As the volume of IoT devices and sensors is increasing explosively and when they break down, manual repair is costly and requires lengthy operation suspension, remote monitoring and maintenance become important to secure their steady operation, according to industrial memory module maker Innodisk.Equipment maintenance and operation costs take up 6.4% of a firm's revenue on global average, and it spends a sum amounting to 80% of the original purchase cost to keep the equipment running, mostly incurring from losses due to suspended equipment, Innodisk cited Gartner as indicating.According to market forecast, there will be 75 billion IoT devices or sensors installed around the world in 2025, Innodisk noted. The average ratio of the number of maintenance staff members to the number of IoT edge devices or sensors will increase from 1:20 at present to 1:1,000, Innodisk indicated.Innodisk in August 2019 launched its InnoAGE, an SSD solution built with Microsoft Azure Sphere to enable smart data analysis and updates, data security and cloud computing-based remote control, the company indicated. The solution features out of band management which supports remote management via separated communication lines. Taiwan-based industrial computing device makers DFI, Avalue Technology and IEI Integration have adopted InnoAGE.According to IEI, about 80% of equipment breakdowns are problems that can be solved via remote remedy and about 20% are due to hardware problems that need manual repair.

The handset market is welcoming the arrival of 5G smartphones, shipments for which may range from 200 million to 300 million units in 2020. Such volumes for 5G smartphones mean 4G devices will still be here to stay. IC desingers believe 4G phone replacement demand from users not yet ready to upgrade to 5G will contribute to a rebound in the handset market next year. At any rate, many sectors are optimistic about the coming year. Powe semiconductor suppliers, having experienced a slow year in 2019, has now managed to return their inventory to healthy levels, and they are optimistic about 5G driving chip demand for a wide range of applications in 2020. The memory market, which has been hit hard by by falling demand and prices, is expected to recover next year. Memory module makers anticipate prices and demand to pick up at a modest pace.Global handset market likely to stage a rebound in 2020: The global handset market is likely to stage an upturn in terms of industry value and unit shipments driven by the release of more 5G phones and continued availability of multiple 4G models with high price/performance ratios, according to sources from Taiwan's IC design sector.Power semiconductor demand about to pick up: Power semiconductor demand is about to hit its bottom and start picking up, as Infineon and other IDMs have lowered their power chip inventories to healthy levels, according to industry sources in Taiwan. Besides, the end-market demand outlook is optimistic thanks to the arrival of 5G.Memory module makers optimistic about 2020: Taiwan-based memory module manufacturers have expressed optimism about their performances in 2020, when chip prices and demand are set to recover at a modest pace.

THI Consultants evaluates the impact on traffic conditions arising from autonomous vehicles' running on roads as reference for their trial run, according to company president Jessica Lin.The evaluation consists of three aspects: potential conflicts between autonomous vehicles and other cars, and between autonomous vehicles and pedestrians; whether autonomous vehicles running on outer lanes at low speeds interferes with traffic flows or causes traffic congestion; and decision making regarding traffic rules based on the former two aspects to minimize negative impact from autonomous vehicles.Besides, THI has approximated actual traffic conditions using in-house-developed simulation software, enabling testing of autonomous vehicles' sensing systems and training them to cope with different conditions.THI Consultants president Jessica LinPhoto: Yihan Lee, Digitimes, November 2019

Handset shipments by Taiwan's brand vendors and ODMs are expected to grow by a single-digit rate sequentially in the fourth quarter of 2019 after seeing their combined shipments edge up 3% on quarter to 14.21 million units a quarter earlier, Digitimes Research estimates.In the third quarter, Foxconn Group was the top player in unit shipments thanks to a rebound of feature phone orders from HMD Global (Nokia) despite a decline in smartphone ones.Brand vendors Austek Computer and HTC both suffered sequential shipment declines in the third quarter but with their rankings remaining unchanged in second and third.Compal Electronics stayed in fourth place thanks to orders from Sony Mobile Communications and US-based CAT, while Arima's shipments continued to decline in the third quarter as it has been producing handsets for lesser brands in Europe and emerging markets.On a yearly basis, handset shipments by Taiwan's brand vendors and ODMs are expected to tumble 30% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, with vendors rankings to remain unchanged, Digitimes Research estimates.

Open AI Fab provides AI services, mainly consulting in AI technology and AI solutions, on a subscription basis for small- to medium-size enterprises to help them transform or upgrade operations, according to company CEO Jon Huang.The services come in three stages: Diagnosis of clients' business areas and needs, followed by modeling to develop AI-based models to meet the needs, and then realization of modeling by implementing and improving the models, Huang noted.Founded in May 2018, Open AI Fab develops AI-based models using technologies in graphic recognition and natural language processing as well as open source algorithms for the time being, and aims at clients from retail, finance, manufacturing and agriculture, Huang indicated.Open AI Fab CEO Jon HuangPhoto: Mark Tsai, Digitimes, November 2019

5G/Innovation Summit 2019, an event focusing on empowering innovation in the 5G era organized by Taipei City's Department of Economic Development with support from Digitimes, will take place in Taipei on November 25.HP Tech Venture partner Mitchell Weinstock will deliver a keynote speech "Strategic Investing, Making Corporate Venture Capital Work." Orange Silicon Valley startup investment expert Jay Onda will speak about "How 5G is Enabling Innovation by Collaboration." And phireGEN Advisory Group managing partner Leland Lai's speech will be "Re-imagine City Life with 5G Applications."Enterprises' investment in startups has taken up over 20% of global venture capital investment, as startups' momentum in technological innovation is far larger than the enterprises' own, Weinstock said. Cooperation among the government and private sectors is crucial to hiking efficiency in innovation and producing innovative ideas, Onda noted, adding Orange Silicon Valley hopes to gain more understanding of Taiwan's ICT industries.5G has potential of being applied to VR devices, smart city and smart transportation solutions, Lai said.As of the end of June 2019, 293 telecom carriers were experimenting or in trial operation of 5G networks in 98 countries, and 55 of them were setting up 5G networks. Mobile telecom carriers in South Korea took the initiative globally to offer 5G commercial services, with the total number of users expected to reach four million by the end of 2019.5G/Innovation Summit 2019 to take place November 25Photo: Digitimes

Chinese handset vendors are eager to adopt anylayer HDI boards for their high-end smartphones, but they currently have to source such boards from outside of China despite the country's bid to raise self-sufficiency for electronics components. Taiwan-based PCB makers Compeq and Unimicron are among those that are able to satisfy Chinese handset vendors' rising demand for anylayer HDI boards. Taiwan-based IC design houses have also seen increases in orders from China for chips supporting fast-charging, and many of them expect strong fourth-quarter 2019 results. In the optoelectronics sector, mini LEDs are presenting opportunities. Taiwan-based Epistar is ready to expand capacity for the mini LED segment next year.Anylayer HDI demand from Chinese handset vendors rising sharply: Chinese handset vendors are keen on utilizing anylayer HDI boards as mainboards for high-end smartphones adopting 7nm APs, and Taiwan-based PCB makers including Compeq Manufacturing and Unimicron are in a better position to meet the growing demand thanks to their higher yield rates and technology levels than Chinese peers', according to industry sources.Taiwan analog IC firms see orders for fast-charging devices pick up from China: Taiwan-based analog IC specialists have recently seen orders mainly short lead-time ones for fast-charging solutions pick up from China's high-tech industry, which is looking to reduce its dependence on US-made chips, according to industry sources.Epistar to allocate at least NT$5 billion for 2020 capex: LED wafer and chip maker Epistar has disclosed plans to set aside a capex budget of at least NT$5 billion (US$164 million) for 2020, mainly for expanding production capacities for mini LEDs, backlight units (BLUs) and VCSEL wafers and diodes.

A theme park in central Taiwan has adopted four autonomous shuttle buses developed by Turing Drive, according to Turing CEO David Shen.Two of the autonomous buses running in the 200-hectare Lihpao Resort are six meters long and the other two are four meters, said Shen, adding that each of them is equipped with four core systems - positioning, sensing, decision-making and control -in fusion, and the sensing system mainly consists of automotive cameras, radars and LiDARs.Turing, for operation of the autonomous shuttle buses, adopts InVignal, a V2N (vehicle to network) platform developed by International Integrated Systems for sending traffic lights information to autonomous buses. The buses' running data are transferred to a platform of integrated information on operation of autonomous vehicles, with the platform jointly developed and established by Chunghwa Telecom and Wistron.The platform has accumulated autonomous vehicles' operating data for 200 hours, according to Wistron.The autonomous buses shuttle among Discovery World, Mala Bay (water-based), Sky Dream (the largest Ferris wheel in Taiwan), Escape Rooms, Lihpao Racing Park, Lihpao Outlet Mall and Fullon Hotel for 12 round trips a day.Autonomous shuttles buses at Lihpao ResortPhoto: Company

Silicon Valley-based Kiwi Campus is a startup dedicated to operating a semi-autonomous robotic platform for delivering foods, beverages and groceries to consumers on college campuses and in neighboring communities. The company, attracted by Taiwan's sound business climate, robust hardware manufacturing, and R&D prowess, is planning to set up operations in the country, according to company founder Felipe Chavez Cortes.He was recently in Taipei to assess the feasibility of establishing an R&D center, a robot assembly and test team and a business operation unit in Taiwan. In an interview by Digitimes, he talked about his firm's service platform and investment roadmap in Taiwan.Q: What drove you to set up Kiwi Campus?A: While still a student at the University of Los Andes in Columbia I got the idea of developing campus economy, believing that time was ripe for operating an automatic robot food delivery platform. We founded Kiwi Campus after spending one month studying the sharing economy, supply chain and AI-enabled autonomous driving technology.We later joined the Skydeck Acceleration Program hosted by the University of California, Berkeley, which became our first institutional angel investor and technology consultant. This also gave us access to resources from California State University through the Deep Drive research project, enabling us to get funds and AI technology needed to build robots.About two and a half years ago, we moved and officially registered our company in Silicon Valley.Q: What is your business model?A: We want to create a balanced market economy, allowing users to happily pay US$1 or lower to get delivery service for foods and merchandises they need and available within two square miles via semi-autonomous robots.Our revenues mainly come from restaurants or suppliers of products for sales in automatic vending machines. We charge 15% of product price as service fee.For the moment, we offer services at two universities and their neighboring communities. One is UC, Berkeley, with its nearby stores and consumers contributing 70% of our revenues there. Another is the University of Denver in Colorado.Meanwhile, our colleagues are making preparations for launching services at another 12 university campuses. We hope that our company can start operations in Taiwan in 2020.Q: What does Taiwan interest you most?A: As our robots are now manufactured in Shenzhen, China, we want to find a university campus nearer the hardware manufacturing base. Also, we need to find a place in Asia to set up a team with strong R&D momentum, and this is why I am in Taipei, where I hope to meet with potential talent and see if there is a chance of establishing an R&D team. I believe that with its high population density and strong consuming power, Taiwan will be a market highly fit for the services we offer.As the TensorFlow platform we use is developed by Google and China bans the use of Google map, we have no other choice but to do the robot assembly and test in the US, which is quite inconvenient for us. This has prompted us to seek a proper place near Shenzhen, where our robotic components are manufactured, to assemble them into robots and do final test. I think robots can be well assembled and tested in Taiwan and then directly offer services to local consumers, given the country's strong ICT manufacturing capability and competitiveness.Q: Is National Taiwan University (NTU) the campus you just mentioned? How will you work with it?A: Besides NTU, we will explore the possibility of cooperating with all other universities in Taiwan. We have amassed abundant experiences in successfully cooperating with university students in the US to deliver foods, beverages and groceries via robots to consumers on campuses and in neighboring communities, and such a cooperation model will also be applied here.Q: How has business been since your company started official run two years ago?A: We completed over 70,000 transactions in 2018 and now register a weekly average of 3,000 deals. If you visit UC, Berkeley, you will find our robots shuttling around. Population density and cooperation with the supply chain are crucial factors for our business. Based on our calculation, one-trip delivery cost for one robot can be covered by fulfilling two service orders in Taipei, and one automated robot can handle 4-5 orders per trip.Q: How is AI applied to your services?A: Our robots adopt Level 2 autonomous driving technology and our artificial neural network enables the robots to automatically move in the middle of sidewalks, shun obstacles and recognize images, street corners and traffic lights. Each robot is equipped with six camera lenses and a Jetson TX2 computer with GPU computing capability, but at low power consumption. We use machine learning and deep learning to train our robots, enabling them to adjust moving speeds and directions in accordance with road conditions, yet without using high-end sensing or LiDAR devices.Q: Will you use the robots to collect big data for future commercial applications?A: Our neural networks will not record road images but can collect data concerning traffic jams and time slots, as well as networking quality. But it will require many more robots if we want to collect sufficient data for useful applications. In this aspect, we will move to discuss with city governments on possible cooperation.Q: What about your business development plan for the next 5-10 years?A: We are mulling setting up robot-operated smart city systems, allowing people and enterprises to access our robot platforms to live in smart cities, which will be our ultimate goal. Actually, we have started building vertical high-frequency trading marts or platforms by combining robots and cities.Q: How about your company's current market valuation ? Will you have a new round of fundraising activity?A: The current market valuation of our company is around US$4 million, and we are proceeding with a second-round financing plan seeking to raise US$15 million in the first or second quarter of 2020. Meanwhile, we hope to kick off our services in eight cities in 2020, with one in Asia, hopefully Taipei. And our business goal for next year is to complete one million transactions with 1,000 robots. Kiwi Campus founder Felipe Chavez CortesPhoto: Michael Lee, Digitimes, November 2019

After a disappointing year, the memory industry is expected to recover in 2020, thanks to momentum coming from 5G-driven demand. Memory module makers and their backend partners have already seen demand picking up, with memory chip vendors expected to ramp up supply next year. In China, its campaign to raise semiconductor self-sufficiency has seen its Big Fund invest in Shenzhen-based Longsys, which specializes in the OEM and ODM manufacturing of flash-based storage devices. Meanwhile, Apple reportedly will launch a new 13.3-inch MacBook Pro upgraded with a scissor switch keyboard in first-half 2020.Memory module makers, backend houses see demand pick up: Memory module manufacturers and backend service providers have seen end-market demand pick up recently, and are gearing up to meet 5G-driven demand with their sufficient supplies next year, according to industry sources.China memory module firm Longsys gets support from Big Fund: To further nurture its own memory industry, China's second national IC industry investment fund, also known as Big Fund Phase II, has recently invested in Longsys Electronics, becoming the second largest shareholder of the Shenzhen-based memory DMS company, according to industry sources.Apple to intro 13.3-inch MacBook Pro featuring scissor switch keyboard in 1H20: Apple's new 13.3-inch MacBook Pro series slated for launch in the first half of 2020 will also feature a scissor-switch keyboard, a design found in its recently-introduced 16-inch MacBook Pro lineup, according to industry sources. ODM Wistron and Global Lighting Technologies (GLT), a provider of light guide plates, are both among the suppliers for the keyboards for use in the devices.