Taiwan-based medical management consulting company Concord Medical has helped Hua Yang Hospital and Kangyu Clinic, both in northern Taiwan, set up robotic rehabilitation centers.Hua Yang Hospital's robotic rehabilitation center consists of Keeogo BestShapr XO, an exoskeleton walking assistance system developed by Canada-based B-Temia, a Gloreha 3D smart robotic glove and arm for rehabilitation developed by Italy-based Idrogenet, an Andago overground gait training system with dynamic body weight support developed by Switzerland-based Hocoma, while Kangyu's consists of Keeogo BestShapr XO only, according to company CFO Liu Fu-an.The equipment each can serve 4-6 patients in an afternoon, with a patient accompanied by a physiotherapist in a one-hour rehabilitation session, Liu noted. One-third of patients are transferred from hospitals after they received medical treatment, including surgical operation, there, Liu indicated.Robotic rehabilitation systems detect users' articular movement and changes in such movement via sensors and then decide on when to start, accelerate or decelerate motors using AI-based analysis to help the users, Liu analyzed. Accompanying physiotherapists help users and can finely adjust such systems to reach optimal rehabilitation, Liu added.Although investment in the establishing such robotic rehabilitation centers is high for small hospitals, it is a way to differentiate themselves in the smart medical and health care sector, said Liu.In a bid to promote robotic rehabilitation, Concord has cooperated with high-tech companies in medical care to provide training for physiotherapists and rehabilitation specialists at Hua Yang Hospital, Liu said. Parties in the rehabilitation ecosystem are supposed to cooperate to make robotic rehabilitation concurrent with conventional rehabilitation methods, Liu noted.Concord Medical CFO Liu Fu-anPhoto: Mark Tsai, Digitimes, December 2019

Taiwan-based startup businesses tapping the Southeast Asia market should offer one-stop solutions via integrating various innovations developed by different startups, according to Vincent Lu, vice managing director for Jumpway, a Thailand-based electronics manufacturer established by Taiwanese entrepreneurs over 30 years ago.Taiwan-based startups entering Thailand, despite their innovative ideas, products and services, generally do not know how to market them, Lu said.Since features of innovations vary among different startups, startups working individually may be able to win orders for their unique products and service, but they cannot provide turnkey or industry-based systematic solutions for any industry, Lu said.Tourism is an important industry for Thailand, and as smart tourism involves close cooperation among hotels, department stores, airlines and other transportation service providers, innovative products and services that simultaneously meet respective needs have to be based on integrating different startups' innovations, Lu said.Taiwan-based Sinotech Engineering Consultants has cooperated with a Thailand-based industrial real estate developer to develop Taipei Smart City, a smart city demonstration site, in Chonburi, eastern Thailand. Taipei Smart City, with an entrepreneurship zone to house incubators, will attract Taiwan-based startups and help them partner with Thailand-based Taiwanese makers for production of innovative products.Jumpway vice managing director Vincent LuPhoto: Company

Bitmark has created a specialized blockchain application to convert personal medical data - with patients' authorization - into digital assets that can be sold, licensed and transferred peer-to-peer, a practice that can be feasible in Taiwan, which boasts sound environment for medical innovations, according to company CEO Sean Moss-Pultz.He said Taiwan boasts comprehensive personal medical data, which can, through cooperation with the National Health Insurance Administration, be directly connected to, stored and analyzed in a cloud blockchain system for further applications based on consents from patients.Moss-Pultz said there is no need to worry about software and hardware infrastructure requirements, as what really matters are the application framework and business model. He said his company has established a property rights system where digital property titles, or "bitmarks," are assigned to digital assets and recorded in an open-source Bitmark blockchain, creating a permanent and unique ownership history that allows data to be authenticated, bought and sold.Moss-Pultz disclosed that Bitmark is cooperating with Health2Sybnc, a diabetes log app, on medical data application, seeking to integrate personal data of diabetes patients via the IoT system before they can be inspected and licensed through the handset app.He continued that Bitmark will start with the application of medical data associated with diabetes, ophthalmological diseases and wound care services to create wealth for patients and boost public awareness about the value of medical data.

The world's two superpowers may be heading towards a truce in their trade war, but the US reportedly is not letting Chinese tech giant Huawei off the hook easily. Washington may tighten control on Huawei's access to US technology, with Taiwanese IC designers bracing for mixed impacts. China, well aware of the risk of over-dependence on US technology, has ambitious goals of raising its self-sufficiency for semiconductors. For Huawei, it is also sourcing more components from local suppliers, such as hybrid lens modules from AAC Technologies for its upcoming flagship smartphones. Apple is also said to be sourcing more from Chinese suppliers for a different reason, namely cost concerns. And as the year 2019 nears its end, Digitimes looks at how the heyday of the LCD panel industry is also coming to a close.US may tighten ban on Huawei with mixed impacts on Taiwan IC designers: The US government is reportedly mulling adjusting regulations to tighten control on Huawei's access to US-originated technology, which may bring uncertainties to Taiwan-based IC design houses in the supply chain of the Chinese smartphone vendor but benefit those which compete with its chipmaking arm HiSilicon.AAC Tech reportedly lands hybrid lens module orders from Huawei, Xiaomi: China-based AAC Technologies Holdings has reportedly landed orders for its hybrid lens modules from Huawei and Xiaomi for their upcoming flagship smartphones, a warning signal for related Taiwanese makers who have been counting heavily on orders from the handset sector in China, according to industry sources.Apple reportedly to deepen cooperation with China supply chain makers: Apple reportedly has deepened its cooperation with China-based supply chain makers for not only ramping up its shipments to China but also further reducing its overheads, according to Taiwan-based handset supply chain makers.LCD heyday coming to an end: For the global LCD panel industry, the year 2019 has been mostly engulfed by oversupply due notably to rampant capacity ramps by Chinese makers. Oversupply coupled with the impacts of the US-China trade dispute has brough not only steep falls in LCD panel prices but also profound changes of the landscapes of the global display industry.

Taiwan has strong demand for AI talent in volume and quality, and the supply of AI experts can only rely on domestic cultivation rather than overseas recruitments, according to Kung Hsiang-tsung, president for Taiwan AI Academy.Experts in various industries will have to integrate their experience with AI, and when an AI ecosystem is formed in Taiwan, the industries will take root in the country, said Kung, an Academician of Taiwan's Academia Sinica as well as a William H. Gates Professor for Computer Science & Electric Engineering under Harvard University in the US.AI training schools can succeed in Taiwan where doctors, bankers, electronic engineers and experts from other fields can receive training together in the same classroom, he said.Taiwan AI Academy, during the 20 months since its establishment, has cultivated about 5,000 AI experts with background in various industries to boost industry-oriented application of AI technology, said science and technology minister Chen Liang-gee, describing Kung as Taiwan's AI navigator.They were speaking at a ceremony on December 24 where Chen presented Kung with a First-class Science & Technology Professional Medal on Kung to praise his significant contribution to AI education in Taiwan.Taiwan AI Academy in August 2019 began cooperation with the nine medical centers in Taiwan to provide tailored AI training in smart medical care for medical workers separately in northern, central and southern Taiwan, according to Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). There have so far been nearly 1,000 trainees of which more than 600 are doctors.Taiwan AI Academy president Kung Hsiang-tsung (third left) and MOST minister Chen Liang-gee (second left)Photo: Bryan Chuang, Digitimes, December 2019

Foxconn Electronics has offered a high-performance computing (HPC) facility for use by National Taiwan University (NTU) Cancer Center, according to Yong Lin Health Care Foundation established by former company chairman Terry Gou.The center, set up in Taipei with donations from Gou via the foundation, uses the HPC facility to detect and locate tumors, simulate treatment methods and processes for choosing optimal treatment strategies, analyze biomolecular mechanism and recognize gene mutations, said the foundation. The center came into trial operation in December 2018 and normal operation in July 2019.The HPC facility is located at Foxconn's operation base in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, and connected with the center in the north via fiber-optic networks, the foundation noted, adding in view of increasing demand for HPC, the center is likely to set up a smaller HPC facility nearby.Foxconn founder Terry GouPhoto: Ninelu Tu, Digitimes, December 2019

MediaTek introduced its super-midrange smartphone market concept in 2017, focusing on competitive midrange pricing for products with high-end specs. It has been adhering to the strategy, and has since improved its profitability. As the 5G era arrives, the Taiwan-based IC designer is still relying on such a strategy, arming its aggressive push into the market in China with 5G chip solutions for the upper midrange smartphone segment. For 5G smartphones, fingerprint sensors are expected to be a mainstream feature. China-based Goodix is making a head start in vloume producing optical in-display fingerprint sensor chips. It is said that Goodix has booked sizeable capacity at TSMC's 8-inch fabs for its sensor chips. Backend service demand for optical in-display fingerprint sensors is also expected to benefit ASE and VisEra.MediaTek to make aggressive 5G push in China: MediaTek is expected to embrace an ambitious strategy to grow its presence in the 5G smartphone SoC sector. It will focus its efforts on 5G chip solutions for the upper midrange smartphone segment, and China will be the chipmaker's major target market.Goodix to be biggest client for TSMC 8-inch fab capacity: China-based fabless chipmaker Goodix has booked considerable 8-inch fab capacity at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for its optical in-display fingerprint sensor chips, according to industry sources.ASE, VisEra to enjoy robust demand for in-display fingerprint sensors: ASE Technology and VisEra Technologies are both being pinpointed as among the backend houses set to enjoy robust demand for optical in-display fingerprint sensors, according to industry sources.

Medical application of voice recognition has large potential but must be integrated into medical practitioners' work flows, according to Eric Chang, senior director of technology strategy at Microsoft Research Asia.Doctors have to record patients' conditions and search for their medical records while doing diagnoses, and dentists have similar situations, Chang said. Besides, radiological and pathologic technologists have to record results of inspecting medical images.Voice recognition can be developed for smart use in keeping records when the medical staff members' hands are occupied and unable to do the recording manually, Chang explained.Medical application of voice recognition, however, varies from scenario to scenario, Chang noted. In operation rooms, for example, voice recognition should be enhanced to separately recognize each of the surgical team members' speeches to accurately record data, Chang indicated.Eric Chang, senior director of technology strategy at Microsoft Research AsiaPhoto: Company

Global server shipments are forecast to increase 5-6% in 2020 after falling slightly in 2019, as brand vendors are expected to renew shipments pull-in momentum having adjusted their inventories to healthy levels, according to Digitimes Research.Taiwan-based suppliers of server-related products, including motherboards, server cabinets, storage devices and network equipment, will see their combined revenues rise 2.3% on year to NT$887 billion (US$29.41 billion), compared to a 2.5% decline in total server unit shipments. This is due partly to increased shipment ratios for storage and networking devices and overall performance upgrades of their products.Digitimes Research expects the combined revenues of Taiwanese suppliers to rise 6-7% on year in 2020, still slightly higher than an estimated on-year expansion of 5-6% for both their and global server unit shipments.In 2019, server shipments to leading US datacenter operators including Facebook and Amazon have shown the most notable growth. Lenovo and Inspur have also registered impressive increases thanks to the US ban on Huawei. In 2020, major shipments pull-in momentum will continue to come from top US datacenter operators.In terms of server shipments in 2019, Inventec and Foxconn remain Taiwan's top-2 suppliers, and Quanta takes the third place, elbowing out Wistron. In 2020, Quanta is expected to advance to second place, Digitimes Research indicates.

Chinese IT firms have been stepping up efforts developing its own CPUs in line with the country's goal of replacing all foreign firms-made computers in use in government and military sectors with locally-made ones. Chinese chipmakers are also developing HPC chips for AI and deep learning applications with the goal of volume producing them in 2021. The development in China is promising big challenges to the US vendors, such as Intel, who have been dominanting forces in the IT hardware market. But one thing seems to remain unchanged: the hardware manufacturing sector in Taiwan is as important as always, with the Chinese ASIC developers already trying to secure capacity from Taiwan's semiconductor backend service providers. Meanwhile, Corning is also seeking inspiration from Taiwan's startups. Corning Taiwan has set up an accelerator helping startup businesses develop innovative applications of its technologies and materials.China keen on developing AI-based ASICs: Chinese chipmakers are revving up development of HPC (high performance computing) chips for AI and deep learning applications, which are expected to become available for volume production in 2021, and they are already asking backend firms from Taiwan for support, according to industry sources.Corning Taiwan partners with university to set up startup accelerator: Corning Display Technologies Taiwan has partnered with Taidah Entrepreneurship Center under National Taiwan University (TEC NTU) to set up an accelerator to help startups develop innovative applications using the company's materials and technologies.