sales gradually pick up starting April with the releases of new products from Intel, AMD and Nvidia, according to company chairman Joseph Hsu.

There has been speculation that Apple is looking to delay the launch of its next-generation iPhones due the impacts from the coronavirus pandemic, but its PCB suppliers say they have not received any notification from the client about delaying production for the 5G iPhone. Despite their claims, the PCB sectors and many others have seen the pandemic blur their order visibility. Tripod Technology is wary of the virus' impacts on demand although it saw record sales and profits in 2019, and so are IC designers. The uncertainty about demand is not preventing manufacturers in China from resuming production, but they have difficulties recruiting workers.Apple PCB suppliers dismiss speculation about 5G iPhone delay: Taiwan's PCB makers in the supply chain of 5G iPhones have denied reports claiming they have been asked to postpone volume production by two months in line with a likely launch delay for Apple's new-generation devices amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to industry sources.PCB maker Tripod cautious about 2020: Taiwan-based PCB specialist Tripod Technology has posted record revenues and profits for 2019, but it has turned cautious about its business prospect for 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic has led to many uncertainties on the demand side.Taiwan fabless chipmakers see unclear order visibility for 2Q20: Taiwan-based IC design houses remain cautious about overall customer demand in the second quarter judging from limited order visibility, according to industry sources.Makers in Kunshan, China face rising costs: Manufacturers with plants in China's Kunshan have restarted production, but face rising operating costs in the second quarter, according to industry sources.

Fu Chun Shin Machinery Manufacture (FCS), with help from Taiwan government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute, (ITRI) has developed a smart sensing solution for online monitoring of plastic injection molding processes to assure quality of injection molded plastic products.The solution uses sensors of mold cavity pressure to detect dynamic changes in flowing behavior of molten plastic materials inside mold cavities, and parameters from the detection are visually displayed for real-time monitoring of operating conditions of plastic injection molding machines, said the plastic injection molding machine maker. Besides, the solution enables traceability of injection molded plastic products, FCS noted.FCS has partnered with clients to adopt the solution since 2019 and will keep modifying the solution based on results of its performance, the company indicated.FCS has also cooperated with startup Thingnario to develop AI-based analysis for determining the optimal time of adding lubricant oil to plastic injection molding machines.The addition of lubricant oil is to minimize physical wear of bearings inside such machines and the time of addition was judged by experience technicians in the past, FCS said.Thingnario has established the correlation between the adding lubricant oil and vibration of machines, and therefore has installed vibration sensors to collect data on vibration at every injection molding process. Through AI analysis, the optimal time of adding lubricant oil is after a machine runs for 9,500 injection molding processes, FCS indicated.