Frontline PCB Solutions, an Orbotech-Mentor Graphics company and the leading global provider of CAM and engineering software solutions for the PCB industry, today announced the company's rebrand initiative."The rebrand, including updated corporate and product logos, represents our company's strategy aiming to provide a complete solution in the industry for the entire process – from the design phase, through preproduction, to manufacturing," said Yovav Sameah, president of Frontline PCB Solutions."Over the past twenty years, Frontline has been privileged to partner with hundreds of valued and loyal customers, with the objective of helping them make the most of their production processes," continued Sameah. "With Orbotech and Mentor Graphics as our strategic parents and years of experience, we have built a strong and stable brand associated with high-quality software and long-term partnerships, based on a thorough understanding of the technology and processes involved in bare board creation. Our smart, innovative solutions maximize our customers' manufacturing efficiency. Redesigned to capture the spirit of the times and represent Frontline in today's digital media, our new brand reflects Frontline's ability to provide end-to-end solutions as well as the technological solutions we develop to operate our customers' devices – smarter, lighter and up to date."Frontline's new company logo and brand identity are available for viewing at http://www.frontline-pcb.com/. The new brand will become effective on October 26 , 2016.Frontline is an Orbotech and Mentor Graphics software company, bringing together the power, knowledge, and stability of two world leaders and creating smart, future-oriented technologies and solutions for the PCB industry. Frontline has a strong track record of success, with more than twenty years' experience and over 10,000 installations worldwide. Frontline offers its customers a complete preproduction solution, from design to manufacturing, and builds long-term partnerships with customers, offering ongoing training and consulting.

An international call for papers on semiconductor test solutions, best practices and innovative technologies has been issued for next year's annual VOICE Developer Conference, organized by leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857). The 2017 conference will again be held in two locations -- Palm Springs, California at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa on May 16-17, and VOICE will return to the growing China region with an event at the InterContinental Shanghai Pudong on May 26. Both conferences will feature the theme "Measure the Connected World and Everything in It."As VOICE enters its second decade in 2017, the conference will continue to offer attendees comprehensive learning and networking opportunities including technical presentations focused on eight technology tracks, partners' expositions and social gatherings. In addition, the VOICE Technology Kiosk Showcase will expand to include more interactive discussion sessions for users of Advantest's V93000 and T2000 system-on-a-chip (SoC) test platforms, memory testers, handlers, test cell solutions, product engineering and test technology.Each year at VOICE, semiconductor test professionals representing the world's leading integrated device manufacturers (IDMs), foundries, fabless semiconductor companies and outsourced assembly and test (OSAT) providers come together to share ideas and information as colleagues."The VOICE 2017 theme, 'Measure the Connected World and Everything in It,' highlights the pervasive role of interconnections such as IoT, V2X and BLE," said Simondavide Tritto, chairman of VOICE 2017 and Advantest senior staff applications engineer. "Semiconductor IC test requires a more complex set of functionality, which includes the verification and advancement of new concepts and innovative solutions in the manufacturing stage. The VOICE conference is the intersection of vision and reality where these new IC world trends and ideas are discussed and challenged. I am excited about sharing our program with Advantest users and welcome them to join us for VOICE 2017 – in Palm Springs, Shanghai, or both -- as we discuss the latest developments in our connected world."Advantest's VOICE 2017 call for papers focuses on eight technology tracks:• Hot Topics concerns new market drivers and future trends including V93000 Wave Scale RF and MX, automotive power analog, Internet of Things (IoT), emerging wireless standards, and test challenges at next-generation technology nodes.• Device-Specific Testing covers techniques for testing MCUs, ASICs, PMICs, automotive radar, sensors, memory, baseband, cellular, multi-chip packages and more.• Hardware Design and Integration includes tester/handler integration, probe and package loadboard design, challenges of new package technologies and fine-pitch devices, and more. • Improving Throughput addresses test-time reduction, increased multi-site, multi-site efficiency, concurrent test, and more.• Reducing Time-to-Market encompasses DFT, pattern simulations/cyclization, automatic test program generation, system-level test, and more.• New Hardware/Software Test Solutions focuses on solutions utilizing the latest hardware or software features.• Test Methodologies involves techniques for testing DC, RF, mixed signal or high-speed digital devices. • Product Engineering includes software and tools for data analysis, test program documentation/versioning and production test elimination techniques.Test developers are invited to submit their abstracts for consideration at either the U.S. or China locations, or both, by going to https://voice.advantest.com/call-for-papers. All submissions must be received by November 18, 2016. Accepted presenters will be notified in January 2017. Audience members at the conference sessions in May 2017 will vote for the best papers, with winning presenters receiving prizes.Attending/Sponsoring VOICE 2017For more information about the VOICE 2017 Developer Conference or sponsorship opportunities, please visit https://voice.advantest.com/About Advantest VOICE 2017Managed by a steering committee of volunteer representatives from Advantest and its customers, VOICE is the leading conference for the growing international community of users and strategic partners involved with Advantest's V93000 and T2000 SoC test platforms as well as Advantest memory testers, handlers and test cell solutions. The conference offers a unique opportunity to take part in making semiconductor testing operations as efficient and cost-effective as possible. Attendees gain and share valuable insights, build long-lasting relationships and learn what's new about Advantest test equipment, handlers and applications.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 www.advantest.com.

In his keynote speech, "The Revolution of Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence," delivered at NVIDIA GTC in Taipei, Jen-Hsun Huang, Co-founder & CEO, NVIDIA, elaborated on the surging trend and rapid advancement of AI technologies over recent years. As a supplier of computing technologies fueling the trend, NVIDIA has built a forward-looking roadmap with comprehensive solutions, a partnership network and an industry ecosystem to accelerate the popularity of AI technologies and their commercial applications. As Huang emphasized, "This will be the next computer revolution and also the new industrial revolution." We can expect to see a very different world in the future.The dawn of the new era for AIAlex Krizhevsky first used two NVIDIA GPUs to train deep learning software in 2012, which accelerated visual recognition learning from months to just days. In 2015, with R&D investments from industry leaders including Google and Microsoft, it was confirmed that GPU-based deep learning could obtain results with amazing accuracy in image and voice recognition that surpassed human capability. AI has started taking various industries by storm, signaling the coming of a whole new computing era.Asked why AI researchers are adopting GPUs for deep learning, Huang pointed out, "When people think, the brain creates a mental image. Working similarly to the human brain, a GPU's thousands of micro-processors can work in parallel connections like synapses and neurons to solve large-scale and complex problems."At the start of the AI era, the computing industry is being reshaped as the GPU speeds up machine thinking so that computers have the ability to learn. This has also enabled the GPU to go beyond graphics applications. Huang commented, "The GPU computing we have created is at the center of the most exciting advances in computing today. Therefore, NVIDIA is becoming known as the AI computing company."Three aspects of AI development: training, datacenter inferencing and device inferencingDeep learning software designs itself so that computers will learn from experience and become smarter.Huang indicated deep learning will create a whole new computing model and talked about its actual applications from three aspects: training, datacenter inferencing and device inferencing.First of all, future software engineers will create and train neural network models with the GPU executing trillions of computations to come up with more complicated and accurate models. Inferencing, on the other hand, is searching. In terms of cloud services, neural networks will operate in datacenters, receiving billions of search requests for images, audio and video clips. The GPU, deployed in data centers, will be in charge of responding to these requests through inferencing.Device inferencing enables AI in a variety of end devices. End devices will be able to infer and learn from experience, which enables them to better perform tasks and become smart devices with sensing, understanding and learning capabilities. What's more is that the intelligence gained at the end devices can be passed back to the cloud for datacenters to learn, together forming a complete AI deep learning loop.Building end-to-end solutions enabling far-reaching AI computingNVIDIA has built a complete technological roadmap targeting the three aspects of application. Its latest Pascal architecture is the first GPU designed specifically for deep learning. The outstanding computing power answers the most challenging training tasks in deep learning. Training efficiency has been boosted by 65 times in four years.With Internet companies and AI startups beginning to deploy deep neural networks for their new services and applications, demand for datacenter inferencing is therefore emerging. To respond to inferencing requirements, NVIDIA has launched the Tesla P4 and P40 accelerators and the TensorRT software to boost AI for video inferencing."The CPU is based on traditional computation architecture, not tailored for AI. Tesla P4 and P40 are superior to the most advanced CPU in terms of both performance and power efficiency and therefore are capable of handling the massive inferencing demands on the Internet in the future," said Marc Hamilton, VP, Solutions Architecture and Engineering at NVIDIA.Certainly, amid the rising trend of AI computation, the GPU faces challenges from different processor architectures including the CPU, FPGA and ASIC. Hamilton noted that the GPU outperforms the competitions in terms of scalability, computing performance and power efficiency. More importantly, in recognition of the critical role software plays, NVIDIA has crafted a complete platform that includes training programs, middleware and software development kits (SDK) to help expedite AI development and deployment.For embedded device inferencing, NVIDIA has introduced the Jetson TX1 supercomputer-on-module with a low 10W power consumption and the JetPack SDK, equipping billions of autonomous devices with smart sensing and inferencing capabilities and driving revolutionary drone, robotics, autonomous devicesadvancement.Huang said, "We are witnessing a rapid growth of the entire industry ecosystem. Almost all leading Internet service providers are adopting NVIDIA's technologies to train their datacenters for providing better Internet services such as searching, recognition and translation. We are set to build an end-to-end deep learning computing platform based on a uniform hardware architecture supporting software compatibility to greatly simplify development and deployment by vendors."Opportunities that Taiwan high-tech industry cannot missIn addition to AI, the latest VR and AR technologies can also leverage the GPU's superior computing power. The key lies in how to incorporate actions in the physical world with the virtual environment.Victoria Rege, Manager, Global VR Alliances & Ecosystem Development at NVIDIA stated, "The GPU can perform dynamic computations of physical properties. For example, light tracking technologies can enable a realistic feel of objects. We are also actively developing SDKs to help developers create VR content and accelerate the process. VR applications are now widely used not only in gaming but also in business operations including automobile design, architectural design and retail demonstration. We hope to strengthen collaboration with Taiwan-based vendors to jointly push forward development of VR technology."The rise of AI and VR represents an important technological trend and calls for more innovations and R&D efforts. The number of NVIDIA developers has tripled, reaching a total of 400,000 people, indicated Huang. The number of AI developers adopting NVIDIA GPUs as the deep learning R&D standard has grown 25 times in two years. Application areas are wide-ranging, encompassing automobile, government, internet and healthcare sectors. AI has expanded beyond a lab concept to becoming a truly commercialized technology. To broaden AI applications, NVIDIA is working with world-leading online learning organizations including Coursera and Udacity to bring AI within reach for more people.NVIDIA has announced a collaboration project with National Taiwan University to establish an AI laboratory for strengthening and driving Taiwan's AI R&D. NVIDIA has also initiated Taiwan's first self-driving car research program with ITRI. Furthermore, at this year's GTC, Huang introduced four Taiwan-based AI startups, V5 Technologies, Viscovery, Umbo CV and SkyREC, and he credited Taiwan's high-tech industry, and in particular TSMC and Quanta Computer, for their contribution to bringing NVIDIA's technology to reality.Huang highlighted, "This lays the foundation of the future industrial revolution and is an important trend not to be taken lightly. Taiwan should devote more resources to basic research in this field. With its existing strength, now is the ideal time for Taiwan to expand into AI."NVIDIA drives AI revolution, an ultimate challenge to GPU computing

Orbotech Ltd., is showcasing a selection of its most innovative and best-in-class digital production solutions for PCB and FPC (flexible printed circuits) manufacturers at this year's TPCA. For the first time in Taiwan, Orbotech will be demonstrating its Nuvogo Fine Direct Imaging System, the Precise 800 AOS, Sprint 200 Flex, the Discovery II AOI with ultra-fast, advanced automation, and the InCAMFlex and InPanFlex solutions. Live demos of Orbotech's PCB manufacturing solutions will take place at TPCA from 26-28 October in Booth #K1421 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Hall. "Orbotech is delighted to bring its next generation of PCB manufacturing solutions to TPCA and enable our Taiwanese customers to experience first-hand the immense benefits they offer," said John Ho, General Manager of Orbotech Taiwan. "As electronics become smaller and more complex, Orbotech continues to bring innovative solutions to the increasingly complex world of PCB and FPC manufacturing and ensure our customers achieve high yields, superior performance and a low total cost of ownership (TCO)." About Nuvogo Fine: The Nuvogo Fine DI solution offers superior throughput for advanced HDI makers and modified semi- additive process (mSAP) and for advanced HDI printed circuits. Designed to enable the PCB manufacturing industry to support the production of thinner, high-density, high-functionality devices, the Nuvogo Fine sets a new industry standard with superior imaging quality and exceptionally fast throughput for fine lines. By enabling extremely fast panel production speeds, the Nuvogo Fine accelerates manufacturers' time-to-market while ensuring a low cost-per-print. About Precise 800: The recently launched groundbreaking Precise 800 is the first AOS solution for the advanced HDI and complex multi-layer PCB manufacturing market, capable of both ablating excess copper ("shorts") and depositing missing copper ("opens"), all in a single automated process. Enabling accurate, high quality 3D shaping of the most advanced PCB designs, the Precise 800 significantly increases yield by virtually eliminating PCB scrap. The Precise™ 800 addresses all defects including those on inner and outer layers, multiple lines, corners and pads. About Sprint 200 Flex: Sprint 200 Flex Inkjet Printer is Orbotech's first PCB legend printer designed specifically for the unique requirements of mass produced, thin, flexible PCBs. With multi-panel handling, advanced registration and serialization tools, the Sprint 200 Flex offers manufacturers breakthrough performance for high volume, high yield and high quality legend and serialization printing over a range of flex PCB materials. About Discovery II with Ultra-fast, Advanced Automation: Discovery II 9200 with ultra-fast, advanced automation combines Orbotech's market-leading, high performance AOI solution with superior automation capabilities for increased throughput and utilization as well as maximized operational efficiency. Designed for MLB and HDI mass production, the automation supports slip-sheet and flip operation mode. About InCAMFlex and InPlanFlex: InCAM Flex is a dedicated CAM solution for flex and rigid-flex PCB makers that provides precise CAM tooling and production data optimization via flex design for manufacturing tools making the most out of your flex production. InPlan Flex is a comprehensive automatic engineering system for rigid, flex and rigid-flex PCBs that combines sophisticated engineering know-how with state-of-the-art preproduction planning tools to design the optimal manufacturing process paving your path to business success. About Orbotech Ltd. Orbotech Ltd. (NASDAQ:ORBK) is a global innovator of enabling technologies used in the manufacture of the world's most sophisticated consumer and industrial products throughout the electronics and adjacent industries. The Company is a leading provider of yield enhancement, and production solutions for electronics reading, writing and connecting, used by manufacturers of printed circuit boards, flat panel displays, advanced packaging, micro-electro-mechanical systems(MEMS), LED, high speed RF on GaAs, power management device and other electronic components. Today, virtually every electronic device in the world is produced using Orbotech systems. For more information, visit www.orbotech.com/ and www.spts.com/

On October 13 and 14, Microsoft hosted the Microsoft IoT Expo 2016 in Taiwan, inviting its IoT partners, industry leaders and academic scholars from different countries and regions to visit Taiwan. Using the opportunity of the IoT Expo and through the presentation of keynote speakers sharing and demonstration of new technologies in practical applications, Microsoft is hoping to bring Taiwan's ecosystem in touch with viewpoints from other markets and realize the business opportunities from the worldwide market.Microsoft invites various IoT partners around the world to participate the event. The participants from Japan, Southeast Asia and United States showcase new technologies and IoT practices for exploring what's going on in the different regions. And things like Japanese partners working out the IoT solutions to assist Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to accommodate tourists with language translation services through Microsoft Cortana Cognitive Service solutions. Meanwhile, one big Japanese system integrator initiates the smart city projects to assist Australia city governments to deploy multiple domains of citizen services softening aging population problems.Taiwan IoT players are participants that had performed rather well in the booths of IoT solution center. The demonstration cases such as AAEON's smart vending machine, Techman Robot's coffee brewing robot, Advantech's smart retailing solutions and NEXCOM's poultry farming system for chickens attract attention and promote synergies using Microsoft's advantages in cloud computing and data analytics. These varieties of solutions have been to be connected with the latest developments in cloud computing technologies and need help to deploy smart applications. "No One Company Can Do It All" is mentioned most frequently in the event. The business of IoT is all about partner relationships.Building partner relationship is an important keystone for IoT successThe IoT business starts from a successful partnership to form strategic alliances. An industrial alliance is not only considering the cost saving and resource optimization, but also an overall collaboration and integration. Even the relationship between customers and IoT solution providers will produce blurring of boundaries while both working on solving the problems. Therefore, this expo is not only attempting to introduce innovative technologies and business match-making opportunities but also gaining global insights and integrating the IoT solutions endowed with Microsoft cloud platform and Cortana technology to link with sensors, gateways, data analytics and cognitive services.Speaking for the government partner of Taiwan IoT industry, Fang-Guan Jan, Director General, Department of Industrial Development, talked through his keynote focusing on introduction of "Asian Silicon Valley" plan. The 8-year project from 2016 to 2023 with the budget of US$ 360 million aims to increase Taiwan's global IoT market share. In fact, the plan is not going to transform Taiwan to Silicon Valley. It is hoped that this plan will build Taiwan into a base for youth innovation and entrepreneurship in the Asia-Pacific region, and connect Taiwan with Silicon Valley and other world-renowned science and technology hubs with the efforts building a talent-friendly environment, providing financial support and the fund-raising from the capital market.Government partners hope that the project can help Taiwan to catch up with global trends to transform Taiwan's hardware- and component-centric business model into platform-based or vertically-integrated solutions leveraging Microsoft's R&D capability, cloud services, and data analytics to integrate the IoT supply chain.Microsoft is a long- time partner for Taiwan ICT industry since personal computer era. Chris Phillips, General Manager for Cloud Enterprise Partner and Customer Ecosystem of Microsoft, described Microsoft having a corporate culture emphasizing the importance of partnership. Partner's every dollar investing in Microsoft products or services, it will gain seven dollars in return from the business sector. Facing the IoT complex value chains and the business model dynamics, Microsoft IoT Innovation Center in Taiwan is the starting point for capturing the booming IoT opportunity in Asia for Microsoft, said Phillips.There are total of 393 companies from 17 countries gathered at Microsoft IoT Expo event. At the same time, Microsoft IoT Innovation Center launched in Taiwan. Phillips added, "Microsoft IoT Innovation Center has chosen Taiwan, a place renowned for its high-tech sector and hardware manufacturing, to gain a foothold in the Asian market while aiming to accelerate IoT deployment with partners worldwide."Sam George, General Manager of Azure IoT Microsoft, shared Microsoft visions of the IoT development through his keynote session. There are more than 73% enterprises initiating the different scale of IoT projects in the last four years. From his observation, each successful IoT project of global enterprise required three to five years to develop and adjust through the whole process. Facing these high complexity and time constraint IoT challenges, the data insights which collected from different devices across different networks will be essential for enabling business transformation. It is because the data insights to enable the successful business transformation and link value chains through this event.MIT x Microsoft x Institute for Information Industry work collaboratively and drive possibility for the futureIn this IoT Expo event, Taiwan's Institute for Information Industry has co-developed with Kent Larson, director of City Science Initiative MIT Media Lab, to demonstrate the application of persuasive electric vehicle (PEV), a future personal transportation vehicle. Professor Larson gave his keynote speech to use technology and creativity enabling the new models for urban architecture and fitting more people in very city. Because more than half the people now in the world live in cities nowadays, he sincerely provided the suggestion and vision to use the IoT technologies to design service systems based on human centered.Mr. Michael Lin, the PEV project coordinator and the key member of development team is also a Taiwanese Ph.D. student at the MIT Media Lab. The PEV is an ultra-lightweight, shared-use, autonomous, which is co-developed with Microsoft's Cognitive Services and designed to move both people and goods in high population cities. The example of PEV combining with Microsoft's technologies will provide the country an even wider future and infinite possibilities.The PEV is lithium battery-powered tricycle platform with its advanced innovative service design and application equipped with LiDAR and computer vision featured for environmental detection and machine learning standards. The PEV is able to process the smart personnel transportation application in a populated metropolis area. It is a successful example to strife for future transportation vehicle business opportunities.Japanese IoT development moving forward, showcasing the projects of smart city and 2020 Olympic gameMicrosoft develops Japanese IoT community since 2016, said Mr. Takeshi Shobuya who is Director of Microsoft OEM Sales and Marketing of IoT Division. In February 2016, there were only ten founding members of participating companies to establish IoT Business Co-Creation Lab for the purpose of spreading IoT concept and expanding business opportunities in Japanese market. But it is very quickly to expand to 213 members in September.The Japanese IoT ecosystem forms six working group to develop a variety of solutions after the establishment of the alliance. CONTAC, one of Japanese industrial computer manufactures, develops serious Industrial IoT solutions aiming to provide smart manufacturing services. Using Microsoft's advantages in artificial intelligence and data analytics, CONTAC is able to build the product matrix to assist Japanese enterprises to develop their own IoT applications through gateway devices for smoothly connecting various devices.Another example, one Japanese startup named Omotenashi AI provides another example to establish a service that targets unique cloud solutions toward the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The idea is providing foreign tourists a powerful tool through Microsoft Cloud services for helping translating, tourist guiding and instant chatting. With this solution, it will help to boost foreign tourism and Japan hospitality industries.These Japanese IoT development cases and applications show the efforts that Japanese IoT partners turn the ideas to practical solutions. Although no business can survive in the long run without generating cash flow, Shobuya still suggests taking a bold step to start small IoT projects instead of waiting and gaining nothing. It is very important that the accumulated IoT development experience is the root of enabling the business transformation in the future for enterprises.Apart from Japan local IoT development cases, NEC Australia shows another IoT solution aiming the smart city sector. Gordon Gay, general manager of NEC Australia RD, described the smart city projects developed in Australia. According to the study that the aging of the population will increase to 35% of overall citizens and representing triple sized expansion of today's population in Australia cities, it is a high demand to improve the quality life of citizens by increasing efficiency of city operations. The project initiation starts to host Intelligent Community Forum events to share findings and needs available to the general public, said Gordon. The forum stimulates further collaboration with industry partners and government. Through the design of suitable smart systems, NEC enables to make several approaches to deliver the services gradually. Under the efficient control of budgets and schedules, the smart city project has been successful launched. This project is still growing and under developing through Microsoft's cloud computing and smart services.Developing partnership to go into Southeast Asia marketSoutheast Asia market with the strength of huge population and fastest growing of economy is one of the most demanding regions toward smart networking solutions. The countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and India are aggressively involved with smart city projects. Talking about the IoT development in this region, smart agriculture projects are gathering most attentions from the public. The durian fruit farm can leverage the IoT technology to link with the end customers in China.The technology penetration rate in Southeast Asia is far less than western countries. The big IoT projects of Southeast Asian countries have involved with major Telecoms and governments. The local partners will play a very important role to engage with the big IoT projects.Smart City projects relying on government, enterprise and citizens join involvementDr. Yennum Huang hosted the panel discussion of smart city topic invited guests from NEC, Intel, Trend Micro, ITCI, TATS and Accelerite. Each of them presented the solutions for this sector. In the past five years, Dr. Huang has involved with several major government projects such as e-Taiwan, M-Taiwan and recent Intelligent Taiwan projects. His keynote presentation addressed key challenges of smart city projects.Dr. Huang described there are four major applications which are the most successful projects in terms of generating earnings and revenues in the smart city sector. The first will be smart transportation applications because the transportation systems always the most important things that affect citizens in their daily lives. The second is the surveillance systems because the safety and security concerns do the matters for each citizen. The third is environmental protection and clean energy development systems. The forth, the public looks at early warning systems for disasters.Several major Taiwan cities were listed in the intelligent communities by the New York-based Intelligent Community Forum (ICF). Although city government played an important role, it is still relying on the engagement of citizens, private industries and organizations to participate and utilize the IoT technology to link different devices with data analytics implementation.Smart manufacturing focus on production efficiencySmart manufacturing panel promoted the concept of Industry 4.0 which addressed intelligent machines and smart factories leveraging the IoT technologies. In fact, the true meaning behind is implementation of Digitization in every process of manufacturing sites. The integration of the data insights in each manufacturing process will help industry to increase diversity in their business models through the development of the smart manufacturing solutions.NEXCOM is one of the guest speakers to participate in this panel discussion. Using its IoT gateway to collect the information and link to the Microsoft cloud services for providing data analytics with machine learning capability. NEXCOM IoT solutions demonstrated a pioneer project providing a support for a chicken farms in Southeast Asia region to do the business transformation.In the other hand, the case presented by Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) was virtual metrology technology implementation. This technology uses data modeling to define the important parameters of manufacturing process through automatic optical inspection systems. This approach is helping to increase the yield rates for Taiwan semiconductor manufacturing service providers. Meanwhile, CTCI took the different approach by seeking optimized industrial strategies for manufacturing through smart machinery design and data analytics technology.Smart manufacturing projects are not focus on large scale production change to enable the transformation in manufacturing process. It is relying on data analytics skills to find out the optimized information to improve the manufacturing efficiency for industry.Smart retail and living projects help to improve the quality of lifeMost of the retailers are making breakthroughs in understanding their customers' minds. Things like when the customers coming, what the goods buying and reasons to buy are eager to know. The smart retail solutions are helping retailers to predict the customer buying behavior through various technologies to collect the customer tracking, analyze the customer hot spot zones. And some other powerful information helps to explore the new niches for introducing game-changing strategies into high competitive retail channels.This smart retail panel discussion included solutions such as Migo, Advantech's UShop+ platform, AOpen's red wine vending machines and LoopD event analytics solutions, which sense the traffic of event participants by displaying dashboard windows to analyze the hot spots. The demonstration provided a unique platform to help retailers to develop successful sales promotion plans to promote their brands.Meanwhile, in the smart living sector, broaden solutions ranging from home appliance control to hospital patient management and remote medical services, it brings the importance of data security. And the challenge of data protection is increasing in scope. The companies including Gemalto and Trend Micro presented various cyber security solutions to protect personal sensitive information.Cathy Yeh, Principal PM Manager of Cloud Enterprise Product Group, Internet of Things Innovation Center, said, "The development of IoT industry requires the connection and integration of partners in multiple fields as well as the resources from the industry, government, and academia both in Taiwan and abroad." Through this very first time IoT Expo in Taiwan, she hopes the IoT ecosystem could learn from each other to quickly develop multiple solutions and gain market insights.Sam George highlighted "We believe that with the first Microsoft IoT Expo, our leading IoT service offerings and the newly launched Microsoft IoT Innovation Center as a hub in Asia, we are empowering business potential of IoT customers and partners."MIT Media Lab showcases PEV project leverage with Microsoft Cognitive Services and Cortana intelligence suite.More than 1600 times of participants' visit from 16 nations and 393 solution providers, the two-day Microsoft IoT Expo event hosted over 70 keynote speeches and 33 IoT applications on four major subjects of smart city, retail, manufacturing, and life.

Pursuing continuous efficiency improvement and cost reduction is the long-term challenge for PV industry, as well as the key factor to truly realize the goal of grid parity. As a leading supplier of metallization solutions to the PV industry, Heraeus Photovoltaics announced the introduction of a new generation of high efficiency silver front-side metallization paste at the PV Taiwan International Photovoltaic Exhibition, which will help customers quickly move to the more efficient PERC technology. Also, regarding the patent lawsuit against Giga Solar Material, Andreas Liebheit, President of Heraeus Photovoltaics, stressed that the company is confident of the final results of legal examination and is determined to defend its business interests.New paste with higher solar cell conversion efficiencyImproving conversion efficiency by 0.1% every half year is Heraeus' continuous strategy. With this, the company introduces the new SOL9641A silver paste to meet the goal again. Additionally, it shows superior adhesion for PERC cell and is compatible for both multi and mono crystalline wafers. The excellent adhesion of SOL9641A allows customers to optimize their busbar design for better electrical performance and cost reduction, especially on black-silicon texturings.According to Liebheit, SOL9641A has been developed based on its brand-new glass chemistry, combined with the latest breakthrough in organic vehicle system for ultra-fine-line printing. Moreover, SOL9641A has outstanding LID (Light Induced Degradation) performance and improved reliability for both cells and modules.Its ultra-fine line screen printing capabilities make the 9641A perfectly suitable for the latest screen technology with narrower finger opening, high mesh and thinner wire as well as for knot-free screens. The SOL9641A incorporates an innovative organic system which enhances printability in high-through-put mass production with improved finger geometry. Compared with previous SOL9631, it has 2X higher of adhesion. Such benefits have been testified by customers with better efficiency and higher production yield.An additional key feature of the 9641 is the wide processing window of 50°C. Compared with the conventional processing widow of 10~15°C, it's an obvious improvement. Also, with an optimal firing window toward lower temperature range, the product is beneficial for PERC-solar cells and can help customers further enhance yield rate and lower cost."In fact, the new product is used by our customers and achieved excellent results, which fully demonstrates our research efforts over the past two years. In order to enhance the overall performances of pastes, we have split our research team into two groups: efficiency improvement and printability/process window, and then obtained satisfactory enhancements in every aspect," Liebheit said.In terms of the current development of solar market, "We see the keen demands for higher efficiency products at present. Modules with efficiency lower than 18.4% are in stock, and those with higher efficiency are in lack of supply. Therefore, makers have to speed up their paces moving to PERC process. However, due to the delay of equipment delivery, it takes about 9 months of lead time to transfer to the new process, which has impacted the transition to PERC.""Currently, PERC accounts for around 10~15% of overall PV market. It's estimated the figure will increase to 30% next year, with mono wafer having the bigger share. Though there is still room for PERC to achieve better yield rate, around a dozen of companies have already moved to PERC and obtained satisfactory results. As the market demands more PERC cells, those makers will be able to have better business performances. Therefore, it's crucial for companies to invest in advanced technologies in early stage, so that they can maintain their competitive edges."Looking forward the next stage, Heraeus already invests in the research of next-generation technologies, including N-type PERC and low-temperature HJT, and have products in place. But, according to Liebheit, "Take HJT as an example, it takes at two years to see the significant transfer due to its higher cost. At Heraeus, we will be well prepared and respond to the market demands rapidly."Actively Defend IP RightsRegarding the status of the patent lawsuit against Taiwan's Giga Solar Materials, which attracts lots of attentions in the PV industry, Liebheit said, "In August this year, Taiwan Intellectual Property Court confirmed the validity of Heraeus' Taiwan Patent No. I432539 by an interlocutory judgment and dismissed Giga Solar Materials Corporation's invalidity defense.""By end of 2015 Heraeus Photovoltaics held more than 300 granted patents and patent applications around the world. We are very pleased that the Taiwan Intellectual Property Court concluded that our patent is valid. As the lawsuit has entered the next stage of the proceedings, Heraeus is confident that the results of this legal examination will support all allegations of the lawsuit.""Heraeus' Taiwan Patent No. I432539 discloses a use of a conductive paste for forming a solar cell electrode, including: a conductive powder comprising silver as a main component; glass frit; and an organic vehicle, wherein the glass frit contains tellurium glass frit having 30 to 90 mol% of tellurium oxide as a network-forming component. The patented technology makes it possible to form a solar cell electrode having a low dependence on firing temperature without causing problems due to fire-through into the substrate, and to thereby obtain a solar cell having good solar cell characteristics," he explained."Heraeus is very determined to defend our intellectual property rights. Because of the winning of patent validity judgement, some customers are transferring orders to us again. I'm sure that we will be able to further expand our business here. In particular, Giga Solar doesn't have PERC silver pastes. With a significant advantage in this segment, I believe that we will gain 50% shares in PERC market."Deepening Services to Expand Taiwan MarketIn order to gain stronger footings in Taiwan market, Heraeus aims to provide local production and the customization services that competitors don't have to customers here, so that they can achieve prompt delivery and meet customers' requirements responsively.Liebheit expressed his belief that Taiwan remains a critical market force for solar energy development and will play an important role when the market comes back into an upswing mode. "The PV markets across the Taiwan straits are strongly interlinked across the Asia-Pacific region. Taiwan companies have established R&D and production sites in mainland China, so it makes strong strategic sense for Heraeus to have a strong presence in both regions. It allows us to simultaneously work with cell and module manufacturers in both markets to help them deliver even higher-performing cell technologies."Meanwhile, in order to strengthen competitiveness, Heraeus is transforming its business model to a service provider, rather than a purely material vendor. "We have customers all around the world. When helping customers with their process problems, we have accumulated in-depth and rich process experiences. With integrating all these experiences with our expertise, we will be able to become a process consultant to our customers, offering services with higher value addition."In addition, for a much longer-term plan, Liebheit said that solar energy generation should be tightly coupled with storage to have stronger synergy between them. However, storage application is just starting, which requires huge cost reduction and efficiency improvements in the coming years. Heraeus is now present in all these markets, including Li-ion battery and fuel cell, providing key additions and membrane materials, in a bid to build a complete solutions for renewable energy.Andreas Liebheit, President of Heraeus Photovoltaics.Heraeus Photovoltaics announced the introduction of a new generation of high efficiency silver front-side metallization paste at the PV Taiwan

The latest generation of innovation in Taiwan's IT industry has been focused on the Internet of Things (IoT) and it is safe to say that IoT is the most popular term in Taiwan's IT industry currently. First-tier chip players, software platform designers and solution startups have all invested enormous resources to participate in the trend.Taiwan's information communication industry has a strong foundation, while its electronics ODM abilities are also well known around the world; therefore, it is hard to imaging Taiwan IT players being absent from the new world of IoT that is marked by everything being connected. Look at any IoT-related industry alliances and you are sure to find a host of Taiwan IT players, an example showing the high passion local Taiwan maker have for taking the lead in the IoT market and keeping up with the latest IoT trends.However, from the perspective of leading international technology giants, IoT is valued from the perspective of big data analysis, new business models and brand power instead of ODM ability, which is the area where Taiwan IT players are at their best. Although these first-tier players still seek assistance from Taiwan ODM/OEM service providers, as they need to satisfy time-to-market demand. But after outsourcing their orders to Taiwan makers, they tend to give the follow up orders to China-based OEM makers in Shenzhen, China, as working with the China makers helps further lower overall costs. In the IoT era, pure hardware manufacturers can be easily replaced.Cloud Computing Technologies and Smart Applications: Two keystones for Taiwan IT players to achieve successMicrosoft established the Microsoft IoT Innovation Center in Taiwan in 2016. In a recent interview, Cathy Yeh, principal PM Manager of Microsoft Cloud + Enterprise Product Group and Internet of Things Innovation Center, pointed out the dilemma that Taiwan IT players have been facing. Yeh further noted that the IoT era focuses mainly on small-to-medium-volume production, but in a variety of manufacturing processes and design ability that create differentiation and therefore, Taiwan IT players will need to have high customization and integration abilities or they will not stand a chance in the new competition.Yeh pointed out that success can be achieved through key partnerships and she is rather optimistic about the combination of Taiwan's ICT players with Microsoft and its core technologies including for cloud computing, data analysis platform and cognitive service solutions. Yeh believe this integration will become an important keystone for Taiwan's IT industry to cross into the IoT arena and take a leadership position. She noted that the most urgent areas where Taiwan IT players require support is for extending their coverage of cloud computing technologies and increased diversity in their business models through the development of unique new solutions. To put it simply, Taiwan players need to be connected with the latest developments in cloud computing technologies and need help to deploy smart applications. Microsoft's IoT Innovation Center in Taiwan is able to provide core technologies and services covering cloud computing, big data analysis and deep learning areas.Currently, Taiwan IT players including OEMs, ODMs, embedded device players, system integrators, independent software designers, startups and R&D institutions, have all expanded their cooperation with Microsoft to build open IoT platforms and application solutions, noted Yeh, while adding that her observation showed that Taiwan's IT players have been aggressively investing in IoT technology development in the past two years. But players are having a hard time controlling the pace of product development and lack knowledge of the end user experience and market familiarity. As a result, they have seen a practical return far weaker than expected. These players are already used to the strong performance and growth generated by the large-volume OEM/ODM business model, which has created a mindset that is not willing to accept of the new business model required for success in the IoT area, resulting in weak returns for their IoT business and raising concerns throughout the local industry.Service-oriented design model to become road to successAmong Taiwan's IT players, industrial PC (IPC) makers are participants that had performed rather well under the wave of IoT industry development as they are used to focusing on small volume production, but the variety of design has always been the business model for the IPC industry. However, to avoid fierce competition from hurting their high margin advantage, IPC makers need to have support from Microsoft when it comes to software. Using Microsoft's advantages in cloud computing for smoothly connecting various devices, especially when it comes to the large-volume of terminal device, IPC makers will be able to place their cloud computing management system at any of Microsoft's cloud computing centers worldwide to satisfy their needs over regional integration and overseas lineup planning, allowing their products to be sold worldwide.It does not matter if it is an Industrial IoT or automotive-use IoT application, through Microsoft's cloud computing and smart services - integrated with big data analysis such as data buildup - IPC makers have been establishing their own vertical-integrated IoT platforms, which are solution-based platforms tailored to their own unique architecture. After adding more value-added service modules into the platform, they can quickly create services that satisfy all kind of requests from clients. The software-hardware-integrated solution will be able to produce even more new sales services in the future with a business model that combines hardware bundled with software, and this not only will become a product chain with unique value, it also makes it difficult for competitors of IPC makers to copy their success, thus increasing their core competitiveness.Yeh further pointed out that IPC makers are developing IoT product packages to provide a service-oriented design model based on cloud computing management combined with terminal devices, but assisted by the diversification and customization of value-added services. This will ensure the profitability of the solution and is a demonstration of a successful business model for Taiwan's ICT industry.As for Taiwan's small-to-medium-size enterprises, Microsoft has adopted another business method. Since these enterprises may not even have the most basic automation but still have an urgent need to transform due to increasing labor costs, most of them have then adopted smart manufacturing business model. To help these enterprises quickly enter into the IoT application sector, Microsoft has integrated partners from areas including smart machinery, ERP vendors, the IoT ecosystem and industry consultants, to create an alternative version of its service-oriented design model and product packaging. The same business model can also be extended to applications such as smart shopping marts.Microsoft hosting IoT Expo, building a bridge connecting application technology and worldwide market expansionYeh noted that Microsoft's establishment of the IoT Innovation Center in Taiwan in 2016 was not only meant to encourage the ecosystem to make IoT devices that are certified by Microsoft, but also looking to participate more aggressively in integrating the ecosystem, helping connect enterprises and creating business opportunities.On October 13 and 14, at Taipei's Hua Nan Commercial Bank Corporate Plaza's International conference hall on the second floor, Microsoft will host the Microsoft IoT Expo 2016 in Taiwan, inviting its IoT partners from different countries and regions to visit Taiwan.Using the opportunity of the Expo and through sharing and demonstration of new technologies in practical applications, Microsoft is hoping to bring Taiwan's ecosystem in touch with viewpoints from other markets and realize the business opportunities from the worldwide market for fields including smart city, smart manufacturing, smart retailing and smart life (family and medical).MIT x Microsoft x Institute for Information Industry driving infinite possibility when cognitive technology meets Smart CitiesIn this Expo event, Taiwan's Institute for Information Industry has co-developed with MIT Media Lab to demonstrate the application of persuasive electric vehicle (PEV), a future personal transportation vehicle designed using Microsoft's artificial intelligence-related technologies. With its advanced innovative service design and application, Microsoft's cognitive services and different application programing interfaces (APIs) to provide the system with computer vision, emotion, face detection and video processing standards, the PEV is able to process the smart personnel transportation application in a populated metropolis area. Since the project has been benefited from Taiwan's strong manufacturing advantage, even the key member of PEV projects Mr. Michael Lin is also a Taiwanese Ph.D. student at the MIT Media Lab, it is a successful example of Taiwan IT players' entry into the smart transportation field to strife for future transportation vehicle business opportunities.While Taiwan is aggressively seeking a land of theirs in applications such as car-use IoT, smart transportation or smart city, the example of PEV combining with Microsoft's technologies will provide the country an even wider future and infinite possibilities.The innovations we see from the IoT application are like IoT pioneer Kevin Ashton's book in 2015 said that are not relaying on the arrival of the Eureka moments. Creating innovations has no shortcut and what it needs is the repeated process of finding problems and solving the problems. Taiwan's ICT players during the process of creating IoT innovations need to find the road of success by adopting an angle of "learn while in the process" and if they wish to observer how international technology giants' interactions with industries and how they establish technology and business bridge, they are welcome to visit The Microsoft IoT Expo 2016 hosted by Microsoft IoT Innovation Center in Taiwan.Hector Garcia Tellado, Microsoft senior program manager, describes the IoT certification program for Taiwan partners.The brand new office of the Microsoft IoT Innovation Center is located in the Taiwan Cathay Landmark Tower. With several research labs established, Microsoft is speeding up Taiwan's IoT development.

With the hot topics of Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), intelligent automation and so forth emerging into the market, factory machines and equipment will become connected to upload field data to back-end servers or cloud networks. Network factors such as network architecture, network backbone and machine connectivity will require meticulous management.Network connectivity of industrial equipment and devices is a vital element of Industry 4.0. If the connection fails, all data communication from field devices to back-end servers and cloud networks will be halted, disrupting the operation of Industry 4.0. Although network connectivity is crucial and requires strict management, it is not always clear on whether it should be managed by information technology (IT) or operational technology (OT) personnel.Normally, staffs from the management information system (MIS) department are the ones most proficient in data communication technology throughout an enterprise, and are usually given the role of managing the networking of industrial devices and equipment. However, MIS staffs in the past have mostly worked with network switches, wireless access points, virtual private network (VPN) configuration, firewall devices and so forth. To venture into the new realm of field device management as well as effectively manage both networking and industrial field devices to maintain optimal operation and connection present a great barrier for MIS staffs to overcome.Field Devices Require Monitoring Also, Not Just the Network DevicesYC Cheng, Assistant Vice President of NEXCOM's IoT Automation Solutions Business Group, states that although managing industrial devices will bring great challenges to MIS, it should not be overlooked. Rather, the "Network Management" aspect of MIS should be integrated with industrial elements, transforming it into "Network & Device Management" to take on the challenges with full force. For example, control systems today are gradually adopting PC-based control architecture, and the key to stable operation of these controllers lies in reliable control system hardware. A constant attention to the usage of the processor, memory and hard drive in detail is required to ensure ongoing operation and connectivity, showing that field device monitoring is of equal importance to network management.Cheng points out that field device communication not only involves a wide range of different protocol standards, but also a wide range of custom-developed vendor-specific protocols. For MIS staffs who are unfamiliar with such protocols, a unified management platform that consolidates all the protocol data and depicts the information in an intuitive diagram with easy-to-understand language can assist MIS in the management of the network and devices.With this in mind, NEXCOM has released the I4.0 network management tool "nCare Node and Network Health Management Solution". nCare includes a number of key features to facilitate management. First, nCare offers a visualized display of the network topology to give MIS a clear view of the entire network and the connection paths of all the devices. To make administration easier, nCare also integrates map services to show the geographic location of each device. Under normal conditions, the network and device connection links in the visual diagram will be displayed in green. In events of abnormal conditions such as connection retries or connection failure, yellow or red will be displayed respectively to allow MIS quickly identify the root cause of the error and take appropriate corrective measures.Improved MIS through Visual Topology & Active NotificationsCheng further adds that the visual topology can also aid the MIS in overseeing the number of production equipment added to or removed from the field. When used in conjunction with whitelist security, any connection from unknown devices such as unauthorized wireless access points can be detected and blocked immediately.Second, nCare can help MIS detect and monitor the health status of field devices. To enhance the detection capacity, nCare features built-in support for Modbus TCP/RTU communication, Windows Management Instrumentation and even NEXCOM's exclusive Xcare management software. In addition, for field devices that use vendor proprietary protocols such as automatic guided vehicles (AGV), nCare can be customized to support them by translating the protocols into Modbus format, integrating seamlessly into the nCare network management mechanism.Third, nCare includes a built-in active notification system. Managers can configure notification events to be sent through email or instant messages in real-time, notifying the situation to ensure appropriate measures can be taken accordingly based on the severity of the event. In other words, MIS staffs can monitor the status of the network and field devices in real-time and at anytime on mobile devices, easily fulfilling the predictive maintenance concept envisioned by Industry 4.0.Another noteworthy feature that nCare includes is the "time-reversal backtracking" mechanism. This feature is designed to help MIS staffs locate the exact detail of a particular event in log files for troubleshooting. Compared to finding a needle in a haystack like in the past for traditional log file search, nCare's time-reversal backtracking significantly improves troubleshooting efficiency.In addition, nCare provides regular reports to help enterprises identify the availability rate of field devices; it also provides enterprises the ability to configure network and field device settings, as well as the encryption settings for each wireless access points to ensure added security. Besides supporting NEXCOM devices, nCare also provides management support for SNMP-compatible devices from other vendors to guarantee a secure investment for customers.Health monitoring and network connectivity of industrial equipment and devices are two vital elements of Industry 4.0 and require constant management.

Broadband World Forum 2016 - Metanoia Communications (Metanoia), a leading developer of very high speed xDSL PHY chipsets for the wireline broadband market, announces today that they have achieved interoperability (IOP) between its G.fast solution and the G.fast solution used in Swisscom's DPUs.As with most of the broadband technologies, IOP starts at the chipset level, and for Metanoia, like for other chipset vendors. Reaching full IOP with our G.fast chip has been critical to us as a company, as it is also to System companies and Operators. Operators see IOP as a corner stone to their network deployment, and they are eager to deploy equipment, like G.fast Distribution Point Units (DPUs) and Gateway/SFPs using different chipsets, and to be able to operate together on their Network."Thanks to an G.fast SFP module developed by Metanoia and Huawei, we will be able to upgrade our Internet-Box plus or standard router in the field to G.fast. It is a key element of our current deployment strategy, that our customers can benefit quickly and easily of the new high speeds possible of the G.fast technology on copper networks using our existing routers." said Nicolas STEFANI, Router development expert at Swisscom.Metanoia G.fast technology is based on its new single device, the MT-G5321, which can be embedded into an SFP unit and plug into any existing or future Home Gateways, which has an SFP cage. Form factor, Low power, below 2W as per MSA requirement at 85oC, when combined with Performances make it the right technology specifically for an SFP solution.Metanoia's CEO, CT WU added, "IOP is important to Metanoia, and reason we have been putting significant efforts into it. Bringing the first interoperable G.fast SFP to the market that can be used with deployed Gateways is beneficial to Operators and achieving full IOP with Broadcom allows Operators to benefit from that effort".Metanoia will participate in the 16th Annual Broadband World Forum 2016 (BBWF 2016) in London, UK. Metanoia will be demonstrating its latest G.fast solution, including its SFP, in a real network environment as well as the world's smallest VDSL2 SFP. Please come to visit us at the BBWF 2016 (Booth E12) and on the IOP Pavilion.Broadband World Forum 2016Date : 18~20, Oct., 2016Place : Excel Convention Centre, London, UK.Metanoia's pure PHY chipset series can be applied for various types of CPE design.Photo: CompanyAbout Metanoia Communications Inc.Metanoia Communications ("Metanoia"), a subsidiary of Elan Microelectonics, was established in Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan. Since its inception, Metanoia is contributing to develop semiconductor and software solutions to the Wireline Broadband and the in-home networking markets, delivering to broadband manufacturers very high-speed PHY devices with reliable and superior performances. For more information about Metanoia, please visit our website at http://www.metanoia-comm.com/ .

Heraeus Photovoltaics, the worldwide leading supplier of metallization solutions to the PV industry, announced the introduction of a new generation of high efficiency silver front-side metallization paste at the PV Taiwan International Photovoltaic Exhibition.The new Heraeus SOL9641A series front-side silver paste raises the conversion efficiency of solar cells by 0.1%. It shows superior adhesion for PERC cell and is compatible for both multi and mono crystalline wafers. The excellent adhesion of SOL9641A allows customers to optimize their busbar design for better electrical performance and cost reduction, especially on black-silicon texturings.Its ultra-fine line screen printing capabilities make the 9641A perfectly suitable for the latest screen technology with narrower finger opening, high mesh and thinner wire as well as for knot-free screens. The SOL9641A incorporates an innovative organic system which enhances printability in high-through-put mass production with improved finger geometry. Such benefits have been testified by customers with better efficiency and higher production yield. An additional key feature of the 9641 is the wide processing window of 50°C with an optimal firing window toward lower temperature range, which is beneficial for PERC-solar cells.Weiming Zhang, Chief Technology Officer of Heraeus Photovoltaics, noted the newest silver paste innovation is a testament to the company's global R&D network. He said, "With photovoltaics scientists and engineers working with customers across Taiwan, China, Singapore and the United States, our research and development is literally a 24-hour a day effort. That type of continuous and non-stop collaboration from our global team is one of the main reasons we can get new innovations like the SOL9641A series to market so quickly."The launch of 9641 product marks another milestone by Heraeus to help solar energy companies improve the performance of photovoltaic technology while addressing costs. The company, at the recent SNEC Show earlier this year, publicly stated its belief that renewable energy production costs have the potential to drop as much as 50% every five years, which will help accelerate adoption of solar and other environmentally-friendly energy sources.Andreas Liebheit, the President Heraeus Photovoltaics, expressed his continued belief that Taiwan remains a critical market force for solar energy development and will play an important role when the market comes back into an upswing mode. "The PV markets across the Taiwan straits are strongly interlinked across the Asia-Pacific region. Taiwan companies have established R&D and production sites in mainland China, so it makes strong strategic sense for Heraeus to have a strong presence in both regions. It allows us to simultaneously work with cell and module manufacturers in both markets to help them deliver even higher-performing cell technologies."About the Heraeus Photovoltaics Global Business UnitThe Heraeus Photovoltaics Global Business Unit is an industry leading developer and manufacturer of silver metallization pastes for the photovoltaic industry. For over 40 years, Heraeus has built a reputation of innovation, extensive research and new product development in thick film technologies for some of the most prominent companies within a variety of industries. In the field of photovoltaics, the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit applies this history and its innovative technology to offer metallization pastes for solar cell applications. The Heraeus SOL Series of silver pastes is specially formulated to provide higher efficiencies and wider processing windows, resulting in better yields and higher output for cell manufacturers.About the Heraeus GroupHeraeus, the technology group headquartered in Hanau, Germany, is a leading international family-owned company formed in 1851. We create high-value solutions for our customers, strengthening their competitiveness for the long term. Our activities focus on a number of markets: chemical and metals, energy and the environment, communications and electronics, health, mobility, and industrial applications. In fiscal year 2013, Heraeus achieved product revenue of 3.6 billion euros and precious metals trading revenue of 13.5 billion euros. With some 12,500 employees in over 110 subsidiaries worldwide, Heraeus holds a leading position in its global markets.