Since its inception in March 2017, Taiwan startup BravoAI has been devoted to applying computing vision (CV), natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to help domestic insurance firms screen insurance applications and handle insurance claim settlements, aiming to help insurers sharply cut their operating costs, according to company founder and chairman Jack Chao.Chao said Taiwan's overall life insurance operating efficiency leaves great room for improvement, citing 2017 statistics as indicating that administration costs of the country's life insurance industry amounted to NT$2.2 trillion (US$71.37 billion), accounting for 57% of the industry's total premium incomes and far outnumbering NT$1.66 trillion in actual claims settled in the year.In analyzing business operation procedures of life insurers, BravoAI has found that insurers usually utilize a lot of labor force screening insurance applications and settling compensation claims. But the time-consuming and complicated job can be easily done with the application of CV, NLP and deep machine learning, thereby not only boosting operating efficiency but also creating new values, according to Chao.While deep learning, AI, and IA (intelligence augmentation) must be all based on big data, global financial service providers including insurers still lag behind other sectors in incorporating these IT technologies due to security concerns, although they have amassed comprehensive customer and historical data.By leveraging its technological advantages, Bravo AI has worked out an automatic non-life claim settlement solution utilizing AI to process documents, medical images, and property insurance pictures to help insurers make accurate decisions in the shortest time possible, Chao revealed.The solution can achieve up to 98.5% in judgment and decision accuracy and proves to be 200 times faster than manpower processing, effectively helping insurers curb insurance fraud by clients. Accordingly, Chao disclosed, the solution has won patronage from many property insurance firms including Tokio Marine Newa Insurance.Besides automatic claim settlement solution, BravoAI will move to release new solutions to create more values for clients, including those for smart insurance application screening, insurance portfolio examination, insurance cycle evaluation and risk management, according to Chao.Chao continued that his company is also integrating experiences in serving insurance firms and blockchain technology to develop solutions acceptable to insurers, hospitals, general public and the government.BravoAI founder and chairman Jack Chao (second left) and his management teamPhoto: Company, February 2019
While many tech startups are devoted to developing smart data analysis technologies, Taiwan startup Authentic Intelligence focuses more on applications of the technologies, according to company CEO Peter Li.Li said his company has singled out specific consumer-oriented artificial intelligence technology from the convergence of data science, domain knowledge and human nature of consumers, with vertical and minute AI technologies also likely to be developed from data science and domain knowledge.In applying psychology to analyze consumer spending, Li commented, mental traits count more than "behavior" and therefore only through deep analysis of core mental traits of consumers can accurate consumer behavior analysis be achieved.Compared with other data-based AI technologies, commercial application technologies will concern enterprises more, Li stressed. In the analysis of personal experiences of consumers, the data involved are usually quite fragmented, which must be combined into an overall facet for further analysis if the essence of domain knowledge can be absorbed in a short time, according to Lee.
Authentic Intelligence has been dedicated to creating concrete data application values for enterprises with smart data analysis technology services since its inception in July 2018, according to company CEO Peter Li.Li said his company name shares the same initials of artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to apply smart technology to help enterprises address related data application issues and create new values.Li disclosed that his company has helped Taiwan's Shinkong Mitsukoshi Department Store chain analyze the shopping data of up to 2.5 million member consumers by applying big data analysis software SAS (statistics analysis system), successfully reducing the cost of printing promotional DMs by 50% to only NT$250 million (US$8.11 million) while allowing the chain to score the same revenues of NT$7.5 billion during annual promotional campaigns.Li commented that the maturing of GPU technology and the ever-advancing computing power have kept driving down data collection costs, accelerating the development of data science.In terms of IoT applications, Li continued, data analysis technology must focus on making predictions rather than adjusting parameters on production lines, so as to create more diverse commercial values.Authentic Intelligence CEO Peter LiPhoto: Mark Tsai, Digitimes, February 2019
TMY Technology (TMYTek), founded in 2014 to develop active and passive mmWave components, has just launched 5G beamforming technology solutions that can help address problems encountered by developers of 5G devices and systems, according to company founder and president SW Chang.Chang said that mmWave has been adopted as new frequency spectrum for 5G NR (new radio) thanks to its traits of short wavelength and broad transmission bandwidth, but its poorer diffraction capability will result in path fading, which is an issue that must be tackled first.The issue can be addressed through the design and production of antenna arrays, but the existing directionality of antenna pattern will lead to insufficient coverage, Chang continued, stressing that beamforming is the exact critical technology to fix the coverage insufficiency.Chang said beamforming is an essential 5G technology that can help address antenna, baseband and algorithm problems. He disclosed that TMYTek has rolled out the world's only mmWave beamforimg development kits, dubbed BBoX, to help 5G device and system developers shorten their development time. In addition, with a highly flexible architecture design, BBox allows different developers to purchase only the exact kits they need, so as to maximize their cost-effectiveness.Besides BBox, TMYTek will also release AiP (antenna in package) modules in 2019 for application to 5G base stations, including 4X4 and 8X8 specs. The company has teamed up with one of China's top-3 antenna makers to turn out 5G antennas, by providing AiP modules, Chang revealed.TMYTek is eyeing huge mmWave application opportunities, Chang said, adding that comprehensive ICT supply chains in Taiwan and great demand potentials in China, India, Japan and South Korea will usher in great growth momentum for the company.TMYTek founder and president SW ChangPhoto: Company, February 2019
A large proportion of the cost, disruption, pollution and exposure to natural disasters in a city would be eliminated if there were no infrastructure. Imagine no sewage or gas pipes, electricity poles or even sidewalks from which people leap into the face of approaching traffic. Poor sanitation such as leaking pipes kills half a million children under the age of five annually and costs US$200 billion a year in healthcare costs and lost income worldwide.We have seen a beginning of independence with houses ceasing to require telephone wires because mobile phones are used. However, a city where buildings are fully independent seems like a pipedream. Until now. The smart materials and robotics approach to smart cities is far more powerful than the initial IT and sensor centric approach and it is cracking the problem.Passivedom Corporation sells a residence that grabs its own water from the atmosphere and treats its own sewage, its electric power being from its own solar panels. Separately, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates unveiled a futuristic toilet in November 2018 that does not need water or sewers and uses chemicals to turn human waste into fertilizer. His foundation has committed US$200 million and expects to spend the same amount again before the toilets are viable for widespread distribution."The current toilet simply sends the waste away in the water, whereas these toilets don't have the sewer," Gates said. "They take both the liquids and solids and do chemical work on it, including burning it in most cases."During a speech he held up a jar of human faeces to illustrate the importance of improving sanitation. "It's a good reminder that in there could be 200 trillion rotavirus cells, 20 billion Shigella bacteria, and 100,000 parasitic worm eggs," he said. He expects the market for the toilets to be over US$6 billion by 2030. There is big money in smart cities based on smart materials. Solar roads that self-deice and charge vehicles at speed are being installed in China in 2022. They cost millions of dollars per kilometer so this will become another multi-billion dollar zero-emission business with good payback.There are many ways a city can produce hundreds of megawatts itself. Megawatts from the new solar windows and cladding on a high rise gives affordable, secure, clean, electric cooking, HVAC, lighting and services not hostage to utility price rises. Since most cities are on a large river or the sea, boost that with the new plug-and-play wave, tidal and tethered-drone wind power with minimal intermittency and therefore minimal energy storage. Combinations will be tuned to demand profile through the day - far more efficient than energy storage. Little or no poisonous, flammable, large, heavy, short-lived battery is needed. Fit-and-forget clean supercapacitors often suffice. Indeed, there are now two routes to supercapacitors hitting the energy density of successful lithium-ion batteries in 2012.The Facebook-funded smart city by Toronto will not have sidewalks because only gentle robot shuttles and people will pass. Most new smart cities target zero-emission energy independence, ban private cars (a dangerous waste of space) and provide free public transport. Transport is pure electric with energy independence thanks to solar bodywork and wind turbines erecting when stationary. An interim stage is intermittent rails, overhead catenary and solar bodywork doing top up charging. Buses and trucks need one fifth of the battery then and they can take more passengers and cargo. Does installing a hydrogen grid for fuel cells at buildings and in vehicles fit in the trend to little or no infrastructure? Well, no but monster Class 8 trucks and light rail have a window of opportunity for fuel cells charged only at end of route, provided we start making the hydrogen without emissions, such as "free" manufacture when wind turbines and solar are over-producing. One may even wonder if independent clean buildings can reverse the move to cities if country living becomes more viable, luxurious and easily connected to city life by low-cost, maintenance-free, energy-independent aircraft and road transport. In the meantime, the electric vehicle business is changing rapidly. In 10 years from now the largest output will no longer be electric bikes but robot weeders, mostly powered by on-board solar: no infrastructure again.(Peter Harrop is chairman of IDTechEx)
AI applications can usher in brand-new values for Taiwan's medical sector, given the growing integration of health insurance data and technological resources and improving relationships between doctors and patients, according to Barry Lam, chairman of Quanta Computer, which is actively developing AI-based devices including servers.But more efforts must be made to address five major issues seen in the integration of AI-based healthcare resources and the development of smart solutions, so that Taiwan's smart healthcare industry can progress smoothly, he said.The first issue concerns the ownership of healthcare data, including personal data of patients and their medical records. Will such data be owned by hospitals, doctors, patients or the country? Based on current regulations, the data can be provided to a third party only for research purposes. But patient's right to know and own their own medical data emerges as an issue that must be well dealt with, according to Lam.Then comes the issue of privacy and cybersecurity. Lam said that his company helps enterprises conduct detailed studies in this regard, allowing Taiwan's smart healthcare data to be more systematically collected, stored and analyzed.The third is the lack of uniform data standards and forms adopted by hospitals, which has made big data integration a difficult job. Lam said the government in Taiwan has yet to work out clear-cut policies for developing innovative technologies and related industries, and the policies are needed to promote uniform data standards and patterns.The fourth rests with the difficulty in industry-academia cooperation. At the moment, Taiwan's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) maintains mainly academic units as its research partners for AI innovations, Lam said, adding that it has been difficult for ITC firms to have more exchange or cooperation with MOST and academic units. He hopes for more opportunities for such exchange and cooperation.The last problem is that a cross-ministry cooperation mechanism has yet to be established. MOST is now in charge of AI development, but Lam opines that cooperation among more ministries is badly needed to achieve effective combination of AI technologies and professional knowledge of diverse industries. For instance, Lam continued, medical care going smart requires exchanges between the transport and health authorities, and smart transportation needs technology and information support from both the transport ministry and MOST.Cooperation between doctors and engineersTaiwan's national health insurance databank, set up in 1995, has been fully digitalized, but what counts more is whether big data collected by major hospitals can be effectively utilized to support AI training, Lam said. He stressed that in the development process for AI healthcare solutions, it is crucial for doctors to record and illustrate symptoms, which can be done through cooperation between many doctors and AI engineers. In this regard, Quanta can help doctors more efficiently handle diagnosis, symptom illustration and data analysis by providing better interfaces, and the company will move to research language input to help further boost diagnosis efficiency.AI technology development is now a hot topic at both the healthcare end and engineering fields, but it remains to be seen how patients can be convinced that AI can provide accurate analysis and innovative services in the process of medical diagnosis. Lam said AI can first make doctors smart and then patients, meaning that they can all quickly access accurate and diverse medical resources and references.Quanta Computer chairman Barry LamPhoto: Shihmin Fu, Digitimes, January 2019
Featuring exhibits of innovations by startup companies from all over the world, Eureka Park was the most eye-catching exhibit area of CES 2019. Many of those companies were gathered inside national pavilions and their exhibits were flavored with a cultural touch, making the presentations dazzling and lively. However, behind the display of cultures was a competition in terms of capital, talent and technological strength.As opposed to other exhibit areas of CES 2019, where individual exhibitors set up their own booths to attract attention to their products or brands, Eureka Park hosted national pavilions with collections of exhibits by startups from respective countries. Visitors entering Eureka Park would be impressed by the sight of different pavilions with their own decorative themes - such as one with booths featuring red rooster emblems, one with orange-color display panels and carpeting, and another with consistently styled metal partitions, tables and chairs.Each of the participating countries was attempting to use a consistent image to make its exhibit area stand out from others, allowing potential buyers or partners to easily recognize them.Eureka Park is the fastest growing theme area of CES, encompassing a show space of 2.75 million square feet this year. Eureka Park was first launched at CES in 2012, hosting 94 exhibitors. The number grew to 600 in 2017, broke through the 1,000 mark in 2018 and exceeded 1,200 in 2019, representing more than a quarter of total CES exhibitors. Eureka Park was the most packed exhibit area of CES 2019.The startup teams from each country exhibiting at Eureka Park were organized by their respective government authorities in charge of high-tech development or commerce. Aside from helping their startup teams find capital and partners, they had additional agendas. For example, France looked to promote its business environment and bring in talent and technologies. The Netherlands placed emphasis on helping its businesses expand into the American market. Israel focused efforts on exporting its technologies and establishing trade relationships.Ramping up efforts at CES 2019, Japan and Korea are just beginning to foster their startups to compete on a global level. The Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) set up the Taiwan pavilion at CES in hopes of gaining international visibility by demonstrating Taiwan startups' technological strength.The collective exhibits presented by startups from all over the world made Eureka Park stand out. The organizers from different countries exerted all-out efforts in incorporating their cultural uniqueness to the exhibits, adding a touch of spirit and warmth to the high-tech displays. They also made good use of the exhibit locations and venue dynamics to plan their collective displays and marketing activities to their advantages.By adding touches of national images to individual startup exhibits, which were then mixed and reshaped to create a collective impression of each country's technological strength, the national pavilions at CES 2019 Eureka Park generated maximum benefits.The number of French startups comes close to that of American onesCompared to other European countries with a mature startup scene, France is more eager in fostering startup expansion into overseas markets. There were 316 French startups exhibiting at Eureka Park this year, trailing the US with 326 startups, making France the most represented foreign country at Eureka Park.Sitting to the left of the Eureka Park entrance was an area marked by red rooster signs where 160 French startups organized by Business France (BF) showcased their innovations. Among them, 120 came from nine different districts in France and 40 were handpicked by BF. Along with startups funded and assembled by large corporations such as La Poste, Engie and Valeo, a total of more than 300 French firms were present at Eureka Park.Visitors to the French Tech Pavilion would feel the French government's commitment to facilitating startup development, both at the central and local levels. BF representing the central government and nine district-level authorities each hosted dedicated exhibit areas for their startups as well as their own booths to promote their business environments.For example, Region Sud, comprising Provence, Alpes and Côte d'Azur, organized exhibits themed on "Smart city: investing in the city of tomorrow" to highlight the region's smart infrastructure.The French authorities think only government support such as tax exemptions will help recruit talent and foster venture capital. France is also encouraging startups to expand outside of France and Europe and compete on a global level. With such a large team of French startups present at CES this year, attracting media attention, the country's startup policies were also under the spotlight.The Netherlands: The orange army led by the royal familyThe Netherlands has always been the most eye-catching European team at Eureka Park. Although the number of exhibitors may not compare to the French team, the Dutch team's exhibits marked by a prominent orange color with a tulip drawing were grabbing media attention, especially with the help from a member of the Dutch royal family leading the team.The national flag of the Netherlands has no orange color, but the color has its origin from the Dutch royal family name Oranje-Nassau. Prince Constantijn has headed the team of Dutch startups to participate at CES Eureka Park for years, which shows the Dutch royal family's support for the country's startup development.Prince Constantijn was appointed Special Envoy for StartupDelta, the accelerator for the startup ecosystem in the Netherlands in 2016. Leading the Dutch delegation again at CES 2019, Prince Constantijn himself was an attraction at the Holland Tech Square. Aside from the impressive orange design, the Netherlands also presented ingenuity in their show floor planning.For example, they set up podiums at pathway intersections for exhibitors to give presentations. Considering that some visitors would come directly to specific exhibitors, the Holland Tech Square also had standing signs showing exhibitor booth locations. Startups in the same field were grouped together and they were numbered from 1 to 50 to help interested visitors quickly locate their booths.Promotional materials available at the Holland Tech Square indicated an emphasis on partnerships between the Netherlands and the US. The Netherlands hopes to connect its startups with American businesses to facilitate their smooth expansion into the American market. In line with this objective, many Dutch startups chosen to participate at Eureka Park had products that take American use scenarios into consideration.Israel: Small but eye-catching teamThe Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute (IEICI) and Ministry of Economy and Industry were in charge of organizing the Israeli Pavilion at CES 2019 Eureka Park with a focus on promoting the export of Israeli technologies and solutions so their marketing funding whether for advertising billboards or national pavilion construction was all used on the exhibitors.Although there were only 23 Israeli startups exhibiting at Eureka Park this year, ranked 11th, they were able to attract attention with a design featuring colorful letters forming the word "Israel" on a black background. All the display stands came with black metal frames and wood tabletops, presenting a unique visual feel.The Israeli Pavilion was situated at a delta formed by two main pathways both this year and last year at Eureka Park. The space may be small but enjoyed the highest visitor flow. With its colorful "Israel" signs, neatly organized booths and over-sized display panels, it would be difficult for visitors to miss the Israeli Pavilion.Japan and Korea: Governments ramping up efforts to promote national imagesAt last year's Eureka Park, Japan and Korea stood on the sidelines as other countries set up their own pavilions for collective exhibitions. Japanese and Korean startups had booths distributed among other startups without national delegations. Their booth designs lacked national images. This year at Eureka Park, they took on a whole new look. Japan organized two theme areas - J-Startup and Japan Tech, both featuring a red and white background. All its promotional resources were directed at enhancing the Japan image and the Japanese startups.J-Startup is a program launched by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in June 2018, aiming to incubate high potential startups. The Japanese government has set a goal to establish 20 venture businesses with a corporate value of over US$1 billion by 2023. Organizing the J-Startup exhibit area at Eureka Park was part of the J-Startup program.Japan Tech Project is a non-government initiative also aiming to foster startups. Operating at a smaller scale, the project offered support to a selection of seven startups that showcased their innovations at CES.Korea had 45 startups exhibiting at CES last year, slightly more than Taiwan, but the number shot up to 109 at CES 2019. Korea, France and the US were the countries that brought a fleet of more than 100 startups to CES. Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), originally in charge of planning only for regular exhibit areas, joined forces with Korea Electronics Association (KEA) to carry out the "from Korea" project, which included planning for exhibits at Eureka Park for the first time this year.KOTRA put up a large number of "from Korea" banners along the walkways outside Sands Expo to increase visibility of Korean technologies. Additional Korean startup teams included Aving TV's "Made in Korea" (MIK), Samsung Electronics' C-Lab and firms led by Seongnam Industry Promotion Agency.The Korean Pavilion at CES 2019 Eureka Park impressed visitors with a design containing the word "Korea" in white on a blue background and a Taichi symbol. The features of the products on display were noted at a specific location on the display panel at each booth. The Korean Pavilion was planned with an emphasis on leaving sufficient open space. Some booths were even pushed back to make way for visitors so that they could stop and browse the exhibits. There were also plenty of tables and chairs for people to sit down and have short discussions but they were set up in semi-open spaces to prevent freeloaders from hogging them.Taiwan Tech Arena: A new imageTaiwan's exhibit area at CES 2019 Eureka Park, dubbed "Taiwan Tech Arena" (TTA), hosted a team of 44 startups that had been picked by a panel of Silicon Valley veterans assembled by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and approved by CES organizer - the Consumer Technology Association. MOST offered a presentation skills boot camp for these startups before they set out for CES.Coming to CES Eureka Park for the second time, the Taiwan pavilion was renamed from "Taiwan Tech Star" to TTA this year in correspondence to MOST's TTA initiative. According to the agency in charge, the Taiwan pavilion at Eureka Park will be under the TTA banner going forward to establish an image for TTA in the international startup community.With the new resounding title TTA, MOST augmented the Taiwan team to 44 startups from 30 at last year's event. The TTA pavilion also had a new location and design characterized by a color similar to Tiffany Blue. The color is also used on the TTA website and trademark.As one of the theme areas of the CES exhibition, Eureka Park did not see consistent amounts of visitor flow throughout different sections of its show floor so the countries holding exhibits at Eureka Park were very particular about their locations. At CES 2019 Eureka Park, the TTA pavilion was situated closer to the entrance but farther from the main pathway, which had an impact on the visitor flow. But there was a restaurant nearby with high passing traffic and the dining area had a view of the TTA sign and Taiwan exhibitors.The TTA pavilion had an elongated shape with a small stage at its entrance where exhibitors could give five-minute presentations to visitors entering the pavilion. When there was no presentation in session, the area in front of the stage with padded square stools could serve as a rest area for visitors to take a break and thus take notice of Taiwan startups.Three brochures were available at the TTA reception, two of which contained information on the 44 exhibiting startups, the thicker one introducing the company profiles and products and the other introducing the entrepreneurs' visions and dreams by way of interviews to present another side to the cold hard technology.The third brochure that was the thinnest and smallest brought to light the TTA base located at the Taipei Arena. These publication materials were an indication that TTA planned the exhibits at Eureka Park also with a focus on promoting Taiwan startups.Eureka Park is no doubt the most distinctive among the 24 CES exhibit areas, offering a show floor where each participating country's creativity is demonstrated not only through the products on display but also the marketing efforts infused with cultural uniqueness. But at the end of the day, it's all about who has more capital, talent and technological strength.Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) at Eureka ParkThe eye-catching Israeli Pavilion featuring colorful letters forming the name Israel" on black metal framesThe French Tech pavilion characterized by the Gallic rooster
A team of 44 startups showcasing their innovations at CES 2019 have managed to win more than NT$5.5 billion (US$178.44 million) in business opportunity, according to science and technology minister Chen Liang-Gee.The team, formed with support from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), achieved the business opportunity during the annual event and at a post-CES matchmaking event in Silicon Valley.Chen said the Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) Pavilion at CES 2019 attracted the attention from 20 international media. "It is evident that Taiwan's technological strength and innovation capabilities were well received, said Chen.The sum of NT$5.5 billion in busines sopportunity well exceeds MOST's original goal of NT$4 billion.It was the second year that MOST has arranged a startup mission to the CES. At last year's event in Las Vegas, MOST led a team of 32 startups to Eureka Park, winning about NT$3 billion in business opportunity.For CES 2019, MOST selected 44 promising startups in six categories: Internet of Things (IoT, 25%), cyber security and software (20%), artificial intelligence (AI, 18%), healthcare (14%), wearables (14%), and advanced manufacturing (9%). Of the 44 team members, eight won the CES 2019 Innovation Awards before the exhibition, and most of the teams attracted big manufacturers and engaged with venture capitalists during the CES, said MOST.Fifteen teams also participated at the Taiwan Pitch Night matchmaking event in Silicon Valley to connect directly with global venture capitalists, said MOST.One of the TTA startup teams Awowo, which developed FreeStyle Drum with a WPW patent technology to replicate a real drum, has replaced the traditional drumhead with a smaller enamel film, and reduced the large space occupied by electronic drum kits. The sensitivity and responsiveness of the FreeStyle Drum are 10-times faster than an electronic drum kit. Joe Liu, CEO of Awowo, said that through the exhibition, they have signed a million-dollar order and will soon be announced in Guangzhou Music Festival in February. Being in music and instruments business for two decades, Liu said that it is CES and the support from MOST that traditional industries can explore new business potential if combining innovative technology application.Another team AgriTalk Technology develops an AgriTalk Management Platform that controls the production of agricultural products with technology. According to Wen Liang Chen, founder of AgriTalk Technology, the system integrates sensors to acquire biological and environmental data, regulates pests, diseases, soil and fertility. During CES, buyers from Dubai, Chile, Canada, India, the Philippines, Sweden, South Africa, Italy, France and the Netherlands negotiated with AgriTalk. The company also won first place in Taiwan Pitch Night during the post-CES event. MOST said AgriTalk's future business opportunities are estimated to be more than NT$900 million.Ganzin Technology said it also understands more about the global market via CES and the support from MOST. Ganzin focuses on creating the next generation eye tracking modules that can be easily integrated into AR/VR modules to help unlock the potential of the eye as a seamless interface into the extended reality world. Over the last few years, they have redesigned the necessary algorithms for a highly precise eye-tracking module, the result is Aurora, a re-architected eye-tracking solution with a small form factor and minimal power requirements. Ganzin is one of the teams that participated in CES Unveiled and was included in the Best of CES of Reuters, said Shao-Yi Chien, founder of Ganzin.MOST minister Chen Liang-Gee (center) with Taiwan's startup teams at a press conference summing up results at CES 2019Photo: Bryan Chuang, Digitimes, January 2019
Artificial intelligence (AI) development is no longer something only big players can do and has exploded in recent years with all firms big and small taking the initiative to incorporate AI in their products. AI applications are the focus of attention of the startup community. CES 2019 Eureka Park shed light on the prevailing trend of AI-powered technologies.CES 2019 Eureka Park hosted more than 1,200 startups from over 50 countries around the world. Among them, close to 100 startup firms presented AI-powered products or services, encompassing home appliances, healthcare products, commercial and domestic robots, as well as large-scale applications such as smart traffic and smart city implementations. In addition to empowering hardware devices, AI also plays an important role in software-based applications such as cyber security, e-commerce and chatbot.Among the 44 startup teams exhibiting at the Taiwan Tech Arena Pavilion at Eureka Park, 10 showcased AI-powered products, including voice processing, image recognition and natural language processing (NLP) hardware/software applications. Compared to other countries, the Taiwan Tech Arena Pavilion presented a more comprehensive lineup of AI technologies.Aiming to build up differentiation from big name firmsTaiwan-based startup RelaJet was one of the few firms presenting core voice recognition technologies at Eureka Park. Different from Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, which engage in speech recognition based on semantic interpretation models built from training on large amounts of data, RelaJet endeavors on acoustic fingerprinting technologies and has introduced an AI acoustic fingerprinting engine that can perform edge computing on hearing aids.According to RelaJet, its AI engine can extract the characteristics of human voice within 10 milliseconds and then amplify them so that people with hearing problems can still clearly hear a specific person talk in a noisy environment.Also working on voice recognition technologies, Japanese startup Empath showcased a system that can identify emotion from voice. The system tracks the changes in people's tone and thereby identifies the person's emotion. Moreover, with a graphic interface, users' emotion can be clearly quantifiable so that the recipient can respond properly. The Empath system has been used at call service centers to identify callers' emotion.Other AI-powered speech applications on display at Eureka Park included two real-time earphone translators introduced by Timekettle, a joint venture between China and Canada, and US-based Waverly Labs. Both are capable of translating multiple languages in real time.British startup Just AI UK created a conversational platform integrating voice assistant solutions such as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa to help enterprises accelerate time-to-market for their smart devices or chatbots. French startup SNIPS integrates the voice interface that runs on-device and offline, without user data being sent to the cloud.Burgeoning applications of AI-powered image recognitionAs opposed to the rather limited number of AI-based speech and voice applications on exhibit at Eureka Park, AI-powered image recognition has a plethora of amazing applications.Take body recognition for example. Alyce Healthcare from Korea developed a home physical rehabilitation assistant solution that gives feedback on whether the patient is doing the exercises correctly when he or she follows rehab center's videos at home. It can also record the patient's exercise session and provide that to the rehab center for diagnosis purposes.French startup Numii AIO presented a platform that measures and analyzes human laborers' movements and stress in real-time using AI-based image recognition technologies and then makes suggestions for improvement. The platform can relieve strain in the workplace, especially for workers in the transport and construction sectors.Like voice recognition, gesture control offers a breakthrough alternative to traditional human machine interfaces (HMI). They are both touchless HMI technologies that enable people to communicate with machines but gesture control breaks down the language and accent barriers.American startup Gestoos developed a gesture recognition platform that enables precise tracking and detection of any hand movement, allowing users to navigate content and services with simple hand gestures. Not only is it an alternative to voice control but it also creates better user experiences for speech and hearing impaired people, according to Gestoos.AI-powered automotive applications are also catching public attention with many amazing innovations on exhibit at CES 2019 Eureka Park. Taiwan-based startup FaceHeart showcased a fatigue detection system that uses a dashboard camera to capture images of the driver's face and analyzes the images to detect changes in the blood flow to/from the driver's face, thereby estimating the driver's physiological signals such as heartrate and blood pressure. It can then monitor the driver's level of alertness and issue a warning in advance to prevent accidents.Berlin-based startup German Autolabs introduced a digital assistant for drivers - Chris. It allows drivers to make calls, send text messages, or play music using voice or gesture control through Bluetooth connection with a smartphone app. Moreover, drivers can still use Chris to navigate even when the phone has no data connection.French team CARFIT crafted a solution that collects a large amount of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) data from vehicles using sensors and analyzes the NVH data using machine learning to gain insight into potential mechanical issues before they become a problem. In the past, NVH data could only be collected by automotive repair and maintenance service providers using professional-grade instruments. CARFIT has now made the data and analysis results available to car owners through a smartphone app, allowing them to stay on top of vehicle conditions at all times.Smart traffic and information security applicationsSmart traffic and smart city are big topics for startup teams as they need to address a major challenge in how to integrate resources across different systems in order to bring their services to reality.Taiwan-based OmniEyes uses mobile communication and AI-based image recognition technologies to collect massive amounts of traffic images from dash cams of vehicles driving in the city. It then performs real-time analyses on the images and provides the results to traffic authorities for reference.OmniEyes is collaborating with the Taipei City government to develop projects including detection of street-parking violations and assessment on the arrangement of garbage truck stops and schedules in an endeavor to improve the quality of life for citizens. OmniEyes looks to extend applications of its solution to AR navigation, instant street view searches and map database for self-driving cars.Another startup also working on image recognition for smart traffic applications, Waycare from Israel, presented a cloud traffic platform that can predict traffic congestions two hours in advance and the chances of traffic accidents by taking into consideration a combination of factors including real-time traffic situations, weather conditions, people flow distribution and building usage. The system is in trial operation in several cities in the US, including Las Vegas, where CES is held.Information security applications were also gaining visibility at CES 2019 Eureka Park. Many firms brought forth solutions leveraging AI technologies to analyze cyber security risks and thereby propose suitable countermeasures.American startups Gryphon and Q-Branch Labs both introduced their own small network device that has a built-in machine learning model of normal network traffic flow, which can serve as the basis of comparison to detect abnormal network traffic flow. Firedome, also from the US, presented a home IoT network security platform to provide AI-powered software information security solution tailored for Home IoT device suppliers.Unbotify from Israel makes use of biometrics technologies to trace the interactions between the user and the system and identify if the user is a real person or a software robot. Its solution can help enterprises detect intrusions into their systems and react more quickly.In search of commercialization opportunities for AI enginesAs a matter of fact, AI-powered products exhibited by startups at CES 2019 Eureka Park were mostly in the form of software development kits or integrated solutions with AI engines at the core running specific algorithms. Software development capabilities are essential to AI advancements but integration with other software applications and hardware devices are also necessary for AI to be put to practical use in specific fields and generate synergetic effects.With AI applications in wide-ranging fields with vastly different know-hows, AI startups face challenges in how to apply AI technologies in specific fields. Accordingly, many startups market their AI technologies in the form of AI engines in the hope that they can be used in suitable fields and thereby generate more business opportunities.The achievements that Taiwan-based startups showcased at CES 2019 Eureka Park demonstrated not only a variety of AI technologies but also their actual applications. They are an indication that Taiwan teams have transcended from developing technologies to marketing products.(This is part of a series of articles about Eureka Park startups and innovations at CES 2019.)FaceHeart uses AI-powered image recognition to implement a touchless approach to detecting drivers' physiological signals such as heartrate.Empath detects changes in the users' to identify their emotions, which are quantifiable on a graphic interface.Unbotify uses machine learning to detect hacker attacks by determining whether a system is being accessed by a robot (pattern on the left) or a human being (pattern on the right).Photos: Joyce Chen, Digitimes Research, January 2019
Neurobit Technologies has developed wireless smart glasses that can record nystagmus waveforms and analyze related imaging data to make early prediction and prevention of strokes and other brain diseases, according to Jim Huang, co-founder and chief design officer (CDO) of the Taiwan-based startup.Huang said that his firm's smart glasses can collect nine kinds of nystagmus imaging data involving horizontal visual tracking, vertical visual tracking, gazing, and saccade, among others. The data can be further analyzed with AI to provide doctors with clear nystagmus records of their patients. The smart glasses carry pre-hospital recording, in-hospital diagnostic classification, and post-discharge result tracking functions, Huang stressed, adding that AI-based analysis of the comprehensive data collected from patients can serve as valuable references for doctors in making diagnostic judgments and issuing long-term prescriptions.Huang continued that it will take 30 minutes to conduct 10 measurements of eye movements of a patient with the firm's smart glasses, to record the entire nystagmus processes of the patient.He stressed Neurobit's smart glasses are light, slim and comfortable to wear, and boast a battery life of up to one hour, longer than any other wireless glasses.Neurobit has contracted a third-party manufacturer to produce the smart glasses, Huang disclosed, adding that 3D printing has done a lot in helping the company develop innovative technology applications.Neurobit Technologies co-founder and CDO Jim HuangPhoto: Mark Tsai, Digitimes, January 2019
