Computational Intelligence Technology Center under government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has developed an AI-based deep learning solution for use in training robotic arms to load and unload components onto and off production lines.Training by the solution is through letting robotic arms learn to grab and release randomly placed components at varying angles and force in 12 hours. Along with adjustment in production lines for making different products, training of robotic arms can be quickly adjusted accordingly.AI-based training can replace conventional training based on programming used to define each action, with the latter being complicated technologically and taking much time.Besides, tactile sensing is applied to training of robotic arms. Mechavision, a startup business spun off from ITRI in 2017, has cooperated with Japan-based Mitsubishi Electric to develop Finger Teach, a solution to train robotic arms using finger touch.According to ITRI's surveys, of collaborative robots adopted in Taiwan, 36% are used in manufacturing of electronics including ICs and PCBs, 32% in mechanical processing. Collaborative robots are used in match with AGVs (automated guided vehicles) in loading and unloading components for the former and, in addition to loading and unloading components, in grinding, paint spraying, glue coating and polishing processes and carrying semi-finished products for the latter.Collaborative robots (left) and robotic arms (right)Photo: Digitimes file

Future-Action Interactive Art has designed digital games for CTBC Bank to market its financial management services via immersive education of game players, according to company founder Bryan Cheng.Each game corresponds to a financial management service and related risks, with players collecting in-game items (financial management services) and having to manage to avoid sudden attacks (investment risks), Cheng said.The interactive game playing process provides immersive education of financial management concepts as well as knowledge about saving, investment and risks for game players, Cheng noted, adding the games also impress players with CTBC Bank's financial technology image.The games are available at CTBC Financial Park in Taipei.For points accumulated in game playing, CTBC Bank will donate to charities an equivalent amount of money on behalf of the players, Cheng said.In new media era, technology in AR- or VR-based immersive experience can be used to fuse corporate brand value, image and marketing appeals into interactive video or gaming scenarios to let consumers naturally receive the information intended to be transmitted, Cheng indicated.For the games designed for CTBC Bank, marketing effects hinge on not only AR or VR technology but also content, interesting interaction and natural transmission of corporate goals, Cheng explained.Future-Action recently designed a VR interactive theater for a Chinese martial arts novel to display elaborately written content of the novel using virtual scenarios for marketing purposes, Cheng said.Immersive experience-games available at CTBC Financial ParkPhoto: Future-Action Interactive Art

Strong demand for TWS earbuds is resulting in tight supply for button cells that they use. Now cell suppliers are increasig their production capacities to embrace the rising demand. The PC market may be slow, but Intel still sees a lot of opportunities from it. Frank Soqui, VP of Client Computing Group and GM of Gaming Division at Intel, recently told Digitimes in an interview about the company's strategy for the PC market.Cell battery makers keen on capacity ramps to meet rising demand from TWS earbud sector: A number of lithium-ion battery makers in Germany, China and Taiwan are mulling expanding their production capacities for button cells to cash in on increasing demand from the TWS (true wireless stereo) headset sector, according to industry sources.PC market still full of opportunities: Q&A with Frank Soqui, VP of Client Computing Group and GM of Gaming Division at Intel: Intel currently still holds an 80% share in the global PC market, but the growth of the CPU giant's PC platform business has weakened, thanks to prolonged shortages of its processors amid keen competition from AMD, who has TSMC's advanced manufacturing process support.

Heroic-Faith Medical Science expects its AI-powered respiratory monitor to receive US FDA clearance this year, according to Taiwan-based startup.Heroic-Faith said the AI-powered continuous respiratory monitor can perform the breathing sounds auscultation precisely, using Taiwan's cutting-edge noise-cancelling technology, but also count breathing rate and identify the so-called adventitious sounds caused by airway obstruction, spasm, and increased secretion, thanks to the advanced AI algorithm.Medical personnel can hear the breathing sounds broadcasting from the device or through Bluetooth earphones in real-time, and meanwhile, visually observe the sound spectrogram from the screen. The alert system further assists clinicians in early detection of respiratory compromises, according to the company.HeroicFaith's respiratory monitor has just won the Best Innovation Award out of the 13 contestants on a demo day held by AWS innovation center in Taiwan. It was also showcased at CES 2020.Respiratory monitoring is a crucial but often missing part in the practice of vital signs observation, according to the startup, which was founded in 2018. Aside from the traditional settings in critical care units and operation rooms, there is a rapid growing need as the utilization of procedural sedation anesthesia (PSA) increases. PSA is currently applied for various medical procedures, such as painless gastrointestinal endoscopic examinations, dental, plastic surgery, ENT, and OB/GYN procedures, and cardiovascular catheterizations. Patients under PSA do not need to suffer from endotracheal intubation, and therefore enjoy a shorter recovery time and fewer airway aftermaths. The total number of PSA performed annually in the US is estimated to reach 100 million, while there are four million practices annually in Taiwan. The mortality rate related to PSA is reported to be 2-5 persons in every 100,000 practices.Continuous respiratory monitoring is mandated during procedures under non-intubated sedation in the guidelines set by the American Society of Anesthesiologists and American Dental Association. In Taiwan, the rising fatal consequences also triggered more stringent regulation enforcement in patient safety monitoring. Until now, this requirement is often relied on the measurement of peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2) and end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2), without direct breathing detection. The accuracy is in doubt when used in open-mouth/facial surgeries or high flow oxygen is needed.

Intel CPU shortages are expected to persist through 2020, with the entry-level segment bearing the brunt. Chromebook vendors are expected to adopt more AMD processors for their devices. In the semiconductor sector, TSMC expects the global foundry sector to see strong growth in 2020, with the Taiwan-based firm showing even stronger growth than the average. And in response to reported pressure from Washington for it to build a fab in the US, TSMC said it has no such plans. As for the car industry, PCB maker Chin Poon, who sees large portions of sales from the automotive sector, remains cautious about 2020.Intel CPU shortages likely to persist through end-2020: Shortages of Intel's PC processors are likely to persist through the end of 2020, prompting notebook makers to adopt AMD's chips in more of their notebooks including business models, according to industry sources.Global IC foundry sales to surge 17% in 2020, says TSMC CEO: The global IC foundry market is forecast to increase 17% in 2020, outpacing the overall semiconductor sector's 8% growth, according to TSMC CEO CC Wei. TSMC will continue to see its sales increase outperform the overall IC foundry market growth this year, said Wei.TSMC says no plans for US fab: In response to reports indicating Washington has increased its pressure on TSMC to have a plant in the US for the fabrication of high-security products, the Taiwan-based foundry said that it has no such plans in the short term but the feasibility is being evaluated.Automotive PCB maker Chin-Poon cautious about 2020: Taiwan-based automotive PCB specialist Chin-Poon Industrial is cautious about its performance in 2020 as chances are high that the global auto market may experience another year of sluggish sales, according to industry sources.Intel CPU shortages to remain throughout 2020Photo: Digitimes photo

Taiwan's startup delegation to CES 2020 has won business opportunities of more than US$226 million during their stay in the US, according to the Ministry of Science and Technoilogy (MOST).The 82 Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) teams caught much attention from venture capital and internaitonal companies, MOST said."This is the 3rd year for TTA to participate in CES. We started form 32 startups with NT$3.2 billion business opportunities in 2018, 44 startups with NT$5.5 billion business opportunities in 2019, and 82 startups with NT$7 billion business opportunities in 2020," said MOST minister Chen Liang-Gee. "It shows that after long-term cultivation by the government, Taiwan's startups have gradually transformed from regional and small markets to global market deployment."He said Taiwanese startups now understand more about CES after three years of participation, successfully linking with global industries, seeking business opportunities and enhancing the quality of the products and services.Among the achievements obtained by TTA at CES 2020, Yallvend has won the orders to deploy smart vending machines at venues of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; YoKai Express has obtained orders for ramen machines from San Francisco Airport; and FaceHeart has been invited by Sony to jointly develop new products for healthcare, according to MOST.

South Korea-based Robocare exhibited BOMY I and BOMY II, two companion robots for eldercare at CES 2020.BOMY I is a fixed companion robot to help prevent elderly people's dementia by providing game content to improve brain power, said Robocare managing director SH Ahn. The robot, via positioning system, monitors elderly people's walking paces in real-time and is integrated with smartwatches and wrist bands to analyze users' sleeping and daily activities, Ahn noted.BOMY I measures 430 (H) x 381 (W) x 310 (D)mm, weighing 6kg and priced at about US$3,000, Ahn indicated, adding that Robocare has sold 100 units.BOMY II is a 12kg mobile companion robot measuring 630 x 350 x 406mm for sale at about US$7,000, Ahn said. The model provides various services and functions, including emergency call and personal alarm, to prevent dementia, Ahn noted, adding that Robocare has sold more than 60 such robots.Robocare was originally a startup at Korea Institute of Science and Technology and founded in August 2012.SH Ahn, managing director of Robocare, poses with BOMY I (left) and BOMY IIPhoto: Mark Tsai, Digitimes, January 2020

Taiwanese startup AP Plasma has developed AI-base low-temperature air plasma technology for use in automated surface bonding of soles to shoes, according to company chairman and president Jango Chang.The automated surface bonding technology, by virtue of integrating AI, air plasma technology, 3D sensing and robotic arms, replaces traditional use of toxic glue in bonding and labor input, with average time taken in making a pair of shoes reduced from one minute to 10 seconds, Chang said.While air plasma technology has been used in shoe making, the production efficiency hinges on integration of AI, 3D sensing and robotic arms equipped with air plasma aurora heads, Chang noted. AP Plasma has integrated hardware and software concerned in developing low-temperature air plasma bonding equipment, Chang indicated. For example, 3D sensing and AI algorithms can estimate optimal routes of sole bonding, with such data transferred to robotic arms via software-based communication, Chang said.AP Plasm, founded in 2017, initially uses the AI-based low-temperature air plasma technology in shoemaking because global demand for shoes reaches nearly 24 billion pairs a year, and shoemakers face increasing pressure in environmental protection from their clients such as Nike, who demands low-pollution manufacturing processes, Chang explained.AP Plasma's low-temperature air plasma bonding equipment reportedly has drawn interests from Pou Chen, the largest Taiwan-based shoemaker and an OEM for Nike. Besides, Nike has listed AP Plasma as a candidate supplier in the future, Chang noted.AP Plasma chairman and president Jango Chang (left)Photo: Chloe Liao, Digitimes, January 2020

Dutch startup i-Med Technology, which showcased an a 3D digital surgical head-mounted loupe at CES 2020, develops products based on user-centric and demand-driven innovations, according to company CEO Vincent Graham.Startups need to constantly test and verify their technologies on-site, and i-Med has cooperated with hospitals to develop the loupe and these hospitals are expected to initially use the device, Graham noted.Before operations, surgeons can integrate diagnostic information such as medical records, CT, MRI and blood tests into the loupe, said Graham.During the operations, surgeons can see several separate displays of various information on the loupe to enable them to accurately decide on location, depth and width for surgery. There are pedals to allow surgeons to switch on and off LED lighting, adjust sizes, contrast and brightness of displayed images.i-Med CEO Vincent Graham demonstrates a 3D digital surgical head-mounted loupePhoto: Mark Tsai, Digitimes, January 2020

Demand for TSMC's 7nm foundry services has been strong, with lead time for the node extending to about six months. The tight supply is expected to last throughout 2020, and Intel reportedly might also come knock on the door for TSMC's 7nm supply. In China, SMIC has started volume production of chips using its 14nm FinFET process at a fab in Shanghai. In Taiwan, an auction for 5G spectrums has completed, with winners paying exorbitant prices. Meanwhile, Digitimes Research's latest special report on the global server industry shows that worldwide server shipments will resume growth in 2020.TSMC 7nm lead time remains extended, with Intel reportedly looking to place orders: TSMC 7nm process lead time remains at about six months, with tight supply expected to last through 2020, or even worsened in the second half of the year if speculation about Intel possibly seeking to place orders for the Taiwanese foundry's advanced processes materializes, according to industry sources.SMIC scaling up 14nm chip output: Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) has kicked off volume production of chips built using 14nm FinFET process technology at its manufacturing site in Shanghai since the third quarter of 2019, according to the China-based pure-play foundry.Taiwan completes 5G spectrum auction: Taiwan's auction of 5G spectrums came to an end on January 16 after 261 rounds of bidding with total bids reaching NT$138.08 billion (US$4.604 billion), according to an announcement of National Communications Commission (NCC).Global server shipments to grow 6.6% in 2020, says Digitimes Research special report: Global server shipments, having declined moderately by 1.4% in 2019, will return growth in 2020, thanks to significant demand from the datacenter sector, according to Digitimes Research's latest special report on the server industry.TSMC 7nm foundry supply remains tightPhoto: Digitimes file photo