VIA Technologies has announced the launch of its VIA Custom IoT Platform Design Service to enable customers to accelerate the development of application-specific IoT systems and devices tailored to meet their usage requirements.The VIA Custom IoT Platform Design Service provides a one-stop custom system design solution that covers all steps of the development process, including the definition of the core system specifications, rapid prototyping, hardware and software development, I/O and wireless connectivity integration, and management of the path to production.As part of this process, VIA works every step of the way with the customer to select the appropriate form factor, identify the key components such as the ARM SoC, operating system, storage and memory, and determine the I/O and wireless connectivity features, in order to ensure that the system meets the performance, power consumption, and functionality needs of their target IoT application.Specialist chassis design, middleware and application development, and peripheral validation and sourcing services are also available to enable customers to further accelerate time to production.VIA Custom IoT Platform Design ServicePhoto: Company

The Open Pluggable Specification (OPS) aims to enable easier installation, use and maintenance of digital signage through standardized compact dimension, pluggable interface and signal transmission. To date, over 40 manufacturers provide OPS compliant products. Quanmax introduced the spec to panel PCs, thereby broadening OPS applications.Intel officially announced OPS in the fourth quarter of 2010 to resolve connection incompatibility between devices and establish a common standard for digital signage through organizational standardization and signal integration. The introduction of OPS has attracted many industrial PC manufacturers to devote themselves to developing OPS compliant media players.Although OPS has been used mainly for digital signage since its establishment, Quanmax thinks the concept of OPS standard modularization has more applications beyond digital signage.OPS applications can extend to industrial panel PCQuanmax further pointed out by applying the OPS concept to different application scenarios, OPS compliant displays can integrate with OPS compliant player modules to make industrial panel PC for use in public areas such as airports, stations, department stores and banks to provide infotainment services. This way, OPS applications can expand beyond the originally intended digital signage scenario.Based on the aforementioned idea, Quanmax leveraged its R&D capability in embedded industrial PCs and launched OPS compliant players in a development model similar to its partners. Available products include the OPS-100 series, OPS-1000 series as well as OPS-2002 and OPS-2050 based on Intel sixth-generation core Skylake. Quanmax has also introduced the MoniQ OPS compliant display, including MoniQ-1500/1700/1900/2150 models, with the numbers indicating the display size. These displays can be combined with OPS compliant players to become panel PCs.Quanmax indicated that introducing OPS to industrial panel PCs brings the benefits of easier maintenance and upgrade as regular panel PCs are not usually placed on desks but are embedded into walls or mounted at special locations. Users are less willing to dismount the panel PC for maintenance or upgrade purposes because this may cause damage to the decoration and wiring. OPS enables the possibility of pluggable/replaceable display so the screen can easily be detached from the computer to lower the complexity of maintenance and upgrade work. System integrators (SI) responsible for providing warranty services can also reduce operation costs.OPS compliant products support 4K display, the highest resolution in the industryRegardless of the brands, it is not easy for products compliant with the industry-wide OPS standard to have differentiating spec but they commonly have certain good quality features to provide positive user experiences. For example, all OPS compliant products support the highest 4K resolution currently available (4000 horizontal pixels; commonly 3840x2160 and 4096×2160 pixels). It is human nature to constantly demand higher quality visual enjoyment. When the mainstream spec progresses to 4K, people will no longer accept Full HD quality. Particularly as screen size gets larger, resolution becomes more important. For example, when banks or department stores use panel PCs to display commercials and provide information search or other interactive services, they will not be happy to see coarse and blurred images on low-resolution displays. Therefore, businesses that run commercials demand 4K quality and all aspects including content, software, display and player have to support 4K display.Quanmax designs its product size with considerations for most infotainment application scenarios where the distance between the user and the screen falls in the range from 20 cm to 30 cm. For this distance, 16:9 wide screens will provide more visual comfort. For other common applications, standard 4:3 or 5:4 screens are more suitable. Quanmax has made available MoniQ-1500/1700/1900 with standard 4:3 or 5:4 screens and MoniQ-2150 with 16:9 wide screens, all of which support 10-point touch control, regardless of size. For customers with special needs for screen sizes other than those provided or even special considerations for frame material, color and water-proof characteristics, Quanmax provides utmost flexibility in custom designs based on individual customer requirement.With the introduction of the MoniQ series, Quanmax is able to penetrate into diverse application markets beyond industrial automation, including airports, stations, hospitals, banks, hotels, department stores, shopping malls, exhibition venues and even outdoor locations. Opportunities are widespread, opening up a new "Blue Ocean" market for Quanmax.Quanmax has also introduced the MoniQ OPS compliant display, including MoniQ-1500/1700/1900/2150 models, with the numbers indicating the display size.

With the development of Industry 4.0, products, manufacturing equipment, and critical infrastructures of the future will all be connected. These interconnected systems require a protection system against growing and harmful internet threats. It is very likely that functional safety of the products will be impacted if their IT security can't be assured, and the situation may ultimately cause severe losses and damages.In response to the trend, TUV NORD has taken the lead to bring up the concept of Security 4 Safety (S4S) and related services. By addressing the interdependence of IT security and functional safety and bundling resources from different business units, the company aims to provide complete solutions to mitigate the risks of overall system safety in the new connected world.Combining Security and Safety to Enable Effective Risk Management"Traditionally, functional safety and IT security are in two separate areas," Gerhard Rieger, Branch Manager of Functional Safety Division at TUV NORD Systems, said. "The former emphasizes on whether the functions of industrial equipment, automobiles, and consumers products are properly designed to ensure the physical safety of users, and the latter on the security protection of IT systems to avoid malicious cyberattacks and data leakage."But now, in the new era of Industry 4.0, more and more industrial equipment and processes are connected to the Internet, so the importance of the two areas is increasingly combining together. Functional safety and IT security should be considered as a whole to truly ensure the overall system safety."Digitalization will be the central subject for the future Industry 4.0. Increased networking poses new and more comprehensive challenges for product safety," said he. "Important requirements such as the standardization of interfaces in production have not yet been conclusively met. Nevertheless, the process of digitalizing Industry 4.0 must be begun, continued and secured. Wherever machines or vehicles are automatically exchanging information, the identity of the end devices must be clearly determined, and all unauthorized influences (cyberattacks) from outside must be avoided, so that the security of the system can continue to be guaranteed."Undoubtedly, companies will need to take the new design considerations into account. In addition to assuring security of new IT interfaces in existing products, the emergence of various new products, such as intelligent home devices, smart meters, IoT devices, will all be required to comply with new security specifications to expand their applications."The latest connected cars and self-driving cars of the future are the most obvious case to show how IT security affects functional safety. These cars are highly dependent on the information acquired from Internet to assist driving. Any cyberattacks will have adverse impact on their performances and functional safety, which may cause danger or even injuries. For other examples, such as power plants, or any kinds of production facilities, IT security should be further guaranteed to prevent from severe losses and damages caused by malfunctioning."Therefore, for next-generation connected products, the guarantee of their functional safety depends on the assurance of IT security. This is the reason that TUV NORD aggressively promotes the concept of Security 4 Safety and related services.Making Use of S4S (SECURITY 4 SAFETY) Tool to Comply with IEC 62443 StandardKevin Huang, Great China Functional Safety Product Manager, explained that in order to address the IT security requirements for industrial automation and control systems, IECEE has established IEC62443 international standard years ago. Its first and second versions were released in 2005 and 2013 respectively. Also, the testing and certification programs for networking security evaluation was developed in 2015.The standard was originally derived from ISO 27001, and then reconstructed to focus on industrial automation and control system (IACS) area. Unlike ISO 27001, which is used to specify the management system for overall IT and server environments, IEC 62443 aims to improve the digital security of internal process and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) environment for companies. Complying with the standard can provide higher networking security for company's production environment and process, so that they can be effectively protected from various cyberattacks."With the advent of Industry 4.0, the importance of IEC 62443 is increasingly higher. Though the implementation of the standard is still in early stage with very limited companies adopting, it will surely become an important trend in the future," Rieger stressed.In order to help customers cope with the IT security challenges of automation and control systems, TUV NORD has developed an easy to use, customizable Safety for Security - S4S risk analysis tool, which can be run in various hard- or software environments to find out network weakness and then propose adequate measures.According to Rieger, TUV IT, a subsidiary of TUV NORD Group, has the top-notch security testing technologies and facilities for IC chips. Multiple methods are used to check hardware weakness, including fault induction, SPA (Simple Power Analysis), DPA (Differential Power Analysis) and DFA (Differential Fault Analysis). Combining resources and solutions for IT security and functional safety of the Group, we are able to offer comprehensive solutions to help customers improve their overall system security and safety.In order to prevent terror attacks, EU has issued directives requirements (2008/114/EC) to protect critical Infrastructure. In the future, member countries will publish responding regulations and standards to ensure the normal operations of society functions, as well as health, safety, security, and economic activities. Among them, functional safety and IT security of electronic/electrical and information systems will play an important role. As an export-oriented economy, Taiwan government and companies should be aware of this trend and take necessary actions as early as possible.Taiwan Makers Should Respond to Seize the New OpportunitiesKevin Huang said, "TUV NORD has been offering ISMS IT security certification service for more than a decade in Taiwan. We have very strong position in the market with customers covering from government institutes to various corporate organizations. Building on this foundation, we will actively promote IEC 62443 standard certification service from 2017, with a specific focus on semiconductor industry.""In light of the rapid growth of industrial and automobile markets, semiconductor companies in Taiwan won't be able to move into high-end market without complying with related standards. Take ADAS (Advanced Driving Assistance System) as an example, after implementing functional safety standard, IT security will also be incorporated in the next stage."Therefore, the certification services of the latest ISO 26262 standard for automobile functional safety and IEC 62443 for IT security of industrial automation and control systems will be the market that TUV NORD aggressively targets at in the future. Moreover, compared with other competitors, TUV NORD has the unique advantage of offering complete combining services for both IT security and functional safety."We will conduct gap analysis for customers to help them analyze the gap between their existing processes to those of ISO 26262 or IEC 62443 standards in detail and then come up with an implementation plan accordingly. Additionally, we will also provide related management certification services for customers' products," Rieger pointed out."We already have practical experiences of helping customers to implement IEC 62443 in Europe. As the markets of Industry 4.0 and IoT emerge, IT security will be required from chip, device, to cloud and infrastructure. This will be a huge market, with applications covering a wide range of industries, such as medical, wind power, energy, automobile, and semiconductor.""The convergence of technologies will create more novel products and applications. As a result, requirements for functional safety and IT security will be on the rise. I believe that these two technologies will have very strong developments in next five years, and the talents will be in short supply. For Taiwan companies, it is the best time for them to invest in S4S talents and capacities, in a bid to create new opportunities and customers, as well as to maintain their competitive edges."Gerhard Rieger, Branch Manager of Functional Safety Division, and Kevin Huang, Great China Functional Safety Product Manager at TUV NORD Systems

ABB has won an order worth more than $100 million from the U.S. utility Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), to modernize the existing Sylmar HVDC (high-voltage direct current) converter station in California. This station is an important part of the electricity link between the Pacific Northwest and southern California commissioned in 1970. The order was booked in the fourth quarter of 2016. The Sylmar converter station, located to the north of Los Angeles, is the southern station of the Pacific Intertie, a 1,360 kilometer HVDC link that connects to the Celilo converter station near the Columbia River, Oregon. The Pacific Intertie transmits electricity from the Pacific Northwest to as many as three million households in the greater Los Angeles area. Normally, the power flow is from north to south, but during the winter, the north consumes significant quantities of power for heating while the south requires less, and the power flow is reversed. The Pacific Intertie allows power to flow between the Northwest and Southern California, helping to balance supply with demand."The Pacific Intertie was the first major HVDC link to be installed in the US and has been providing power to millions in the U.S. for nearly five decades", said Claudio Facchin, President of ABB's Power Grids division. "We are delighted to return to this pioneering project. After the success of Celilo, the Sylmar upgrade will help to secure power supplies while providing greater efficiency and reliability with an exceptional level of control. ABB is a global leader in HVDC and this project reiterates our commitment to service and lifetime support, a key element of our Next Level Strategy." Digitalization will be a key feature in the upgrade, as the latest version of ABB's most advanced digital MACH control and protection system will be installed. As announced previously, Celilo, the northern converter station of the link, was the first installation in the world to benefit from an upgrade to this latest control system. Other key components of the Sylmar station upgrade are AC and DC filters, shunt reactors, as well as measurement and auxiliary equipment. The digital MACH system monitors, controls and protects the sophisticated hardware in the station, managing thousands of operations to ensure the highest possible reliability. It also helps to protect the transmission link from unexpected disruptions, such as lightning strikes. MACH acts like the brain of the HVDC link, designed to run around the clock for decades. Incorporating advanced fault registration and remote control functions, ABB's MACH system is the world's most extensively deployed control solution for HVDC and FACTS (Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems) installations, with over 1,100 such systems in operation throughout the world. Since being awarded the contract to help build the Pacific Intertie, in 1965, ABB has had a long lasting relationship with the link, delivering multiple performance and life extending upgrades over the 46 years the link has been in operation. This is ABB's sixth order to work on the Pacific Intertie. ABB pioneered HVDC technology more than 60 years ago and has been awarded over 110 HVDC projects, representing a total installed capacity of more than 120,000 megawatts, accounting for around half the global installed base. ABB remains at the forefront of HVDC innovation and is uniquely positioned in the power sector with in-house manufacturing capability for all key components of HVDC systems. ABB is upgrading the Sylmar HVDC converter station.

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI), a global leader in compute, storage, and networking technologies and green computing is introducing an extensive range of next-generation desktop and gaming motherboards and solutions during CES 2017 in the Bellagio Hotel, Penthouse Suite 31063.Fueled by the latest 7th generation Intel Core processor (formerly Kaby Lake) innovations, the new range of motherboard products come with Z270, H270, Q270, as well as the most cost-effective B250 chipsets. Relying on decades of expertise in designing professional server and storage solutions, these SuperO motherboards are equipped with a rich set of features optimized for users ranging from SOHO customers to the most demanding BYOC gamers and PC enthusiasts with the following series:Professional Gaming (PG) – C7Z270-PG is designed for PC enthusiasts who enjoy tweaking the hardware to its limits. C7Z270-PG incorporates Intel's Optane Technology, dual M.2 and U.2 ports that are capable supporting RAID 0, 1, and 5. C7Z270-PG provides the best-in-class feature sets, performance and reliability for the most demanding enthusiasts.Core Gaming (CG) – C7Z270-CG, C7Z270-CG-L, C7H270-CG-ML are designed for mainstream gamers or anyone who seek a solid well-rounded board that does away with the nonsensical features, and focuses purely on the essentials at an affordable price. C7Z270-CG and C7Z270-CG-L both support Intel's Optane Technology and feature dual M.2 ports.Core Business (CB) – C7Q270-CB-ML is designed for SOHO and SMB users who want to enjoy the legendary Supermicro quality and reliability. C7Q270-CB-ML equips with Intel Q270 chipset that features Intel vPro for business class performance and security."The latest Intel Core CPU family is the next step in computing and we have leveraged all of the new innovations like Optane SSD technology, improved processor and memory overclocking flexibility, features and performance, NVMe RAID and SATA RAID, M.2 interface and U.2 interface, as well as VR and DX12 support to create products with the highest quality to fulfill every desire of our customers," said Ivan Tay, VP of Product Management at Supermicro. "With this generation, we have created a wider and more comprehensive range of desktop and gaming products than ever before."In addition to the motherboard portfolio Supermicro is also showing three new systems for high performance gamers, mainstream users and business power users.SYS-5130AD-T – Featuring a brand new CSE-GS5A-753K chassis with a titanium black trim, 750-watt 80PLUS Gold power supply, and the latest Pro Gaming C7Z270-PG motherboard, the SYS-5130AD-T has the features that high performance gamers demand, and in a pre-validated configuration.SYS-5130DB-IL – Enabling customers to have a budget friendly system that features a mix of all the latest technologies, SYS-5130DB-IL is equipped with C7ZB250-CG-ML motherboard, a feature-rich CSE-DS3A-261B mini-tower chassis, and a 260W power supply.SYS-5130DQ-IL – Aiming for the B2B user, the SYS-5130DQ-IL incorporates an all-black mini-tower chassis, 260W 80PLUS Bronze power supply and the C7Q270-CB-ML supporting Intel's vPro technology. In addition, the system comes with Kensington Lock support and an intrusion chassis sensor security feature that make this system ideal for the business, government and education markets.For more information on Supermicro's complete range of SuperO desktop and gaming solutions, please visit http://www.supero.com/.Follow Supermicro on Facebook and Twitter to receive their latest news and announcements.About Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI)Supermicro (NASDAQ: SMCI), the leading innovator in high-performance, high-efficiency server technology is a premier provider of advanced server Building Block Solutions for Data Center, Cloud Computing, Enterprise IT, Hadoop/Big Data, HPC and Embedded Systems worldwide. Supermicro is committed to protecting the environment through its "We Keep IT Green" initiative and provides customers with the most energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly solutions available on the market.SuperO, Supermicro, Building Block Solutions and We Keep IT Green are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Super Micro Computer, Inc.Intel, Intel Core, vPro and Optane are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.All other brands, names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Wanshih Electronic and business partner Draco Electronic will exhibit in Consumer Technology Association (CES) from Jan 5st to Jan. 8th in Las Vegas. We will show you USB 3.1 Type C Gen2 with PD, AWG46 mini coaxial cable assembly and LTE-A antennas at our booth 36711 in LVCC.Wanshih gets USB-IF TID certificate USB 3.1 Type C Gen 2 10G with PD. USB 3.1 Type C is small with high speed transmission up to 10G and will be the core technology for mobile devices. Further, FPC connected with Type C will be showed as our key assembling technology.AR/VR, Drone and surveillance markets are rising. The requirements for flexible and light cable become critical issues. Wanshih provides internal and external cable solutions prior to world with ultra thin coaxial cable for AWG 46 and auto-assembly production ability with 0.25pitch. Our customized cables do great support for our customer with stability and high performance.Not only developing various antennas (4G/3G/2G/WiFi/NFC/IOT), we also provide the total solutions of LTE. Our 3D printers and full-size OTA(Over The Air) 3D RF chamber regulated by CTIA quicken and enhance our RF design ability. We broaden our production lines from vehicle network, smart city, medical network and 5G Tele-communications.Wanshih is extending different fields like car application. Various cable assemblies for car and vehicle are our new category. Electronic manufacturing service (EMS) is driving management system for driver behavior analysis; its the solution combining antennas and management system.Our booth is 36711 at LVCC in Las Vegas with partner Draco Electronic. We sincerely invite you to visit and experience total solutions with wire and wireless high-speed transmission. Please visit our website: http://www.wanshih.com.tw/

Leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857) has announced that Toshio Maruyama, senior executive advisor at the company, is the 2017 recipient of the SEMI Sales and Marketing Excellence Award.The SEMI Sales and Marketing Excellence Award was established in 2000 to recognize individuals who have created and/or implemented marketing programs that improve customer satisfaction and contribute to the development of the semiconductor equipment and materials industry. Mr. Maruyama was selected to receive the award for his leadership in enhancing reliability in semiconductor Automated Test Equipment (ATE), which not only differentiated Advantest from entrenched competition, but also furthered the development of the semiconductor industry overall, as well as for his contributions over many years to multiple industry organizations. Mr. Maruyama is the 20th person to receive this award.SEMI presented the award to Mr. Maruyama in a ceremony at SEMICON Japan on December 14 in Tokyo. "Mr. Maruyama is recognized both for his innovative marketing leadership and his steadfast commitment to guiding industry associations. Today, SEMI and its membership recognize Maruyama-san for his contributions to the success of our industry," said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI.Accepting the award, Mr. Maruyama said, "It is a great honor to receive this renowned award. I believe that presentations of papers, the development of groundbreaking business models, and participation in industry groups are all important corporate activities, which not only benefit corporate branding, but make our industry more vibrant. I am proud that this long-held belief has been recognized."For further information, see http://www.semi.org/en/node/117231About SEMISEMI connects more than 2,000 member companies and more than a quarter-million professionals worldwide to advance the science and business of electronics manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Since 1970, SEMI has built connections that have helped its members grow, create new markets, and address common industry challenges together. SEMI maintains offices in Bangalore, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Grenoble, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. For more information about SEMI, visit http://www.semi.org/ and follow SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter.About Advantest CorporationA world-class technology company, Advantest is the leading producer of automatic test equipment (ATE) for the semiconductor industry and a premier manufacturer of measuring instruments used in the design and production of electronic instruments and systems. Its leading-edge systems and products are integrated into the most advanced semiconductor production lines in the world. The company also focuses on R&D for emerging markets that benefit from advancements in nanotech and terahertz technologies, and has introduced multi-vision metrology scanning electron microscopes essential to photomask manufacturing, as well as a groundbreaking 3D imaging and analysis tools. Founded in Tokyo in 1954, Advantest established its first subsidiary in 1982, in the USA, and now has subsidiaries worldwide. More information is available at http://www.advantest.com/.Left: Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI. Right: Toshio Maruyama, senior executive advisor at Advantest.

When panel suppliers around the world are worried about the consumer touch panel market showing slow growth and even starting to decline, Abon Touchsystems, has been quietly developing industrial touch screens for years and is now on the rise with its five-wire resistive touch screens and projected capacitive touch screens expanding to 32", 42", 55", 65" and 75" and large-size interactive whiteboards designed with ITO technology, thus implementing its own blue ocean strategy.The availability of the iPhone has undoubtedly spurred hot demand for consumer touch panels. Now, almost all touch panel suppliers are scrambling for a share of the consumer touch panel market. However, Abon Touchsystems, founded in 2005, did not rush into the market and instead chose to proceed step-by-step with industrial five-wire touch screens in small-volume, large-variety production. Abon Touchsystems offers ITO projected capacitive touch screens ranging from 7" to 42", five-wire resistive touch screens ranging from 6.5" to 22" and five-wire resistive zero-bezel touch screens ranging from 7" to 21.5" and has further expanded its offerings to include 55", 65" and 75" projected interactive whiteboards this year."New emerging technologies bring changes to how consumers behave and how businesses operate. Abon Touchsystems has detected rising demand for touch screens used in interactive whiteboards and video conference systems. However, previous large-size whiteboard systems that adopt low-cost IR touch control technology have certain limitations. So, Abon Touchsystems initiated the development of ITO based GFF 70" large size projected capacitive touch screens three years ago, tand this has led to the launch of the first GFF 65" ITO projected capacitive touch screen this year available in mass production quantities. Sizes of 75" and 85" whiteboard systems will follow now to meet market demand," commented by T.K. Chang, vice president, Abon Touchsystems as he explained why the company decided to cut into the large -size projected interactive whiteboard market.Next generation human machine interface spurs demand for industrial touch screensWith innovative HMI technologies continuing to emerge, consumers now interact with IT devices and applications in a variety of ways - progressing from traditional mouse clicks to touch, gesture, body control and voice control. Among these, touch control was adopted the earliest, attracting IC designers and panel makers to aggressively penetrate into this market.Despite being the first to be adopted, touch control technologies evolve quickly and vendors continue to encounter operation difficulties if their implementation and strategy is just slightly off target. In light of this, Abon Touchsystems has analyzed the market and seen strong potential in the industrial space, as most other makers simply focus on consumer applications such as smartphones, tablets and notebook PCs. Abon Touchsystems hopes to develop touch screen products suited for retail, healthcare, education and gaming sectors by leveraging its deep-rooted and extensive R&D experience to distinguish itself from its peers.Chang pointed out that industrial touch screens are different from consumer touch screens in two aspects - small-volume, large-variety production and long product certification time. Therefore, whether touch screen makers can maintain agility and flexibility and continue delivering high quality products and professional services plays a critical role in their ability to succeed. In fact, this is also the reason why makers of consumer touch screens have difficulty penetrating the industrial touch screen market. "Abon Touchsystems has a moderate production scale and advanced process technologies so it is capable of producing touch screens to meet a wide range of customer needs," said Chang.To enable itself to have a competitive edge, Abon Touchsystems began to research on how to innovate from the perspectives of technology and applications in 2012. Realizing that the multi-touch sensitivity of IR touch screens and optical touch screens is easily influenced by environmental conditions and they require sufficient physical space for sensor placement, Abon Touchsystems decided to introduce large size projected capacitive touch screens based on technologies that effectively save physical space and enable optimum cost-effectiveness."After mapping out a clear R&D direction, Abon Touchsystems started to think about applications for its products. We incidentally discovered that meeting room projectors may have short product lives due to extended use of the device's light bulb and overheating, while the quality and cleanliness of the device may result in poor meeting quality. Therefore, Abon Touchsystems decided to expand the applications of touch screens to interactive whiteboards and conferencing systems," stated Chang. Abon Touchsystems successfully began mass production of 65" projected capacitive touch screens at the end of 2016 thanks to its R&D team's meticulous planning and continuous testing. Then, Abon Touchsystems engaged in a partnership with Palwonn to introduce the AbonMax total solution, which provided 65" projected capacitive touch screens with computer systems, interactive whiteboards and conferencing systems to the global market through Palwonn's sales channels.Abon Touchsystems collaborates with partners to launch total solutions for interactive whiteboards and conferencing systemsAbon Touchsystems is not the only vendor eying the interactive whiteboard and conferencing system market. Microsoft, Google, INFOCUS and Foxconn have all introduced related solutions.For example, Microsoft launched Surface Hub–55" and 84" total enterprise meeting room solution integrating a custom edition of Windows 10. To respond to Microsoft, Google has announced the availability of Jamboard – a 55" 4K cloud-enabled interactive whiteboard running Android 6.0. INFOCUS, a leading American video solution provider, introduced a solution integrating a projector with an interactive whiteboard based on Windows 7 to meet market demand. Foxconn, on the other hand, attempted to expand into this new venture through the acquisition of interactive whiteboard vendor SMART Technologies.Abon Touchsystems is glad to see tier-1 global players enter the market for large-size industrial touch screens for interactive whiteboards and conferencing systems and welcomes the competition with domestic and international vendors, which will perk up the market and bring tremendous opportunities."In comparison to products and services offered by other vendors, what we deliver is a total solution — AbonMax, which integrates computer systems, interactive whiteboards and conferencing systems and combines premium quality and competitive pricing. The 65" whiteboard video system is priced as low as US$6,500, enabling a TCO far below what international leaders can offer in terms of purchase price and maintenance costs," commented Chang. The AbonMax specs far surpass that of the competition, with the device featuring the latest Intel 6th generation core and the support for Mac OS and Windows 10. Government agencies, educational institutions and business organizations can enjoy the freedom to choose the Windows APP, interactive whiteboards or video conference systems they prefer."Abon Touchsystems has been working on joint development with Palwonn for penetration into the education and commerce markets. Our solutions have been introduced to high schools and colleges. Education has therefore been revolutionized with interactive learning and learning quality and efficiency is enhanced by the limitless possibilities enabled through the industry-academic collaboration," indicated Chang. AbonMax will be used in more diverse application scenarios as Abon Touchsystems strives to introduce AbonMax to the world through participations in international trade exhibitions and embraces any potential partnership opportunities to jointly develop application services for healthcare, retail and media industries.In summary, Abon Touchsystems will continue to refine its projected capacitive touch control R&D and process technologies to open its own blue ocean market and stay ahead of the competition. It will also team up with the industry chain through strategic partnerships to provide worldwide customers touch screen solutions with optimum availability, high reliability and compelling CP (cost performance) ratio.AbonMax will be the highlight of Abon Touchsystems' product promotion in the coming years and will be showcased at international trade exhibition.Abon Touchsystems and Palwonn surprised the market with the launch of a 65" touch control interactive whiteboard.

Clientron has accumulated extensive experience in developing embedded systems and is expanding the success to deliver impressive results in thin clients, point of sale (POS) systems and IoT markets. Joining the D-Link and Partners Team in 2016, Clientron expects to expand its market footprint and bring its operation to a new level.Introducing industry thin clients for operation in harsh environments"The thin client market is relatively stable. We have been working on applications for the government, enterprise, banking and education sectors and penetrating into special application markets in the U.S. with our brand customers," said Kelly Wu, President & CEO, Clientron, as she introduced the company's launch of industry thin clients earlier this year. "These products are used for incinerators and parking lot payment systems. Their fanless, ventless and whole aluminum housing design makes them dust proof and enables them to sustain harsh environments. We upgraded the thin client spec to industrial PC standard to significantly boost reliability and broaden application range," added Wu. Clientron's high-end thin clients supporting 4K definition and triple screen display have been adopted by the healthcare sector.Running virtual desktops sulution, Clientron thin clients reduce TOC and enhance security for customers. This is the reason why the products are enthusiastically embraced by customers to replace industrial PCs in certain application scenarios and that their market share continues to grow.In terms of POS systems, Clientron's ultra-slim Wing350w and Ares650 won the 2016 Taiwan Excellence Award and the Bello series was recently recognized with the 2017 Taiwan Excellence Award. Clientron's all-in-one POS with a sleek, lightweight and streamline design in an aluminum enclosure revolutionizes traditional heavy POS systems. A wide range of peripherals are available to suit various logistics and service applications. "Many emerging markets have certain demand for exquisitely designed POS systems. Russia, for example, is Clientron's next target of expansion," indicated Wu. Clientron joined the D-Link and Partners Team in 2016, which will help expand its global footprint.Joining the D-Link and Partners Team and tapping into global channel resourcesThe D-Link and Partners Team, founded by John Hsuan, Chairman, D-Link, aims to leverage D-Link's advantages in its worldwide channels comprising a complete structure and network of human resources, logistics and finances to help premium quality vendors across a range of sectors expand globally from their base in Taiwan. Clientron is positioned in the team as a supplier of intelligent solutions in a smart environment. "We will integrate a variety of high quality products from our strategic partners and provide more comprehensive solutions to customers," added Wu. "Benefitting from D-Link's sales channels, warehousing, logistics, service & maintenance and customs clearance, we will be able to quickly penetrate into overseas markets that were originally out of our reach due to limited resources. Russia is a good example."In addition to providing high quality products, Clientron has also been targeting the IoT market, positioning itself as a total solution provider. As Clientron has accumulated system-related software R&D capability as well as domain knowledge and established partnerships within the IT industry, it is able to more swiftly deliver complete vertically-integrated system solutions compared to its competitors.Expanding into agricultural and livestock markets with environment-monitoring IoT solutionsClientron has been working with a winner of Taiwan's Outstanding Agricultural Professionals Award to set up test sites at his chicken poultry farm where automatic sensing and monitoring of a variety of environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity are used to raise the breeding rate. Through the field testing and collaboration experiences, Clientron can quickly gain industry know-how and thereby design products and solutions tailored to suit customer needs. Wu stated, "In addition to livestock, we will extend our environment monitoring IoT solutions to applications in agriculture, aquaculture and other sectors." Clientron will begin to actively participate in international agricultural and animal farming trade shows and will also establish a new IoT business unit in 2017. It will increasingly devote more resources to its IoT market expansion.It should be mentioned that Clientron is one of a few Taiwan-based vendors capable of penetrating into the supply chain for tier-1 automakers. Clientron's event data recorders (EDR) have been mounted on chartered tour buses and passenger buses as well as vehicles transporting hazardous materials. Looking forward, we can expect to see Clientron, which started public trading this year, take a more active approach to its strategic planning to capture the growth opportunities in POS and IoT markets.Joining the D-Link and Partners Team will help Clientron's overseas expansion, states Kelly Wu, President & CEO, Clientron.

Raiden series by AVEXIR Technologies Corp. was awarded with Taiwan Excellence Awards 2017. "Taiwan Excellence Award" is based on five key indicators: R&D, Design, Quality, Marketing, and Made in Taiwan. The five indicators are of equal importance, and each is judged on its "Innovation Value," the most important standard of all. "Taiwan Excellence Award" is authorized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).Raiden series is, a high performance DDR3 / DDR4 gaming memory modules, using world exclusive patented technology of plasma tubes to mimic lightening effect for gamers who seek true stimulation and real excitement.In addition to ultra-high specification and performance, the most important of which is the combination of its design is unprecedented in the memory module that is transformed and ionized by inert gases in the tube to create the effect of the Blitz. The electro-optical flint-like effect fully meets the needs of gamers.Raiden series by AVEXIR was awarded with Taiwan Excellence Awards 2017.