Clientron is actually benefiting from rising US-China trade tensions. Its orders from the US market are bucking the trend, enjoying growth rather than suffering loss. Clientron's brand customers based in Europe have been exerting efforts toward the US market over recent years and are reaping positive results. Clientron, as their supply chain partner, ships the products from its Taiwan factories. Therefore the products are not subject to the US tariff hike and Clientron's customers can keep costs at bay and gain ground in the US market. "As their competitors suffer rising costs due to the tariff hike, Clientron's customers are ramping up their US operations and thus increasing their orders to Clientron," says Kelly Wu, President & CEO, Clientron.As a result, Clientron experienced a large increase in orders in the third quarter, which is traditionally a slow season. The company expects the prosperity to continue through the fourth quarter and amount of orders in January 2019 will set a new record in the company's history.Making big moves toward the automotive electronics sectorClientron will be making leaping advances toward the automotive electronics sector in 2019. Wu comments, "Clientron is able to speed up expansion into the automotive electronics market through strategic planning and direct communication between Clientron's and automotive customers' high-level executives." Clientron's revenue from automotive electronics in 2019 will double from its 2018 level. Revenue from this sector accounts for about 10% of Clientron's total revenue.It is noteworthy that Clientron's operation in the automotive electronics sector has been focusing on multimedia navigation systems and in-vehicle infotainment systems used mostly in commercial vehicles. However, the company has recently received orders for digital driver instrument cluster systems for private vehicles. Its client base has also expanded from makers of fossil fuel vehicles to include makers of new energy electric vehicles.Furthermore, Clientron also engages in a development project of an in-vehicle infotainment system that combines a central control console system with digital multi-touch display. "This is a product combo with a high-end price and a high technological barrier. We have devoted tremendous R&D resources and are thrilled to have achieved great success. Volume production and shipment are expected for the first quarter of 2019," indicates Wu. "After overcoming the high barrier and beginning to supply the high-end product, Clientron will follow up by providing mid- and low-end versions with more market demand. We will also make active efforts toward the automotive electronics market in China. Going forward, by strengthening collaborations with industry partners, government agencies, research organizations and academic institutions and engaging in product R&D centered on multi-display interactive smart driving solutions, Clientron strives for total customer satisfaction and co-works with customers to transition into the IoV era."Interactive 'three-displays, one-instrument' solutions to be unveiledAs part of its endeavors toward the automotive electronics sector, Clientron has successfully developed interactive "three-display, one-instrument + ADAS " software-hardware-integrated solutions through joint efforts with customers. The "three displays" here refer to the in-vehicle infotainment system, driver instrument cluster and digital console cluster. The "one instrument" refers to the vehicle travelling data recorder. They enable multi-display interactions as well as smart interconnections via CAN communication and work in conjunction with the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) in the vehicle to create a diverse and safe intelligent driving experience. Sampling and full-scale demonstration will be available in the second half of 2019. These achievements will enhance Clientron's ability to satisfy high-level requirements by makers of commercial vehicles. "Clientron will be able to extend our lead and break free from price-cutting competitions," Wu emphasizes.Having dedicated time and efforts in the automotive electronics sector for many years, Clientron actually obtained IATF ISO/ TS16949 certification as early as 2004. It completed the renewal process in 2018 and was awarded the IATF 16949 certificate for quality management systems in the automotive industry. Clientron has established itself as one of Taiwan's few tier-1 suppliers of factory-installed automotive electronics. Furthermore, with experiences working with world-leading automakers including General Motors and Ford, Clientron's Xiamen factory is GM-certified and compliant with multiple automotive standards. To prepare itself for future increases in orders for automotive electronics, Clientron is not only recruiting talent specializing in R&D, manufacturing and testing but also upgrading its factory equipment in an attempt to capture growth opportunities in the coming year.Going forward, Wu is confident that Clientron will be able to ride the growing trend of electric vehicles in China and make significant advances in the automotive electronics sector. Calling on Taiwan-based automotive electronics makers, Wu says, "We welcome any collaboration opportunity, through which Clientron and partners can expand into the electric vehicle market together with enormous growth potential."Products are designed with customer needs in mindAs the year 2018 comes to a close, Wu checks on Clientron's achievements and comments, "Clientron's net profit has far exceeded previous forecast. This is because we are able to more precisely plan our R&D projects and fully grasp customers' needs and preferences on product spec, function and design." For example, Clientron's new thin client is developed based on the Raspberry Pi3 B+ platform with suitable I/O interfaces to accommodate more developers' needs and enable low-cost options for wide-ranging industrial applications. Moreover, with a lightweight casing design, the new thin client S-Cube Pi 3 B+ received positive reviews and big orders were coming in soon after samples were made available.Among Clientron's embedded computing line, the IT900 multi-functional fanless embedded system, combining innovative development, flexible design and premium quality control, again received the Taiwan Excellence Award for 2019. Clientron also has good news for it point-of-sale (POS) systems in 2018. "On top of securing market presence and enjoying brisk sales in Europe, Clientron is able to make breakthroughs in its operations in the US market. We expect to penetrate into the American hospitality industry as well as retail market," indicates Wu. Clientron's strategies for product R&D, market expansion and customer services will converge to become more centered on thin clients and embedded systems including POS, IPC and automotive electronics that it specializes in. Aside from making efforts to secure its current market position, Clientron will also engage in collaborations with industry partners, government agencies, research organizations and academic institutions in an attempt to expand into new market segments. All these endeavors will contribute to revenue growth for Clientron in 2019.Kelly Wu, President & CEO, Clientron, expects 2019 to be a fruitful year for Clientron in the automotive electronics market

The city of Tainan on the southwest coast is the birthplace of modern Taiwan history. The local population looks upon Tainan - the capital for most of the island's days under imperial Chinese control - as the Japanese do upon ancient Kyoto and the Koreans upon antique Kyongju. The classic Tainan tour, a celebration of the proud legacy embodied in its compelling heritage sites, has in recent years been made that much more rewarding with renovation and/or significant augmentation of sites for the pleasure of both residents and tourists.The city, various government authorities at the national level, and private citizens are also hard at work comprehensively enhancing local quality of life - and the tourist experience - in other fields. One key area in this quest is the cultural-creative realm; one after another old, narrow shophouse street and neighborhood enclave has been magically transformed into a cultural-creative space teeming with boutique stores, small art galleries, and eclectic restaurants, cafes, and teahouses, with the original architecture and community history respected and celebrated.On another front, more and more of the coastal area's deep stock of saltwater-focused resources, from lagoons to mangrove swamps to canals leading to harbor and sea - long dedicated almost exclusively to marine-resource industries - are now being rededicated for tourist-drawing eco-learning activities.Heritage Sites & Tourist HotspotsTaiwan's modern history began in today's Anping District. And it all began in Anping at the spot today called Anping Fort, site of the ruins of a grand citadel built by the Dutch.The stronghold, originally called Fort Zeelandia, was built at the north-end head of a great sometimes sandbar/sometimes silt island (at high tide) that jutted out from the mainland. Along with other offshore silt islands, it formed the sea-side wall of a large "Inner Sea." The Dutch sought to rule Taiwan from 1624 to the time they were ousted by the celebrated Ming dynasty loyalist Koxinga in 1662. The Inner Sea eventually silted over, and the fort's ruins are today stranded far from the coast. Much of our theme-tour time in the pages to come is spent where the Inner Sea once rippled, and in the solid land/open water transition area between Anping Fort's position and today's Taiwan Strait coastline.Right beside Anping Fort are a number of narrow eatery-stuffed streets collectively called Anping Old Street, where seafood is bien sur the compelling draw. This was the site of the first Dutch settlement, "Taiwan's 1st Street" - the first-ever commercial street to form. There are many famed eateries here with long histories; shrimp rolls are an Anping Old Street compulsatory treat, Taiwan's answer to Japan's tempura, and Chou's Shrimp Rolls is one of the best restaurants serving the delicacy.Just north of Anping Fort is a heritage-architecture tandem only opened to the public in recent years, the Old Tait & Company Merchant House, and directly behind, the Anping Tree House, both built by a British trading firm after the Second Opium War forced China to open ports to Western trade in 1858. The facilities were later abandoned when the Japanese targeted the lucrative opium and camphor trades during their colonial rule of Taiwan. Inside the breezy, graceful arcaded colonial-style trading house are displays on the area's imperial-era history. The treehouse, originally conjoined warehouses, has been completely overrun by massive banyan trees, creating a fairytale maze.Just south of Anping Fort is the innermost section of Anping Harbor, awaiting tour-boat exploration. Overlooking its south side is a giant 16m-high hilltop statue of Lin Mo-Niang located in the breezy Lin Mo-Niang Park. Lin was the young mortal maiden who became the immortal Mazu, Goddess of the Sea, protector of seafarers.A few blocks south of the park is the Eternal Golden Castle, actually a fort, built by the Chinese in the 1870s as protection against grasping colonial powers. Designed by a Frenchman, massive bastions are found at the ends of the four high, thick walls, with a moat making enemy access even more difficult. On display inside are giant cannons and archeological digs.Also recommended are two newer historic attractions not far outside Anping District. The Tainan Judicial Museum complex, inaugurated as the Taiwan District Court in 1914, is considered one of Taiwan's three supreme Japanese-era works of architecture, the others Taipei's Presidential Office Building and National Taiwan Museum. The Japanese used Taiwan as an experimental station, and as with other designs this is an eclectic mix of Western architectural traditions. A dome is its most striking feature, once paired with a tower that soars no more but which is still "on view"- in a room of whimsy with a large replica seen in a deep well that is in fact a reflection of the real thing hanging upside-down from the ceiling.The Old Taiwan Magistrate Residence, built in 1900, was used as a residence by visiting Japanese royals, most notably the future Emperor Hirohito during his 1923 grand Taiwan inspection. Have your photo taken with him (a life-size cutout) in the history-display area.Cultural-Creative Youth Culture on Old StreetsOver the past decade or so, a number of historic streets and alleys in Tainan's old neighborhoods long down on their luck have undergone a renaissance, the prime movers young entrepreneurs simultaneously following two dreams: to preserve a chosen bit of the architectural history of the city they love, and to express their cultural-creativity in self-financed business ventures that can provide them a living wage. These long-quiescent enclaves are now alive with artsy-style cafés, teahouses, eateries, boutiques, artist studios, and other interests.Blueprint Culture and Creative Park (opened in 2015) is a narrow-lane complex of renovated simple, cement-walled dormitories originally built by the Japanese to house judicial-authority employees; the aforementioned Tainan Judicial Museum is nearby. The dorm buildings are today home to an attractive cluster of artisanal outlets and creative eateries. The "blueprint" refers to a mesmerizing entrance-point 3D artwork that transforms a solid wall into a glowing architectural blueprint.At the western end of old, exceedingly narrow Xinyi Street, which stretches just a few hundred meters, is the small, imperial-style Duiyue Gate. Built in 1836 by China's Qing imperial government, this is the only gate from the old walled city still in use today (note the white stone used for the base, Penghu stone originally used as ballast in ships sailing from the Penghu Islands). In recent years young entrepreneurs have been encamping in this still-bustling neighborhood, rich with traditional shophouse-style heritage residences and three venerable, well-maintained temples.Yuguang Island, today Tainan's sole offshore island, is a mere stone's throw-plus from the Eternal Golden Castle. It is reached by a short bridge just south of the fortress; the canal-tour boats pass underneath. A raised boardwalk takes visitors through the island's forest cover to along, crescent-shaped outer beach, where people picnic, small sailboats ply the gentle waters, and fishermen move about tending their open-water oyster-farm plots.A short distance from the coast in Annan District, right above Anping District, is the striking Taijiang National Park Visitor Center. Taijiang National Park is a watery world of estuaries, sandbars, tidal flats, old irrigation canals and small-craft shipping channels, mangrove swamps, wetlands, and aquaculture farms - much of these vestiges of the old Inner Sea. The white-walled buildings of the visitor complex, built on stilts above retired fish farms, resemble traditional fishermen dwellings and circle a faux "lagoon."North of this is coastal Qigu District, home to the Black-faced Spoonbill Reserve, a key site in the ongoing international campaign to help the magnificent, critically endangered black-faced spoonbill, a water bird that migrates between North Korea to Southeast Asia. North of the reserve is the sea-like Qigu Lagoon, festooned with a veritable Roman legion of aligned oyster racks.North of Qigu is coastal Beimen District. Just south of the fishing village of Beimen are the Jingzaijiao Tile-paved Salt Fields, Taiwan's oldest salt fields, created in 1818. This site is a showcase example of how the bottom of evaporation ponds were paved with pottery shards, producing cleaner salt and making harvesting easier.Just north of Beimen village is the grandiose Nankunshen Daitian Temple complex, visible from far off across the flatlands. This is the largest of Taiwan's many temples dedicated to what are called the "plague gods." In imperial times effigies of these gods would be placed on junk sat sickness-stricken places and sent off to sea; temples would often be built to appease them at places the boats drifted ashore. This spot, place name Nankunshen, is said to have been visited by such a craft in 1662.Vanaheim, a coast-side eco-theme resort, is not far north of the temple. You "camp" here - in simple, sturdy structures resembling yurts, big enough for two beds and a small toilet and shower. The accommodations sit on the edge of a large, busy mangrove forest; tectonic activity has caused some coastal land in this region to subside, and mangroves have been encouraged to once again take root where saltwater aqua farms long flourished.Included in a visitor's stay package is a guided mangrove-channel boat tour and an eco-tour along a long forest-wending raised boardwalk and the beach/tidal flat between forest and Taiwan Strait.Anping FortAnping CanalBlueprint Culture and Creative ParkNankunshen Daitian Temple

E-commerce markets in Asia continue to flourish in recent years with China particularly enjoying significant growth year after year, thanks in part to Singles' Day and 618 shopping festivals spurring online sales. The spike in e-commerce demand, however, presents enormous challenges to logistics, such as delivery delayed by unexpected volume.Such problems have prompted many e-commerce operators to aggressively adopt logistics automation and smart warehousing. One leading e-commerce operator in China, for example, launched the world's first unmanned logistics center in 2017, taking logistics technology to a whole new level. With new warehouses being added and old ones being rebuilt, the supply chain of logistics automation equipment is also facing major changes. Belt conveyor systems and sorting machines, for example, are required to enhance motion control performance and maximized precision.When its CANopen solution encountered a performance bottleneck, a leading system integrator (SI) supplying belt conveyor systems to a world-leading e-commerce operator, after careful evaluation, chose to deploy ADLINK's Talos-2000 EtherCAT-based automation control solution.Optimizing flexibility and performance to accommodate belt conveyor systems with diverse travel distancesBelt conveyors are not standardized systems, embodying an almost limitless array of configurations to accommodate different environmental layouts. Not only are different lengths and paths required, but also a wide-range of peripheral device types and quantities. While some operations may employ photo interrupters or electronic scales to measure package sizes, others can utilize cameras to scan barcodes and verify product traceability. Moreover, the increasing number of axes and I/O demanding precise synchronization are unsupported by existing CANopen solutions.According to Chia-Wei Yang, ADLINK's Market Development Manager for Automation, the SI chose to upgrade to EtherCAT because it, alone among all industrial automation standards, enables the highest flexibility in adopting or withdrawing functional modules, supporting wide-ranging synchronization control distances, and accommodating a wide variety of layouts. Furthermore, the environment comprises numerous axes and control points requiring synchronization across vast distances. Aside from the need to control multiple I/O, motors and robots, visual inspection capability is also required, presenting a standard smart logistics application scenario. The SI, recognizing that PC-based EtherCAT solutions with high performance, open system and a broad spectrum of applications were more suited to their needs than PLC-based EtherCAT solutions, opted for ADLINK's Talos-2000 control system.Deploying smart logistics by shortening development cycle and maximizing high system reliabilityThe Talos-2000 compact all-in-one control system with built-in CPU and EtherCAT master and GigE vision systems, delivers motion control of up to 64 axes and 10,000 I/O points, 4CH PoE camera connectivity, and support for a wide range of third-party EtherCAT slaves, including the SI's existing OMRON and Bosch servo motors. While multi-axis, multi-point, precision synchronous control is provided with both EtherCAT-based motion control cards and the integrated Talos-2000 solution, an open model combining industrial PC (IPC) and motion control cards can create compatibility issues between the IPC and motion control cards, with costs to build up the entire system running 25% higher. Accordingly, the Talos-2000 was a clear choice over EtherCAT-based motion control cards.As well, the Talos-2000 fully supports ADLINK's APS Function Library, which contains a complete portfolio of APIs to significantly shorten development cycles for belt conveyor systems.According to Yang, in most cases, the belt conveyor traverses a long distance with a controller often situated at the midpoint. This creates difficulty in calibration of the entire line, resulting in poor synchronization or control mismatch. ADLINK's APS Function Library allows slave devices that do not need calibration to be bypassed, providing separate calibration and troubleshooting for front, middle and back portions of the line and subsequent calibration of the entire line. The result is effective reduction of the time for system calibration and significant enhancement of system reliability, clearly demonstrating the value ADLINK's APS Function Library delivers.In a belt conveyor use case, EtherCAT-based multi-axis control enables simultaneous pick and place on a moving conveyor belt during sorting or collating, boosting productivity by 20%, an advantage unavailable in a CANopen control setup. In addition, ADLINK's EtherCAT master supports a wide range of third-party slave modules, allowing users to enjoy the freedom of different motors and I/O based on cost-performance considerations, thereby building a more efficient operating environment with lower procurement costs.The Talos-2000 compact all-in-one control system with built-in CPU and EtherCAT master and GigE vision systems.

To encourage more overseas tourists to visit Taiwan, the Tourism Bureau, MOTC, has also been encouraging visitors to explore central and southern Taiwan's new tourist attractions. So it has joined hands with the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation to launch the "Travel in a Pair, One Person Travels for Free" discount offer. From Nov. 27, 2018 to Jan. 31, 2019 overseas tourists coming to Taiwan on short-term visas can enjoy one free ticket as long as they and their travel companion take a trip to any THSR station from Taichung and southward. The stations and destinations included in this offer are: Taichung, Changhua, Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan and Zuoying (Kaohsiung).The Tourism Bureau's Director General Joe Y. Chou said in order to provide overseas tourists with a more in-depth and meaningful experience in Taiwan, the Tourism Bureau also signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Performing Arts Center on Nov. 9 to cooperate on developing arts and culture-rich travel itineraries and activities for tourists. The goal is to combine culture with sightseeing to open new developments in Taiwan tourism. The central and southern regions of Taiwan offer a different type of culture and scenery from northern Taiwan. Some of these attractions include: the Taichung World Flora Expo, National Taichung Theater, the cultural-heritage former capital Tainan, and the agricultural and forestry-resources rich county Yunlin, the National Palace Museum Southern Branch in Chiayi, the passionate harbor city Kaohsiung, the recently opened Weiwuying National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, and 30th Taiwan Lantern Festival to be held next year in the Pingtung Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area. These attractions will let overseas visitors experience a different kind of Taiwanese beauty as well as the diverse and rich culture on our beautiful island.For international tourists who want to take advantage of the limited time they have in Taiwan and visit more attractions, the Tourism Bureau, MOTC has made it easier for them by cooperating with Taiwan High Speed Rail. In addition to implementing the specific actions of integrating culture with tourism, we also hope tourists will bring along a friend and sightsee in Taiwan together. This special offer will allow international passengers to take the fast and convenient high-speed trains to travel to the central and southern areas of Taiwan to experience the different culture and attractions.This activity will provide international passengers with affordable prices to experience the convenience of Taiwan's high-speed rail while exploring different cities and counties in Taiwan. The event, already launched globally on November 27, will be limited to foreign travelers on short-term visas. Foreigners coming to Taiwan for work and study will not qualify for this offer. The number of free tickets is limited and will be given out on a first-come-first-served basis until supplies last. For details, please visit the website of KKday, the Taiwan High-Speed Rail's overseas special dealer https://thsrc.kkday.red-digital.com/en.In order to encourage foreign tourists to visit Taiwan, the Taiwan High Speed Rail Company has a series of "High-Speed Rail Pass" products in addition to one-way tickets. Overseas passengers can take high-speed trains for any number of times and within an unlimited period during the specified period. International passengers are welcome to choose the right product for them so that they can take the high-speed rail to travel around Taiwan.Taiwan High Speed RailNational Taichung TheaterWeiwuying National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts

Elexcon 2018, to be held at China's Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center from December 20-22, 2018, will feature cutting edge technologies including AI, 5G, smart home, IoT, smart driving, new energy, and intelligent systems. Elexcon 2018 will feature three technology hubs, all aimed at the current industry trends and future technology developments.According to Gartner, by 2019 some 14.2 billion interconnected things will be used globally, and by 2021 that number will reach 25 billion. Therefore, how to respond to this change and develop products to meet the needs of relevant suppliers has become the focus of consideration, especially in embedded processors. In the face of these new trends, how will embedded processor vendors think and respond?5G attracts the interest of consumers and manufacturers because of its high speed and low latency. 5G represents a significant technology transformation for the industry, and test solutions must cover the entire ecosystem. As a high-frequency communication network, 5G will face a variety of test considerations before it can be applied in practice. This includes testing from R&D, to manufacturing, conformance test, through network deployment, optimization and monitoring.Elexcon 2018

Leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest has announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which the company will acquire the commercial Semiconductor System Level Test business (Test Systems), a provider of system level test for semiconductor components and modules, from Astronics for US$185 million, plus an earn-out payment of up to US$30 million based on certain performance milestones.Test Systems is highly complementary to Advantest's existing suite of leading edge automated test equipment (ATE) solutions and broadens Advantest's position in system level test, an increasingly critical test modality to large consumer electronics manufacturers. The transaction further demonstrates the company's commitment to expanding test and measurement solutions throughout the semiconductor value chain and represents an important milestone in Advantest's Objectives of Grand Design and the company's mid-term plan disclosed on April 26, 2018."We will be able to offer stronger solutions to our diversified customer base and continue to add significant customer value in an evolving semiconductor value chain by further enriching and expanding our suite of test and measurement solutions," said Yoshiaki Yoshida, Advantest president and CEO. "With this acquisition, Advantest will benefit greatly from Test Systems' technology development capabilities, technical talent and recent customer successes in this emerging segment of test. The acquisition will allow us to better and more timely respond to the growing needs of our semiconductor customers, and we believe Test Systems will benefit greatly from Advantest's global footprint, customer base and resources. We look forward to making significant advances in developing new solutions with Test Systems to deliver significant value to customers, employees and shareholders."Based in Irvine, California, Test Systems will become a fully owned subsidiary of Advantest's US subsidiary, Advantest America, and will operate under a newly created entity, Advantest Test Solutions. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by year end.

Zyxel Communications has again swept the Taiwan Excellence Awards, racking up five prizes largely on the back of its growing suite of well-received WiFi mesh networking, GPON, and LTE solutions. Zyxel has now had 88 products recognized over 14 consecutive years at the awards, which are organized by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs and were held this year on November 9 in Taipei, Taiwan.In the past two years, Zyxel has initiated a bold shift in its focus, particularly toward mesh WiFi networking products. These awards are a tremendous validation that these efforts have yielded highly practical solutions that are already making tangible differences for consumers and businesses at home and abroad.Of particular pride are the awards for the Multy suite of mesh networking solutions - including Multy Plus, Multy U and Multy Mini. Much of this success comes down to the priority Zyxel has placed on optimizing radiofrequency design as well on user-friendly, app-based setup and management. The stylish design and a variety of mounting options also earned Multy Plus and Multy U the 2018 Golden Pin Design Award.Zyxel products directed at service providers were also honored, including 1U Pizza Box 8-port GPON OLT (OLT1408A) and 4G LTE-A indoor IAD (LTE3316). Designed to create better user experiences, the Zyxel LTE3316 can be easily set by the "LTE Ally" app and users can enjoy instant connection just inserting a SIM card whether they're at home, in the office or even in remote areas.Irene Tsai, product marketing manager of Zyxel's Smart Living Business Unit, received the awards on behalf of Zyxel.

It's now a good time for us to let industry players worldwide better understand who we are and what we do at electronica 2018, which Chilisin Group is participating in for the first time ever, according to Chilisin Group COO, Jerry Kuo. Chilisin takes this opportunity to meet with worldwide customers and is looking to introduce Chilisin Group to the EU market.Chilisin PDU GM Alex Hsu said that Chilisin Group hopes to bring our new technology and products to Europe for our current customers and partners and also seek new opportunities here. Chilisin targets two market segments: automotive electronics and industrial applications; and Advanced LTE/5G/IoT. These two market segments are traditionally very strong in Europe.Chilisin's automotive electronics and industrial applications, including power line, signal line, EMI, and auto-grade molded inductors have been applied to ADAS, infotainment system, gear box control unit, battery management system, and other applications for EV/HEV or traditional energy vehicles.For Advanced LTE/5G/IoT, Chilisin has a strong focus on components for applications in infrastructure, base stations, and terminal devices. Chilisin offers a wide product lineup for this market segment, including high Q high frequency inductors, high efficient power inductors, resistors, RF filters, diplexers, balun, and antenna.Visit Chilisin Group booth at Hall B6 Booth no.343 at Electronica 2018, Munich Germany

The huge wave of IoT that has surged worldwide and in recent years in many different industries has led to heavy investment in vertical product development and applications. Without exception, Innodisk, which focused primarily on the field of industrial control in the past, is now actively expanding into this territory.Recently, during the conference "Pushing forward AIoT: The integration of cloud technology and industrial IoT," held in The Westin Taipei on October 17, Innodisk led its subsidiaries Aetina, AccelStor, Millitronic and Antzer Tech, as well as business partners, Super Micro and Ironyun to present extraordinary seminars discussing the many facets of AIoT including saving, transmission, computing, and applications of the AIoT framework.Data as the core asset to establish AIoT ecosystemThe chairman of Innodisk, Randy Chien, spoke about the surge of IoT as a result of the previous popular trend of cloud technology. Together with the maturity of artificial intelligent as the last piece of puzzle, it should be recognized that regardless whether it is cloud, IoT or AI technology, "data" is a core asset. As the leading company of industrial storage and memory, Innodisk has put immense amount of effort into data storage technology, and accumulated over than 2,500 clients, with applications covering almost all vertical markets. In this wave of AIoT revolution, Innodisk continues to critically assess how the data will be stored, transmitted and applied in the future.Therefore, starting a few years ago, Innodisk has begun investing in the AIoT sector, successively setting up companies including Aetina, AccelStor, Millitronic and Antzer Tech. With Innodisk at the helm, the 5 companies focus on AIoT data technology as their core investment, each taking a different role to provide related products, together with partners such as Super Micro and Ironyun to form a complete AIoT solution and a complete industrial ecosystem.In the future, Innodisk aims to continue focusing on storage technology as its core investment. On the topic of "Expansion of AIoT sets off a new form of integration," Special Assistant Howard Fu indicated that since AIoT is mainly used in vertical applications with vastly different devices and equipment that could no longer be provided by a single company, there is a need for products that can integrate various different fields and industries.Regarding system development, new communication and operation technologies continued to emerge; however, as Fu mentioned, the ultimate goal is always real life application no matter what kind of new elements are added. Therefore, when designing a system, it is vital to fully understand the demand of a particular field. In AIoT system applications, Fu believes that enhancing stability, security, robustness, sustainability and expandability are key elements and Innodisk had long been committed to designing products with these in mind.Fu summarized the future of AIoT in 4 letters: A, I, T and S, that is, Applications, Integration, Tool and Security, where Applications are products designed for various kinds of applications and specialties, Integration refers to integrating various components with software and hardware, Tool transforms complex technology into a convenient tool, and S stands for data security, allowing data to be stored intact and protected by encryption mechanisms.Edge computing combined with fast transmission systems greatly improve system performanceAfter being stored, data must be further processed to be used in subsequent applications. Joe Lo, General Manager of Aetina, on the topic of "GPU Edge Computing Age: Smart Decision, Perfect Implementation" pointed out that the past IoT era was based on centralized computing with cloud platforms, but this method will overload the cloud platform resulting in latency. Hence, edge computing becomes an essential design for some of the applications. Aetina's approach is as follows. The data is first processed by the cloud to establish an operation mode, the operation mode is then placed on the terminal device, so that the terminal device can quickly process the situation of the applications, thereby improving system performance.The core computing platform of Aetina is based on NVIDIA's GPU Jetson Platform. Compared to ASIC, CPU, FPGA and other computing units, the Jetson Platform features fast deployment, low power/high performance, high scalability and high compatibility and is thus the preferred choice. Up to this date, the Aetina edge computing platform has been applied successfully in applications such as security surveillance, retails, transportations, drones and factories. Luo also pointed out that the products have been fully integrated and will help system manufacturers to quickly launch products and reduce the processing time of end users.As edge computing is an important aspect of AIoT, the processed data must be transmitted quickly and stably. Alex Lin, the General Manager of Millitronic said that the 5G's high-speed transmission will play a paramount role in contributing to the future smart cities and other related applications. WiGig invested by Millitronic will be the last puzzle piece from 5G to end user application.In Alex Lin's speech on the topic of "5G Wireless Gigabite IoT High Speed Node," the future trend for data transmission in the 5G era is discussed with the participants. He pointed out that wireless transmission is a necessary technology for smart cities in the future, and Millitronic, one of the few companies that has the capability to create customizable antenna and USB3.0 full-speed products, combined with the software and hardware integration capabilities and the support of the diverse product line in Innodisk, proposed a unique solution of high-speed transmission AIoT to the market.WiGig of Millitronic solved the delay problem caused by uploading data on the cloud through data transmission between objects, and gigabit transmission speed of in the 60GHz band, with advantages of anti-interference and low delay to make the data exchange in the system much faster. In some areas where the data speed requirement is extremely high, such as in medical field or in unmanned vehicle system, WiGig will play a significant role for transmission technology.Alex Lin also introduced two WiGig systems there, including AIoT series and 5G Virtualization series, the former of is developed by Millitronic, Aetina and, Innodisk and includes AI algorithms, software and hardware integration, storage technology from Innodisk, while the latter of includes a virtual platform with aUSB module design and different kinds of I/O interface, providing fast and flexible transmission.Both terminal and cloud technology have equal importance in a complete AIoT framework. Innodisk focuses on data processing in the terminal and collaborates with companies that specialize in cloud server. One example is Super Micro, which is an important business partner of Innodisk.Simon Wang, the vice general manager of Super Micro, pointed out in the session of "Edge computing, server integration and collaboration in AIoT infrastructure" that it was generally thought in the market that Super Micro mainly provides server solutions, but in fact, the company also has products line of the terminal. Having products that allow integration of the terminal and cloud will optimize the use of the AIoT system. In fact, Super Micro developed a complete product line from terminal to cloud, including GPU servers that covers the computing, and Super Storage for storing data. Moreover, the company also provides multi-node computer system for x86 requirement.Simon Wang expressed that in AIoT system, the most important features of AI are training and inference, each of which has a different requirement. The training part is mainly used to develop AI model, requiring recursive procedure of big data, thereby demanding higher efficiency of GPU and communication. On the other hand, inference involves deploying the model to optimize and compress the model, and let the system run quickly through multiple independent GPUs. In the AIoT field, Super Micro proposes different frameworks for different needs, providing corresponding products and platforms from cloud to terminal, from training to inference, so as to provide a complete solution to meet market demand.Develop vertical applications to build the optimized systemVehicle application is one of the main markets of AIoT. Irene Cheng, the manager of Antzer Tech introduced the application and platform design trends of the Internet of Vehicles with the title "Application of Internet of Vehicle with CAN Bus." CAN Bus is an important communication standard for automotive systems and has many applications in both in-line market and aftermarket. She specifically described how CANBus can be used in fleet management application in the aftermarket.Fleet management system is an important item in logistics, generally achieved through establishing a connection between the vehicle and the management system in order to have a firm grasp of the vehicle movement and other information. However, problems such as driver's behavior, acquisition of the vehicle condition, tracking dead corners and reducing operation cost are some of the frequent problems encountered for developing such system.Antzer Tech has provided solutions for the 3 problems above. The acquisition of information on driver behavior and vehicle condition is achieved through a complete vehicle communication protocol, to acquire data corresponding to different parts of the vehicle during the course of driving, along with ADAS to remind driver of the road condition and at the same time monitor driver's behavior. For detection of dead corners of the road, the company provides three inertial navigation GPS: UDR, ADR, CAN to ADR. Even when located in a tunnel, the back end can accurately grasp the vehicle position with extremely low error rate. In terms of cost, the company launched NB-IoT and LoRa trackers to effectively reduce monthly communication fees, allowing the company to afford a complete fleet management system within a limited budget.Another important aspect in AIoT is security surveillance. Regardless whether it is in the application or technical level, the security surveillance is already a mature market. On top of that, the rise of AI further gives renewed impetus to the industry. Patrick Wu, the Vice President of Ironyun indicated that the recognition capability of the deep learning algorithm of AI has exceeded the capability of human eyes. Comparing with conventional image recognition technology, AI not only greatly raises the compatibility of the system, but also strengthens the system performance.Patrick Wu also mentioned that closer computing operation near the data acquisition location allows the system's real-time deployment to be more flexible, and also transforms the monitoring from passive investigation by investigating the video tape after an event has happened into a proactive detection of key events to give early warning alarms of such events. Based on AI foundations, various image analysis systems have been developed by Ironyun, including object detection, intrusion detection, face recognition, face search, license plate recognition, and human/car calculation to provide intelligent monitoring solutions.Patrick Wu also gave an example where ESPN from the US has used their company's AI-NVR surveillance system which is suitable for various different kinds of weather condition to effectively reduce errors. He said that the detection distance AI-NVR surveillance system could reach up to 50 meters and supports the current MileStone VMS system. In other words, the system is capable of reducing the system false positive rate while achieving accurate detection, thereby making the goal of intelligent security system possible.Regardless whether it is vehicle or security surveillance, edge computing requires processing large amount of data. In order to make the computing more accurate, it inevitably needs an upgrade in data storage technology. On the topic of "All-round Evolution of AI Cloud Infrastructure: The Next Generation Relies Fully on Flash Storage," David Kao, Vice President of AccelStor, mentioned the commitment of developing flash storage software technology, with several patented technologies to further optimize the flash storage software technology in order to take the SSD performance to a next level.David Kao also said, in order to reduce system latency, edge computing needs to be a part of AIoT. To enhance the speed of computing, not only the processor but also storage technology is a key element. NeoSapphire All-Flash Array developed by AccelStor allows for a much faster process of reading and writing data.The system in Kaohsiung Police Station is used as an example. It takes at least 30 minutes to carry out 100 million license plate search and machine learning through AI, but it only takes less than 10 seconds with the NeoSapphire platform of AccelStor in SATA/SAS SSD module, the standard rack-mount platform plus the FlaxiRemap AFA algorithm.He said, comparing with the random writing process when receiving external data in the past, FlaxiRemap rearranges the written data into sequence data and writes it into the memory, which doubles the durability and SSD life. AccelStor has also strengthened the security mechanism which is extremely suitable in areas where large amounts of data and high security are required, such as the medical and retail field.In this conference, it is obvious that Innodisk's ecosystem comprises different levels of data processing technologies. Through such fully supported data processing capability, system vendors and terminal users will surely find suitable technologies and products based on their own needs, and in addition, these technologies can be integrated with each other to provide a complete solution tailored to their needs, thereby giving them the needed competitive edge.Innodisk hosted an AIoT Forum together with partners and its subsidiaries Aetina, Accelstor, Millitronic, and Anzter Tech.Randy Chien, president of Innodisk CorporationHoward Fu, special assistant of Innodisk CorporationJoe Lo, president of Aetina CorporationAlex Lin, president of MillitronicSimon Wang, vice president of Super Micro ComputerIrene Cheng, president of Antzer TechPatrick Wu, vice president of IronYunDavid Kao, vice president of AccelStor

The booming IoT market, such as automotive and industrial applications, has brought new opportunities to Winbond Electronics, a leading provider in the low- and medium-capacity memory market. In order to showcase its achievements of enabling system innovation through technology enhancement in recent years, Winbond will showcase a range of new products, including ultra-low-power DRAM, 1.2V NOR Flash, serial code storage Flash, secure Flash and so on, at Electronica 2018, which will be held on November 13th.With its unique high quality, high performance and special-designed memory portfolio, Winbond will demonstrate the innovative solutions that it has built for the emerging IoT and automotive electronics market, as well as the significant benefits that it can bring to system companies.Demonstrating innovative DRAM and Flash products"At Electronica, we will demonstrate the innovative products that we developed from a system perspective to our existing and potential customers," said Tung-Yi Chan, president of Winbond Electronics. In order to showcase its new products, the company not only increases its exhibition space but also develops several SoC design-in demo boards, allowing customers to experience the superior performance of Winbond products. Moreover, activities such as Webinar and forum speech are held, in a bid to make the industry know better about its product portfolios.He stressed that Winbond has transformed from relying on the commodity DRAM market to a key supplier of the specialty DRAM market. In addition, from last year, DRAM and Flash businesses have accounted for half of its revenue respectively. Winbond has now established a unique growth model of two business drivers, with own process technology and brand. It is hoped that by expanding participation in this important event, Winbond can emphasize its new market positioning and strive for greater visibility in the global market.Although Winbond has a market share of only 1% in DRAM market, it holds an important position in the specialty DRAM market. With its high performance, high quality, stable and long-term supply capabilities, Winbond has become a trusted strategic partner of many world-class companies and is able to meet the special requirements of customers.Besides its special market positioning, company image, and superior product development capabilities, Winbond has established its own DRAM process technology after years of efforts. Its first-generation DRAM process technology (38nm) has moved into mass production in third-quarter 2017 and the second-generation DRAM process technology (25nm) also entered mass production in fourth-quarter 2018. The company is now developing the third-generation DRAM process technology, which is scheduled to ramp up at the new fab in Kaohsiung. At Electronica, Winbond will showcase the specialty DRAM developed by itself, with capacities up to 4Gb, to expand product line and competitiveness, as well as the ultra-low power DRAM, which is specially designed to meet the low power requirement of IoT applications.As for Flash products, Winbond will exhibit a full range of NOR Flash, SLC NAND Flash, and Secure Flash products, highlighting its complete product portfolio.First, when talking about NOR Flash, Tung-Yi Chan pointed out that, as a leader in NOR Flash market, Winbond has successfully driven the evolution of parallel NOR Flash to the serial interface, and now has become the world's number one serial NOR Flash provider. In addition to a full line of serial NOR Flash products, Winbond will also exhibit the innovative NOR+NAND SpiStack Flash product, which is the best system solution to meet the code and data storage requirements.Another highlight is the newly launched 1.2V serial NOR Flash and it will be demonstrated with a SoC design-in board. By reducing the operating voltage of NOR Flash from 1.8V to 1.2V, it can meet the low power requirements of emerging IoT applications.As for NAND, Winbond is trying to repeat the history that it created in the NOR market, upgrading the current parallel NAND Flash to the serial interface. Therefore, existing NOR customers can easily upgrade to higher capacity serial NAND, which is more cost-effective, to meet the code storage requirement of the increasingly complicated systems.Winbond's SLC NAND Flash is different from traditional products. Through its own special process technology and design, it not only meets the high-quality standard of automotive-grade products but also has comparable speed and performance to NOR Flash."Our vision is to provide a full range of code storage Flash products from Mb to Gb, with low-pin-count, high-speed, and high-quality features, so customers no longer need to distinguish which architecture they use," Tung-Yi Chan said. "Moreover, compared to high-density NOR, NAND is very cost-effective. System customers will benefit from a reduction in footprint and cost. This will open up a new market and change the entire ecosystem."On the other hand, in order to solve the security issue for IoT applications, with Winbond's comprehensive strength in code storage Flash, it has developed a series of "Secure Flash" products to meet the various requirements of system security, by adopting an innovative "secure interface" architecture and the "secure logic" functions. The products can be used for a wide range of applications, from low-end door locks to high-end ePayment and have passed the Common Criteria EAL certification. At Electronica, Winbond will demonstrate multiple end devices that are jointly developed with system customers, including IP camera & Ethernet with authentication, robot arm with security, MCU with external secure Flash, smartphone with eSIM, and so on.A new fab is set to build for future growthWith the rise of IoT and the automotive electronics market, the demand for memory will be ubiquitous. Tung-Yi Chan said that Winbond will target at the top-notch companies in each market segment to holistically expand its business. "By providing total memory solutions, working closely with customers to help them improve their system performance is critical to us. These leading customers demand high quality, high-performance components, and we must be able to provide innovative products from the perspective of system design, in a bid to enhance our value and create business opportunities.""From the range of products we exhibit, we can see that our solutions are well prepared to address the various requirements of security, low power, cost-effectiveness and high performance for IoT applications. This fully demonstrates our innovation capabilities of differentiating our products through customized technologies," he said. "The launch of Secure Flash products also shows that our products have been expanded to the system level, in a bid to pursue the "Smart Memory" vision."With the emergence of new market demands, Winbond recently announced that it will establish a new 12-inch fab in Kaohsiung to expand capacity. With its strong foundation in diverse product lines, own process technology, and strategic partnerships with customers, it will strive to fulfill the rapidly increasing demands for a wide range of application. By deepening DRAM and Flash technologies to build the unique product mix and technology capabilities, it is believed that Winbond will be able to drive the innovation of next-generation IoT and automotive electronic devices, creating broader business opportunities in the future.Winbond Electronics at Electronica 2018 B5-520