The rapid rise of blockchain technology since 2015, followed by a series of ICO and cryptocurrency hype, has made blockchain and Bitcoin household names. I began to study blockchain and IoT applications in 2015. When I spoke to my friends about my undertaking in blockchain at that time, some of them may have heard of the term but actually knew little about it.In the time frame from 2015 to 2016, it seemed pretty far-fetched to apply blockchain to IoT. People wouldn't have thought of putting the two together. Today, despite the fall of the ICO fever and governments tightening control on or even banning cryptocurrency, most of my friends are either endeavoring toward the blockchain industry or already well into it. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say 80% of my peers are talking about blockchain. It has taken only a year for blockchain to go from being little-known to becoming the center of attention.I predicted "blockchain of IoT" (BIoT) and have been participating in BIoT implementations. In 2018, real-world BIoT applications are beginning to take shape in many countries around the world with industry leaders committing R&D resources in BIoT. What about Taiwan? If you consider coin mining an IoT application, then Taiwan has a BIoT application.Starting this year, many firms and government agencies have approached my team to inquire and explore how to incorporate blockchain in their operations and bring value to their organizations. Quite a few of them did some research of their own before coming to us. In the interaction with them, I found something interesting that I would like to share with readers.I would like to first talk about a common phenomenon - looking at blockchain in general through perspectives gained from only one blockchain technologyBlockchain indeed is still in its early-stage of development according to the Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies. However, with the cryptocurrency and ICO bubble catching public attention, many people have begun to study blockchain, mostly building their knowledge on top of the legendary Bitcoin and Ethereum, which has the most data available for research at present.Such attention could be a good thing. However, as blockchain is still in its infancy, a wide range of technologies are being developed, some of which may be bubbles waiting to burst. If users build their global view on blockchain based on the first blockchain technology they came in contact with when they began initial blockchain research and look at other blockchain technologies through this global view, this may lead them in the wrong direction when they try to incorporate blockchain in their operations.They should go back to the basics by first figuring out exactly what problems they are attempting to solve using blockchain and then research on the technology, rather than starting off with the technology without studying the problem itself. They may end up using the wrong tool for the job. For example, many people like to use a comparison table to list the pros and cons of different blockchain technologies. This may seem like a reasonable approach but people may be overlooking one essential aspect - whether the particular blockchain technology is a perfect match for the task they are trying to tackle in their field.For example, I was invited to a company in Tucheng a few weeks ago for blockchain consultation. The person in charge of the company's blockchain research started off by asking me, "Do you have an actual use case? I did my own research…" Then, he went on talking about some blockchain characteristics, which are in fact just about one particular blockchain technology, and raised all kinds of questions.I spent some time trying to take him back to the basics. By giving him the fundamental concept and the right attitude, I helped him examine if his company and industry can potentially benefit from making use of blockchain technologies. I also pointed out some news reports on blockchain use cases may not have presented the full story and their headlines may be too simple and thus misleading. At this early-stage of blockchain development when people are not yet clear on the basics, I would like to make a point of saying that people should not think they can gain real understanding on examples of blockchain being used in other industries simply by reading news headlines and embellished stories.Lman Chu, co-founder and CEO of BiiLabs

Ganzin Technology has launched Aurora eye tracking solution, which can integrate VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality) and even XR (extended reality) technologies to better tap into diverse tech applications, according to company founder SY Chien.Chien said the Aurora is a module comprising one eye tracking IC and three specially-designed camera lenses, which can be paired with AR or VR facilities for use in many applications, such as user interface, market research, entertainment, medical research, and diverse training and education purposes.Chien continued that in future smart healthcare applications, surgeons can during surgery operations, directly utilize smart glasses connected with the eye tracking solution to access the patient's medical records, latest surgery data, and vital signs, without having to use their hands.Chien stressed that humans and machines will jointly create more values, and there will be more effective ways of interaction and connection between them. Accordingly, Ganzin hopes to develop systems that can use eye movements or emotional expressions to make more natural and smoother connections between humans and computers.Ganzin Technology founder SY ChienPhoto: Mark Tsai, Digitimes, December 2018

Silicon wafer market growth for 2019 will depend on chipmakers' 12-inch fab expansions and smartphone demand, Digitimes Research believes.The world's silicon wafer producers all had their shipments, revenues and profits remain at high levels as of the end of October 2018. However, uncertainty about demand-side developments has cast a shadow over their business outlook next year.The global deceleration in smartphone sales and the US-China trade disputes, which may result in a possible slowdown in chipmakers' 12-inch fab expansions, will likely have a negative impact on silicon wafer suppliers' performance in 2019.On the supply side, combined production capacity at silicon wafer makers has expanded by a larger-than-expected 9.8% this year. If the suppliers grow their combined capacity by another 9% and more in 2019, it will not be easy for them to maintain high profitability next year, Digitimes Research said.Silicon wafer area shipments are set to increase by more than 7% in 2018, Digitimes Research estimates. For the third quarter alone, area shipments of 12- and 8-inch silicon wafers grew 12% and 5%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2017, while the 6-inch and below segment registered on-year decreases.Japan-based companies' 12-inch silicon wafer area production and shipments surged 13.5% and 14.7%, respectively, from a year earlier in the first three quarters of 2018. The growths show the related suppliers' aggressive capacity expansions.

Taiwan's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) will lead 44 tech startup companies to attend CES 2019 in Las Vegas in January 2019, MOST minister Liang-Gee Chen announced on Wednesday.The minister made the announcement at Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA), which will organize a national pavilion at CES' Eureka Park to showcase the country's tech strengths to the world, creating a stage that connects Taiwan startups with the global ecosystem, resources and industries to create business opportunities estimated at NT$4 billion (US$129.71 million).Chen urged Taiwan's companies to support local startups with their financial strength and experience.Chen said there wasn't any angel investors in Taiwan in the past, but it has now started to see some. MOST has ambitious goals for helping establish more startups, but that will need a lot more angel investors, he said.Eight of the startups in the TTA team have been named winners of the CES 2019 Innovation Award: EleClean, Genius Holdings, Gintel Tech, Han-Win Technology, Lubn, Omnieyes, Starwing Technology, and Taiwan Main Orthopedic Biotechnology.Chen pointed out that two Taiwan startups won the Innovation Award at CES 2018, which marked the first time that a MOST-arranged team had showcased Taiwan's IT prowess at the annual event. The Taiwan team to CES 2018 consisted of 32 companies.The 44 TTA startups going to CES 2019 are mainly selected from six high-tech fields covering IoT (25%), cyber security and software (20%), AI (18%), healthcare (14%), wearables (14%), and advanced manufacturing (9%).Launched in June 2018, TTA is a pioneer program funded by MOST. The program aims to connect global resources, build a more tech startup friendly ecosystem, and foster high-tech entrepreneurships in Taiwan.TTA hopes to attract global and domestic talent and actively foster the innovation of technology industries by building a co-creation platform for startups, accelerators, venture capital, and corporate partners.Via participating CES 2019, TTA looks forward to connecting global investors for its team, having further industrial cooperation, and enhancing Taiwan's reputation in global high-tech ecosystem.MOST minister Liang-Gee Chen at TTAPhoto: Shihmin Fu, Digitimes, December 2018

The top-5 notebook brands' combined shipments grew 4% on month, but went down 11% on year in November, despite the month being a traditional strong season. Intel's CPU shortages and ongoing US-China trade tensions continued affecting notebook players' shipment performances in November.Hewlett-Packard (HP) had an on-month shipment decline in November and the volumes also slipped 14% on year. Lenovo enjoyed an on-month growth of 10% in November thanks to China e-commerce platforms' inventory preparations. Dell also experienced an on-month decline in November shipments, but saw a 6% on-year increase thanks to strong shipment growth in the enterprise sector, Digitimes Research numbers show.The top-3 ODMs together achieved an on-month shipment growth of 1% in November, thanks to HP increasing the proportion of its shipments to Compal Electronics, which became the largest notebook maker worldwide, leapfrogging the original number-one Quanta Computer.

Overall revenues scored by Taiwan's server sector including segments of motherboards, terminal systems, storage devices and related network equipment, are expected to surge 24.6% on year to NT$870 billion (US$28.2 billion) in 2018, according to Digitimes Research.Compared with revenue growth, Taiwan server shipments for 2018 are estimated to see a lower annual increase of 11.5%, with Wiwynn posting the highest shipment expansion, figures from Digitimes Research's latest server report showed.Global server shipments have been estimated to keep growing in 2018 and 2019. But affected by the US-China trade war and poor transition to Intel's new-generation Purley server processor at some clients, the 2018 shipment growth rate has been lower than expected. And the growth rate for 2019 is also expected to be thwarted amid the lingering trade tensions between the world's two largest economies and some clients already taking high shipments in 2018.In terms of demand by clients, large-size data centers in the US have registered the most remarkable growth, and China customers have also shown robust demand. As the shipment ratio for Taiwan-sourced white-box server models has kept rising, the aggregate global server market share held by Taiwan manufacturers has hit a high level of 91% in 2018.Bolstered by sharp shipment growth of its subsidiary Wiwynn, Wistron Group has kept narrowing its shipment gap with the largest server maker Inventec. Meanwhile, Quanta Computer, Foxconn and Wiwynn have all seen increased reliance on large-size data centers for contract production orders in 2018.

Hong Kong startup PowerArena is moving to apply computer vision and AI deep learning technologies to conduct real-time monitoring of production lines to help manufacturers discover factors leading to poor production efficiency, in order for them to seek improvement solutions, according to company co-founder Ken Law.PowerArea is one of 19 growth startups, also the only from Asia, invited to attend 10-day trade talks with 47 Taiwan businesses, hosted recently by Garage+, an incubation project initiated by Taipei-based Epoch Foundation.Law and another co-founder Ryan Chow have discussed with Taiwan firms including Wistron, Advantech and AU Optoelectronics over cooperation possibilities. Law revealed that his company is planning to set up a branch office in Taiwan seeking to explore market potentials for AI-based image recognition solutions needed to help manufacturers with production upgrades. Despite the arival of Industry 4.0, there are still many labor-intensive and low-automation manufacturing plants in Taiwan and China, and data associated with production variables at such plants cannot be collected by sensors installed on machinery equipment, Law said.Law said PowerArena's AI image recognition solution can be combined with surveillance cameras to monitor the efficiency of each production line worker by figuring out the time he or she needs to complete each procedure, so as to help manufacturers locate the most time-consuming procedure and take effective improvement measures.Law said that while Industry 4.0 highlights smart production, there are now as many as 300 million workers operating at plants. PowerArena's AI image recognition technology can be best applied to labor-intensive and low-automation production lines, including those at electronics assembly, food production and garment manufacturing plants, Law indicated, adding that the technology can replace mechanical networking to inject new intelligence into low-automation industries.Law continued that the AI image recognition technology can also help manufacturers achieve more efficient shift of production lines to meet the growing "small-volume, large-variety" production mode.PowerArea will move to further optimize its AI image recognition functions to boost yield rates at production lines, according to Law.PowerArena co-founders Ryan Chow (left) and Ken Law (right)Photo: Chloe Liao, Digitimes, December 2018

While Ultra-HD (UHD) content is still insufficient at the moment, related makers and service providers should expand the scope of information applications to highlight the value of such high resolution and stimulate demand for 8K TVs.Cable operators have just started offering paid 4K value-added service in 2018 in line with the completion of 4K terrestrial broadcasting standards and trial broadcasting. OTT has then become the earliest platform to roll out 4K video services, although some short 8K videos have appeared on YouTube. OTT is likely to pioneer the 8K video services, Digitimes Research believes.But the lack of 8K videos will highlight the value of 8K TVs' video processing capability. The scaling technology used for video processing has begun to utilize AI applications in the 8K era. The use of AI gives TV chips the learning ability to self-improve the quality of image, and therefore will be instrumental to driving up demand for 8K TVs.Digitimes Research also believes that in addition to improving the image of non-8K videos through AI scaling technology, the TV industry should also expand related information applications to crease demand for 8K TVs. As compared with video content, the presentation of a large amount of text or maps through information applications will highlight the superior image quality of 8K TVs.Smart TVs supporting information applications have not been popular due to a lack of an efficient human-machine interface for inputting commands. Since AI-based voice technology has become mature in recent years, the TV industry should make good use this technology to expand the scope of information applications through TVs, which in turn will benefit the development of 8K TV market.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) recently held a presentation to showcase its outstanding results in facilitating developments of the retail and logistics sectors at the Taipei International Convention Center (TICC). The event was attended by nearly 550 individual participants and corporate representatives.According to May Lee, director general, Department of Commerce, MOEA, the ministry keeps a close watch on new developments and trends of the retail and logistics service sectors. The small and medium businesses sectors currently lack the capability of developing or applying technologies by themselves to undergo digital transformation. Moreover, commercial services are going increasingly mobile and international, which presents big challenges for these businesses to deliver precise and prompt services.As such, MOEA aims to facilitate industrial upgrade and transformation by combining smart technology and creativity to help Taiwan businesses develop innovative services, revolutionize business models and build up competitiveness through differentiation. The event was held for the purpose of demonstrating and sharing the breakthroughs and accomplishments after one year of hard work.A smart store demonstration jointly developed by Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and the convenience store chain Hi-Life was also a highlight of the event. The store featured a myriad of smart applications including a face enroll system, self-service coffee machine, self-checkout station, people flow analysis, in-store hotspot detection, electronic shelf label and retail service robots. Visitors could interact with these smart applications and gain a firsthand experience on the convenience and charms of shopping at a store of the future.In 2018, MOEA has helped more than 80 firms and 8,000 sales locations apply advanced technologies or transition toward smart services. In addition to presenting the results of its campaign, MOEA also hopes that the demonstrations of smart high-tech applications enabled through joint efforts by MOEA and the collaborating firms will inspire and lead Taiwan's service sector to transform toward smartization, engage in innovations and thereby mark a new milestone.Participants at the 2018 smart business and logistics presentationPhoto: Digitimes staff, December 2018

Smart machine boxes can be integrated with order management system to better monitor dynamic conditions at production lines and realize the true value of data collection and management associated with the boxes, according to JY Huang, vice president of Impelex Data Transfer, a Taiwan-based system integrator and smart machine box supplier.Huang said that smart machine boxes are usually adopted by manufacturers short of digitalization capability for production upgrades. The boxes and sensors can be combined to collect, process, store and transmit production data.But general smart machine boxes cannot address the issues of when shipments can be delivered or whether production progress can meet shipment schedule, Huang said.To fix the issues, she continued, Impelex has developed smart machine boxes that can integrate order management system, warehouse management system, distributed control system (DCS) and equipment management system into enterprise resources planning (ERP) system.This way, manufacturers can figure out optimal equipment utilization based on order fulfillment needs while effectively improving production efficiency, Huang indicated. JY Huang, vice president of Impelex Data TransferPhoto: Chloe Liao, Digitimes, December 2018