Taiwan makers are highlighting their robust prowess in robot production and smart manufacturing systems at the 2018 Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show running August 29-31 in Taipei, by unveiling their latest smart production solutions, and there are many iconic exhibitors such as Hiwin Technologies, Mirle Automation, Gallant Precision Machining, Compal Electronics and Nexcom International.As the most representative Taiwan maker of robots and automation equipment, Hiwin showcases a variety of Industry 4.0-based automation systems, including automated equipment for semiconductor uses; mechanical robotic arms incorporating vision systems and sensors for handling grinding, packaging and graving; smart ball screws, high-performance direct drive rotary table, and smart automation components.Besides industrial-use robots and smart manufacturing solutions, many firms also display service-oriented robotic applications. Taiwan Shin Kong Security, for instance, has displayed robots to support smart living security, and healthcare-use robotic arms designed to help nurses transfer patients and intelligent walking aids can also be seen at the show.Taiwan Intelligent Robotics exhibits customized robots for use at recreation, dinning, and biotech fields, while Arobot Innovation also showcases small-size robots that can accompany little children at home.

Taiwan-based Anchor Tech, a provider of smart buildings control systems, is actively striving to apply its control, monitoring and maintenance solutions to commercial properties including Carrefour, RT-Mart, and convenience stores, so as to keep the premises in an optimal operating state through predictive maintenance, according to the firm's CEO Duncan Huang. Huang said in the IoT era, the niche market for startups like his company, founded in 2010, rests with the space for integration, flow optimization and maintenance services, which accounts for 5% of business opportunities which big enterprises can hardly tap as they are busy developing, producing and selling products.In terms of smart illumination, he said, radar sensors and LED driver can be combined to allow indoor lights to automatically switch on and off, or to detect sunlight brightness at signage boards to determine where to switch on or off lights and luminance. As to predictive maintenance, sensors can be used to collect data on the frequencies and waveforms of lights to accurately predict when every light will wear out, so as to reduce the cost for patrol personnel and provide customers with proper maintenance solutions.Huang stressed that his company will move to increase long-term added values for products already sold by offering maintenance solutions to customers, aiming to become a service provider and ecosystem builder rather than a product supplier.

While mature infrastructures, stable system technologies, sound supervision regulations and public acceptability are required to support the development of driverless vehicles, such vehicles for public transportation will work in three main scenarios: grid network in smart city, smart tourism in theme parks, and shuttle services in remote areas, according to Ting Yen-yun, president of 7Starlake, a Taiwan startup dedicated to developing smart ride-sharing shuttle buses.Ting said that public transportation highly relies on the support of good road networks, and only after the network coverage reaches a certain scale can efficient transportation be achieved. He continued that autonomous-driving minibuses can be applied to build virtual road networks and sharply reduce the lead time and cost for public transportation.In terms of smart tourism application, Ting noted, the mini buses used in amusement parks must boast smart mobility, digital experience and ride-sharing functions, with AR (augmented reality) technologies applicable to mark the locations of scenic spots and introduce the natural landscapes and attractions.Driverless vehicles can also be applied for flexible shuttle services in remote areas, where maintaining a fixed transportation route usually involves unaffordable costs. Automated-driving minibuses can also help bring medical services to remote countryside, Ting continued.

In 2017, 380,600 industrial robots were sold globally, increasing 29.3% on year, according to World Industrial Robot 2018 published by International Federation of Robotics (IFR).Of the total, 125,400 were purchased by users in the automaking industry, growing 21% on year. Shipments to the manufacturing industries of metals, electronics/electric appliances and food rose 54%, 27% and 19% respectively. Although growth in global car sales is slowing down, automakers keep hiking automation of production, especially China-based ones and makers of electric vehicles.Among regional markets, 255,000 industrial robots were sold in Asia and Australia, up 34% on year; 67,000 units in Europe, up 20%; and 50,000 units in North and Latin Americas, up 22%.China, South Korea and Japan were the three largest country markets with sales of 138,000, 40,000 and 39,000 units respectively. The US ranked fourth with 33,000 units, followed by Germany (22,000) and Taiwan (11,000).Manufacturing industries around the world recorded an average use density of 74 industrial robots per 10,000 workers, with South Korea posting the highest density of 631 units per 10,000 workers. Taiwan's use density stood at 177 industrial robots per 10,000 workers, ranking 10th globally. While China ranked 23rd, its government aims to advance the country to the top-10 in terms of industrial automation with use density to rise to over 150 industrial robots per 10,000 workers in 2020.

Developing AI (artificial intelligence) solutions for industries face many challenges mainly because of lack of AI talent and availability of necessary data, according to experts.And AI solutions are practically case-specific rather than for common use within a specific industry, the experts added.Some market research organizations predict that AI will be mainly applied to four areas: financial services, medical/health care, retail operation and manufacturing. But manufacturing has the biggest potential for AI applications in Taiwan because of the country's industrial structure, followed by financial services and medical/health care, said Yu Shaw-shian, senior VP for government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). Big data is the core to drive AI, and Taiwan's manufacturing industry consists of comprehensive supply chains that offer sufficient data for development of AI solutions.Taiwna-based manufacturers fall into three categories in terms of readiness in collecting and accumulating operating data from production equipment, Yu said. The first is high-tech firms such as semiconductor and flat panel makers and/or large-size enterprises which have collected such data, Yu noted.The second is makers which have collect insufficient data, but much of the data can be specially processed for use in developing AI solutions, Yu indicated.The third refers to makers whose machines are of old models that cannot be web-connected to collect data, Yu said. Most of them are small- to medium-size firms and the third category accounts for over 95% of the total number of manufacturers in Taiwan, Yu noted.External assistance, such as the use of smart machine boxes, is needed to enable such old machines to collect operating data, resulting in much time taken and less efficiency in developing AI solutions, Yu explained, adding thethird group pose the main difficulty in boosting industrial AI applications in Taiwan, Yu pointed out.The time taken to accumulate enough data varies: for example, at least one year is needed for retail operation to reflect seasonal effects, and a few months to half a year for PCB makers, Yu said.However, makers of different product lines may differ much in time taken to accumulate sufficient data and this is why it is difficult to develop AI solutions for common use in an industry.While training in developing AI solutions is commonly based on deep learning, the purposes of using AI solutions vary from enterprise to enterprise, involving much higher multiplicity and customization than adoption of ERP (enterprise resource planning) or CRM (customer relationship management) systems, said CEO Chen Sheng-wei for Taiwan AI Academy.

Manufacturing of electronic components including ICs and PCBs will account for 36% of collaborative robots to be deployed in Taiwan in the future, followed by metal working with 32%, retail logistics with 15%, food processing with 11% and shoe making with 6%, according to Industry, Science and Technology International Strategy Center under government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI).While demand for all types of industrial robot in China, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the US kept increasing at a CAGR of about 13% during 2011-2017, global demand for collaborative robots alone hiked 89% on year in 2016, 75% in 2017 and is forecast to hike 65% in 2018, the center said. Human-machine collaboration functionally fills the gap between 100% manually operated production and completely automated production and is becoming the mainstream mode in the global industrial automation market, the center explained.For manufacturing of electronic components, collaborative robots will paired with AGVs (automated guided vehicles) for feeding, cutting and moving of materials mostly, the center noted. For metal working processes, collaborative robots will be used in feeding, cutting, moving and carrying of materials as well as grinding, paint spraying, gluing and polishing, the center indicated.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be applied to the travel service industry to better gauge the real needs of consumers through deep machine learning, according to CH Kuo, chief strategy officer of Lotus Group, a travel service and technology group based in Canada.Kuo, who is leading the Taiwan branch of Lotus toward a smart operation, said that Taiwan travel service firms must strive to work out travel itineraries that can increase consumer experiences through the support of AI.Kuo said that if consumers have a language barrier in travel, AI can help incorporate online translation service into their travel itineraries to let users of the service more easily know travel situations in advance and remind them of what to do before arriving at destinations. This is part of the service products developed by Lotus based on "thick data," Kuo added.Unlike big data, thick data highlights the depth of data, utilizing qualitative research to analyze a few data samples to dig out insightful points which are likely to be neglected by big data, Kuo said, adding that the deep machine learning technology develop by his company is based on thick data, able to conduct detailed analysis of traditional travel packages and relevant situations consumers may encounter.He stressed that AI should be based on the accumulation of intelligence rather than focused only on the development of technology, and therefore his company insists on "design for customer's need" by utilizing IT technologies to help upgrade traditional travel services.

Taiwan government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has kicked off operation of AIdea, a platform for developing AI (artifical intelligence) solutions to enterprises' problems, according to Yu Shiaw-shian, ITRI senior vice president and general director for Computational Intelligence Technology Center.AIdea first allows enterprises to present operational problems and related data. Sensitive information such as product names will be deleted from the data to protect business secrets. The data will be made available on the platform for open use by academic and research organizations to build models or develop algorithms that form AI solutions to the specific problems.AIdea plays the role of collecting industries' operational problems and related data and matching them with academic and research organizations' capability of developing AI solutions, Yu said. Enterprises are required to present a certain level of accumulated data on their operation because AI is based on big data analysis, Yu noted, adding the richer the data, the more likely AI can be applied.AIdea's main target users are small- to medium-size enterprises, Yu noted.As Taiwan has well developed medical care systems and a comprehensive national health insurance database, it offers good opportunities for developing AI technologies for medical care, such as precision medicine, Yu indicated.Several local enterprises or organizations have participated in AIdea, including Taipei Medical University, Taiwan Taxi, China Petrochemical Development and Asustek Computer.

A Taipei park has kicked the official use of Taiwan's first smart public lavatory allowing citizens to experience IoT-backed smart living, and the lavatory will double as an emergency call center in the next stage to enhance night safety for citizens, according to Spencer Liang, chairman of Flowring Technology playing a role in the project.Liang said the smart lavatory mainly relies on the support of IoT and cloud management technologies, with sensors utilized to detect the usage volumes of tissues and hand cleansers as well odors such as heavy ammonia before reminding service staff to do the replenishing and cleaning jobs. Liang said the sensing technology is just a basic application of IoT, but the smart lavatory project has attracted great attention from various sectors, with the Environmental Protection Administration even asking his company to help promote similar projects to other places in Taiwan.The pilot smart lavatory in the Daan Forest Park will be connected to the police systems later to become also a night emergency call center to better safeguard park visitors at night, according to Liang.The pilot project will also gradually incorporate AI, big data analysis, as well as facial recognition, user flow recognition and dangerous behavior recognition applications in the future, Liang stressed, adding that the most valuable part of the project is the backend use of the accumulated data for more efficient management.

Taoyuan City has been selected by Intelligent Community Forum as one of the global top-7 smart cities for two consecutive times. Cheng Wen-tsan, mayor of the northern Taiwanese city, pointed out during a recent interview by Digitimes that the core mission for a smart city is to solve problems by virtue of innovative technologies to hike efficiency and quality.Taoyuan began to promote its smart city project in 2015 and particularly focused on smart solutions and services for daily life, transportation and tourism in line with the Asia Silicon Valley Development Plan implemented by the National Development Council, Cheng said. Smart city solutions and services are human-centric, using IoT (Internet of Things), big data and AI (artificial intelligence) technologies to collect, analyze and integrate data, Cheng noted.Master plans and innovative thinkingWhile there are many systems and software solutions for promoting smart cities in Taiwan, smart city projects' effects on a city's competitiveness and the improvements to citizens' daily lives cannot be easily assessed because there are no readily available benchmarks, Cheng explained. Therefore, every city should have a master plan as guidance for city employees, giving them clear ideas about smart city, Cheng indicated.The city's Department of Information Technology is mainly responsible for promoting the smart city program. As of May 2018, the department had provided 1,443 items of data collected by the city government, including traffic, residential, vehicle thefts, flood water levels, parking facilities and air pollution attributable to factories, for open use. Since such data originally differed in format, the department has introduced OpenAPI Specification to shorten time taken by internal system developers to use such data. The city government aims to make every in-house-developed system avialable to the public.Citizen Cards are an example of smart city solutions, Cheng said. The card features multiple functions including personal identification, transportation tickets, electronic wallets, entrance control and access to various daily-life services. For mobile electronic payment, the card supports Apply Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay currently.Since it was launched in September 2015, the city government has issued over 1.1 million Citizen Cards, nearly half of the city's population, Cheng said.Industrial parks are under close environmental monitoringThere are six large industrial parks in the city and the city government has deployed sensors to monitor hot spots of pollution and use big data analysis to identify pollution sources.In response to frequent complaints about air pollution, the city government has cooperated with the Environment Control and Hazard Mitigation Technology Center under Chung Yuan Christian University to develop drones equipped with air pollution detectors for real-time monitoring of air quality at the Guanyin Industrial Park as a pilot project.Such drones undertake real-time detection of air pollutants including carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 every two seconds at varying altitudes and turn out a set of data every 30 seconds, with data transferred to ground monitoring computers via wireless communication for analysis of hot spots of air pollution. The city government plans to match detected abnormal signals with data collected by nearby weather stations and air quality sensors to trace pollution routes and the sources.Smart management of infrastructureCheng said smart disaster prevention is also important. In precaution against flooding, the city government has deployed 61 flood water level monitoring stations and 28 rainfall stations since 2015, and has integrated measurements with flooding data collected by other agencies and developed a flooding information system.The city government has converted many sewer maps into a GIS-based digital database and set up sensors at sewers for cloud computing-based monitoring. So far, map data on more than 15,000 sections and manholes of sewers have been digitized.There are six water resource recycling centers (wastewater treatment plants) in operation in the city, with each equipped with testing instruments and cameras for transferring real-time data on water quality to the monitoring center and monitoring staff's smartphones.The city government has installed 160 smart LED streetlamps for demonstration and will another 450. Smart streetlamps include a lighting control system, data displays, an AI-based image search and recognition system, GPS tracking based on smart wearables, and free Wi-Fi services.Over 200 of the top-500 Taiwan-based enterprises are stationed in the city. There are about 11,000 factories and over 2,000 logistics service operators in Taoyuan. With the Taoyuan International Airport, and the proximity to the Taipei metropolitan area and Hsinchu Science Park, the city has the advantages to develop smart city solutions, Cheng indicated.For Taiwan's New Southbound Policy, the focus is not about moving factories to or selling products in Southeast and South Asian countries, but about establishing platforms for economic cooperation, Cheng explained.The city government will, in line with Taiwan's Asia Silicon Valley Development Plan, introduce more software-based smart solutions, boost Industry 4.0 and upgrade industries' business operation, Cheng indicated.In addition, the city government has been keen on promoting startup businesses: there is a project focusing on communication software via cooperation with the National Development Council; and another on Internet of Vehicles (IoV) and testing autonomous driving, Cheng noted.Taoyaun mayor Cheng Wen-tsanPhoto: Shihmin Fu, Digitimes, August 2018A smart LED streetlamp with mulitiple applications in Taoyuan Photo: Taoyuan City Government