SK Hynix Inc. (or "the company") announced today that it developed PCB01, an SSD product with the industry's best specifications, for on-device AI* PCs.Readers can visit SK Hynix at www.skhynix.com.*On-device AI: a technology that implements AI functions on the device itself, instead of going through computation by a physically separated server. A smartphone's direct collection and computation of information allows fast reactions of the AI performance while promising an improved customized AI service.The product marks the first case where the industry adopts the fifth generation of the 8-channel** PCIe*** technology and brings innovation to performance including the data processing speed.**Channel: a route for the input/output of data between a NAND flash and a controller on the SSD. An increase in the number of channels leads to the advancement of the PCIe to the next generations and an improvement in the data processing speed. A 4-channel SSD is typically adopted for conventional PCs, while an 8-channel SSD is for high-performance PCs.***Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCle): a serial-structured, high-speed input/output interface used on the motherboard of digital devicesThe company expects the latest advancement in the NAND solution space to add to its success stories in the high-performance DRAM area led by HBM, enhancing its leadership in the overall AI memory space.With a validation process with a global PC customer underway, SK Hynix plans to mass produce and start shipping the products to corporate customers and general consumers this year.PCB01 comes with the capabilities of sequential read and write speeds of 14GB and 12GB per second, respectively, bringing the performance of an SSD to a level unseen before. The speeds allow the operation of a large language model****, or LLM, for AI training and inference, in a second.****Large language model (LLM): a language model trained on vast amounts of data, which is essential for the performance of generative AI tasks such as creating, summarizing, and translating textsThe product also comes with an improvement in power efficiency of more than 30% compared with the previous generation, enhancing the stability of large-scale AI computing tasks.SK Hynix also adopted the SLC***** caching for the production of PCB01. With the adoption of the technology that places the single-level cell, or SLC, in some parts of the NAND cell to accelerate performance, a PC user can experience a faster performance for both AI services and conventional computing.*****Single-level cell (SLC): a type of memory cell used in NAND flash that stores one bit of data in a single cell. As the amount of data stored increases, the memory cell becomes a multi-level cell (MLC), a triple-level cell (TLC), and a quad-level cell (QLC). An increase in data storage means more data can be stored in the same area, but the speed and stability decrease. An SLC enables faster processing of selected data.The product is also equipped with the capability aimed at protecting personal data. SK Hynix engineers built the root of trust, or ROT******, a security solution, in the PCB01 to prevent external cybersecurity attacks and forging and falsification of information, while protecting a user's password.******Root of Trust (RoT): an area of the hardware that can always be trusted in terms of security, while enabling the prevention of forging and falsification of informationThe company plans to launch PCB01 in three capacities – 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB.Ahn Hyun, Head of the N-S Committee at SK Hynix, said numerous global providers of CPUs for on-device AI PCs are requesting collaboration for the compatibility validation process. "We will work towards enhancing our leadership as the global top AI memory provider also in the NAND solution space by successfully completing the customer validation and mass production of PCB01, which will be in the limelight."SK Hynix develops PCB01

The use of the latest technologies not only offers a more immersive experience but also improves the overall quality of gameplay.Augmented Reality (AR) is used to overlay digital elements onto the real world. You can add different virtual elements to your surroundings.On the other hand, Virtual Reality offers a fully immersive experience in the digital environment. While using VR, you will be disconnecting from the real world. The latest games use a mix of both technologies.Playing VR games might also require you to invest in additional hardware. Only limited games are available with VR and AR support, but the growing demand for these technologies indicates bright opportunities for the gaming industry.Impact of VR and AR on the Gaming SectorThe entertainment industry seems to be the biggest user of these technologies, but other sectors are also benefiting a lot from these latest technologies. From real estate agents to hardware developers, everyone is using the latest technologies in different ways. When it comes to gaming, consumers expect more immersive gameplay and better-quality visuals. Here are some major impacts of these technologies in different niches of the gaming industry.Immersive GameplayGames are not just about shooting and running because there is a completely imaginary world in these days. Players spend hours making progress in these games, and developers need to have essential tech in place to keep them engaged.With VR headsets, users can enjoy a 360-degree view of the surroundings. Many games benefit from this feature as players need to be aware of their surroundings in the games. There are even motion controllers installed for these games that will take you to the digital realm.Pokemon Go is the biggest example of the successful integration of AR in the gaming world. While playing games based on AR, you will be interacting with the physical world via smartphone, but there will be different elements added to the environment with AR.Some casino games even use VR and AR technologies. Players will enjoy the same gambling experience as playing at a physical casino. Without spending much on new devices, gamblers still play free slot machine games at online casinos to experience the platform. Once you are done with the basic games, you can search for better and more entertaining options like VR and AR games.Enhanced Gameplay MechanicsOld games offered only limited controls where you could control the player's movement with a joystick and buttons only. With new games, new technologies and sensors allow players to use their body movements for the games.For example, if you are playing an action-adventure game, you will have to move your body in real-time to avoid the sword attack in the game. You will have to move your legs in the real world to move in the game.Traditional games can add new layers of creative elements and features with AR technology. Monster Hunter Now and Pokemon Go are quite popular games. You will be able to play games, move physically, and interact with virtual elements via your smartphone. Playing AR games does not require additional hardware because the camera of your smartphone is used to display different elements in the surroundings.Improved Social InteractionMost games are based on multiplayer gameplay features, and there are different platforms where users of the same game can interact in a virtual environment. Their avatars will be in the same room or space, and players behind these characters will be able to communicate with each other. Chat options and other means of communication don't offer that kind of smooth experience as VR spaces.As players will be interacting in real time via their smartphones, different players can also team up and play games together. They usually gather at a common place and then play in groups to make faster progress in the game.Innovative Game DesignTraditional gaming technologies have been entertaining the industry for ages. However, certain design limitations restrict the potential of the gameplay.With VR and AR, developers can add different innovative game elements to improve the creativity of the game. Players can climb mountains, run, and walk in the game by performing real-like actions and movements in real life. Their movements in real life direct and control the movement of the avatar in the game.More ways to interact with the game characters and surroundings increase the growth opportunities. Location-based games are the perfect example of the use of AR in the gaming world. Instead of limiting the design approach, developers take inspiration from real-world surroundings, and they keep adding new and innovative game design elements.The potential of AR and VR TechnologiesThe entertainment industry, including online casinos, video games, and the film industry, is using the latest visual technologies to improve production quality. The use of machine learning and artificial intelligence will open doors to new opportunities in the gaming world.Modern consumers want customized services and products in every aspect of life. The latest technologies and tools ensure easy personalization of different aspects of the game.With more realistic gameplay, users will be able to gain better control over the game dynamics and enjoy better flexibility in the games. The overall adaption of these technologies will take a few years, but the interest of tech giants shows that consumers can expect some major developments in the industry soon.ConclusionGames are not just a hobby or entertainment; people use these activities for personal and professional reasons, too. Streamers make their living by playing games online and then streaming to the interested audience.On the other hand, millions of users find peace and escape from reality in these games. So, the level of impact of gaming on our daily lives demands the swift implementation of the latest technologies in the industry. You will find VR and AR games easily available on almost every online gaming platform.

NewPower Worldwide, a leader in the distribution of electronic components and finished goods, has proudly announced its latest achievement as being named the #1 Independent Distributor in North America by Electronics Sourcing and the #10 Global Distributor awarded by Supply Chain Connect's Top 50 rankings.This year's rise to #1 completes a meteoric ascension to the top of the world's distribution charts. With 14 offices worldwide, NewPower is positioned to provide its customers with 24/7 world-class service. The company's proprietary cloud-based sourcing technology, EMPOWER, has been instrumental in this success, providing customers with real-time access to an extensive inventory of electronic components."Our climb in the rankings is a direct result of our team's innovative spirit and dedication to providing cutting-edge supply chain solutions. As the market evolves, we'll remain deeply committed to enhancing the efficiency of our customer's supply chains," said Carleton Dufoe, Chief Executive Officer.As an industry expert in sourcing, procurement, and redistribution of electronic components and peripherals, NewPower Worldwide has consistently been recognized for its performance, appearing at the top of highly competitive and rigorous annual reports for seven consecutive years.The company's achievements reflect its technological advancements and financial strength, as well as its customer-first mentality, which has been crucial in driving impactful results for its clients.For more information, visit www.newpowerww.com for a complete list of supply chain services or email solutions@newpowerww.com for immediate assistance.

As a business person, you don't want a situation where your stock level either exceeds or is way less than the customer demand.The merchandising process should be optimized in such a way that the available stock meets consumer demands without excess or deficiencies. This is where inventory control comes in – it allows you to track stock levels while keeping an eye on customer demand, ensuring optimal business performance.When you're able to meet this demand optimally, you avoid chances of over or understocking, theft and damage, and so much more. As technology has evolved, it's become even easier to keep track of your stock levels amid varying customer demands.A manufacturing inventory software, for example, can allow you to manage your stock more accurately, especially because it offers real-time data that makes the process even more efficient. Regardless of your business size – whether large or small – the importance of inventory control can never be overstated. Read on to gather more insights.Reducing Overstock and Understock: Balancing Supply and DemandAs you've already read in the introduction, inventory control is a great way to avoid over or understocking. When done right, this mechanism can save a company up to 10% of inventory costs.When there's too much inventory, you can end up restricting your business' capital and miss out on opportunities for growth and expansion. Walmart, for example, lost a chance of making $3 billion worth of sales in 2014 due to stockouts that arose from insufficient inventory control measures.Inventory control has an integral part, supply chain management (SCM), which ensures a proper flow of inventory to the point where the organization or buyers consume the products. As a report by ADS suggested, 79% of companies that establish efficient SCMs often experience more-than-average revenue growth within their industrial sectors. Inventory control can help to improve your profits while enhancing customer satisfaction.If you are looking to improve the accuracy of your record levels, then inventory control is the way to go. Actually for retail businesses, inventory is only accurate for up to 63% of the time.With better control, you can always be sure that customers are receiving high-quality products – which is a plus. Zonka Feedback demonstrated that 69% of customers who find satisfactory products tend to shop more consistently.Ensuring that customers can find their needed products any time they want them can greatly add to your sustainability. Stockouts are to be avoided as research has indicated that convenience stores could lose one in 100 customers completely due to such experiences. Plus, up to 55% of customers are not willing to shop for an alternative product if their regular item is out of supply.Minimizing Waste with Precise Inventory ControlEspecially during instances where you overstock or hoard large amounts of products, a good percentage of these items might go unsold or out of date. As a result, the environment has to deal with the pressures of dumping, resource depletion, carbon emissions, and so on.If companies can handle and manage their inventory properly, it eliminates the need to construct sizable warehouses to store excess products. Mark you; these warehouses contribute to the overall carbon footprint of buildings as they consume large amounts of energy.Just recently, in early 2024, DAA Capital Partners did a write-up that showed that warehouses accounted for 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. To add on the emissions from the warehouses, you'll also have to deal with the discharges from the transport sector – moving the surplus inventory occasioned by overstocking increases the distance traveled and, thus, the carbon released.These parts of the many side effects of overstocking suggest the critical importance of implementing precise inventory control. The Just-in-Time (JIT) method, for example, ensures no excesses as goods are only received in production when needed.With ABC analysis, you can partition the inventory into three categories depending on their importance and volume. Other methods like First In, First Out (FIFO) and Last In, First Out (LIFO) streamline operations by managing the valuation of stock.Best Practices for Implementing Precise Inventory ControlFor those who are wondering about how to get started, these practices will help you to develop an effective system:*Ensure you have an organized floor plan: You can achieve this by using proper labels and signage and placing the most popular items closer to the shipping area. A labeling software can come in handy when you need to print the tags. Plus, you can consider other tools like RFID systems to help you in real-time control.*Take advantage of cycle counting: This can help you identify inaccuracies quickly since you count items in small sections rather than counting them all at once.*Implement warehouse management systems: In a world where so many factors affect customer demand, nothing beats the power of real-time tracking. Plus, with these management systems, the chances of human error are minimal.Undoubtedly, businesses that ensure their stock levels align with customer demands without compromising satisfaction have a great opportunity to improve their competitiveness. This is so because customers are always assured of finding their regular products. As more consumers are becoming environmentally conscious, precise inventory control ensures that you can improve your appeal to such shoppers.

AI PCs were undoubtedly the hottest topic at Computex 2024. Various PC manufacturers showcased related solutions, and major processor players like AMD, Intel, and Arm emphasized the importance of AI PC applications.As one of the earliest companies to implement AI functions on PCs, Synaptics brought even more advanced solutions with Edge AI technologies to the event this year. Their latest innovations build upon its three technology pillars: sensing, processing, and connecting."At the demos you saw, even for things like a PC touchpad, there are techniques such as accidental contact mitigation (ACM), which uses AI algorithms," said Satish Ganesan, Synaptics' SVP & GM of Intelligent Sensing Division and Chief Strategy Officer. "Our goal is to infuse more and more AI features into PCs, smartphones, and automotive at the sensing edge where the user interacts with the device.""The other side is our processing solutions with our newly announced Astra family of processors, where we are uniquely positioned. We are building processors that go after markets wherever computer vision, voice, or any form of edge AI is required, like in smart home, industrial automation, and so on," he added. "Some of the same elements are then used in the PC space where you saw user presence detection techniques which implements vision AI algorithms to enhance overall user experience."In a demo at Computex 2024, Synaptics showed how the intelligent sensing solution with its new Edge AI chip enhances the PC user's experience. The demo focused on practical, everyday use cases in office environments. Features include Human Presence Detection (HPD), head pose tracking, and gesture control, which allow for automatic adjustments such as waking up the computer, locking it, and managing battery and privacy settings.For instance, users can mute their microphone or switch focus between monitors effortlessly using gestures. Integration of vision AI algorithms and PC cameras provides seamless interaction, ensures user privacy and security, saves power, and improves overall productivity by recognizing user identity and preferences, thus illustrating the real-world benefits of AI-enhanced PCs beyond just technological advancements.Ganesan emphasized that many talks about AI PCs from major companies at Computex 2024 focused on the computational power of processors, but "We're not going to compete with those main processors, we're not doing LLM processing or things like that, our value proposition will be in other areas, where we provide chipsets in the touchpad, fingerprint and so on. Of course, we're doing it on Astra for other markets as the main processor."Synaptics Astra was launched at Embedded World with the debut of the SL-Series, a new family of edge AI processors described as "AI-native SoCs" capable of running the Linux and Android OS. The series uses Arm Cortex-A cores, scales from 2 to 8 TOPS performance, and targets multi-modal consumer, enterprise, and industrial IoT workloads. The upcoming SR-Series MCUs with tiered inferencing were also demonstrated. Together with the SL-Series, the MCUs make context-aware computing a reality across the smart home, the factory floor, and at work.According to Synaptics, the SL-Series and SR-Series of Astra SoCs deliver a unified experience combining standards-based open software frameworks, rapid prototyping kits, full-featured AI/ML toolkits, and Synaptics' Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity solutions. The SL-Series is also supported by the Astra Machina Foundation Series development kit, which allows easy and rapid prototyping.Beyond hardware, Synaptics' solutions emphasize optimizing AI algorithms to operate efficiently at the edge, "So we can work with a smaller memory footprint and lower speed processors," Ganesan mentioned. "Right now, the take rate of AI PCs is still pretty small, but I think it is going to be pretty explosive. We focused on AI early, and the biggest thing in AI is about basically the software and the framework." Synaptics' AI software accepts commonly used input frameworks such as TensorFlow, TFLite, TLFM, ONNX, CAFFE, and PyTorch.For clients with varying levels of AI expertise, the company can provide comprehensive support, including the compiler, tools, and resources like predefined models and libraries for different use cases, such as vision and audio. "That is where we will differentiate in the market," said Ganesan. "Most companies only focus on hardware or software; we are the only ones who deliver an end-to-end solution. That would help our customers bring products to market faster because they don't need to learn from scratch. we have done all the learning for them."Advances in Docking, Enterprise Headsets, and Fingerprint SensorsBeyond the intelligent sensing technology applications for PCs' HPD functions mentioned above, Synaptics also showcased a range of other solutions at Computex 2024, including Docking Station Solutions supporting the latest DisplayPort (DP) 2.0 standard and with the ability to add virtual displays and enhanced user guides for troubleshooting. Low-latency wireless video was also shown, along with audio solutions that enable ultra-low-power Enterprise Headsets that support simultaneous audio streaming with BT Classic, BLE, DECT, and USB-connected devices.Regarding the touchpad and fingerprint solutions for PCs, the fingerprint market is shifting away from traditional palm rest placement towards integration on the keyboard. This change offers a more streamlined and reliable integration.The touchpad sector is witnessing a significant increase in size to match larger screens, emphasizing the importance of advanced palm rejection technology. Synaptics AI-based algorithm can improve palm rejection, addressing common complaints about accidental cursor movements during typing. The algorithm enhances accuracy when distinguishing between fingers and palms, especially at the touchpad edges.Additionally, the integration of Zoom and Teams functions directly into the touchpad was introduced. This allows users to control mute and video settings without moving the cursor, thus simplifying the user experience during online meetings.This customization provides flexibility based on OEM preferences. And, the haptic force touchpad is poised to become dominant in flagship PCs, offering a larger touch area and integrating touch and force using a single chip. This technology allows clicks anywhere on the pad and provides a consistent tactile response, enhancing user experience. The development of piezo technology, combining thin piezo disks with touch sensors, promises even more precise and localized haptic feedback, potentially simulating different textures and offering advanced notification patterns.Taiwan's Pivotal RoleDue to the boom in AI PCs, this year's Computex gathered numerous top executives from major companies and garnered worldwide attention. Ganesan also acknowledged Taiwan's pivotal role in the global PC market and ecosystem, "Taiwan is a big center for PCs, almost all the PC makers and ODMs are here. We're going to see a lot of developments here focused on AI PCs and things like that. It plays a very important role in the hardware ecosystem that supplies worldwide. That is why Taiwan is one of Synaptics' biggest R&D centers."Although the local team is already significant, as the market for AI PCs and other Edge AI applications grows, Ganesan did not rule out the possibility of further expansion, with more investment and the recruitment of more local talent. Synaptics plans to enhance its support and infrastructure in Taiwan, leveraging the country's central role in both implementation and innovation.In a demo at Computex 2024, Synaptics showed how the intelligent sensing solution with its new Edge AI chip enhances the PC user's experience.

Synopsys Users Group (SNUG) Taiwan 2024 demonstrated the state-of-the-art EDA innovations and Artificial intelligence (AI) driven solutions for the chip design community.With the theme of "Our Technology, Your Innovation," this annual event took place on June 19, 2024, and showed how Synopsys uses its advanced technology to help customers forge success with innovation. Joachim Kunkel, Synopsys General Manager of Solutions Group, delivered a keynote titled "Powering Innovation in the Era of Pervasive Intelligence."Kunkel said, "AI technology has brought unprecedented new opportunities to the industry. All of this will drive an explosion of intelligent systems and smart applications. But this is also pushing the limits of computing and energy resources. Synopsys' solutions will support customers to cope with these challenges."The Pervasive Intelligence era is comingSynopsys highlights three key paradigms driving the era of Pervasive Intelligence. That is the rapid advancement of AI, silicon proliferation, and software-defined systems.These days, more electronic products are now driven by sophisticated software. The rapid acceleration of AI technology is empowered and embedded in various smart devices and systems.A huge number of AI chips will be required to achieve these benefits. These efforts will increase the proliferation of silicon, which is powering AI acceleration, bringing it to multiple applications controlled by sophisticated software. This will lead to the burst of Software-Defined Systems.Together, these three paradigms are shaping the new era of pervasive intelligence, where AI and smart technologies are seamlessly integrated into our daily lives. Whether it is PCs, smartphones, autonomous driving cars, or industrial automation systems and robots, behind these systems are the technological foundations of AI chips and integrated software that will help us find better ways of doing things to achieve better outcomes. All these efforts support the exponential growth of the semiconductor industry.However, three key challenges immediately arise including silicon complexity, productivity, and software-defined system capabilities. To respond to these challenges, Synopsys provides solutions ranging from New AI-driven EDA tools, IP offerings and Systems Design Solutions.AI across the entire EDA flow from Synopsys.ai to Synopsys.ai CopilotSolving the silicon complexity challenge, the engineering team is dealing with projects such as trillion transistor counts in a single chip. Considering performance, Power Performance and Area (PPA) improvements, Synopsys provides the AI-driven EDA suite Synopsys.ai for a chip design spanning implementation, verification, testing, and simulation to manufacturing processes.These autonomous AI-driven full-stack EDA suite launched in 2020 and has achieved hundreds of successful tape-outs that supported customers' gaining project goals. In 2022, Synopsys also implemented a set of AI-driven data analytics solutions that allow insightful analysis of the vast amount of data collected on the customer side and released the Synopsys.da product line.In addition, with the introduction of Synopsys.ai Copilot, Synopsys is harnessing the power of generative AI to help design teams with new levels of productivity. Integrated into the full Synopsys EDA stack, Synopsys.ai Copilot allows design engineering teams to be more flexible in the use of customized data sets and facilitates internal deployment of physical isolation to meet data security requirements.The integration of generative AI capabilities is just the latest step in the journey to drive greater productivity for solving silicon complexity challenges. These AI-assisted tools will continue to evolve, and new tools will bring continuous design creativity.Synopsys Expands Silicon IP Portfolio to help customers to drive productivityIn addition to providing full stack of AI-driven EDA solutions, Synopsys further reduces customers' chip design burden through the offering of silicon intellectual property (IP). Synopsys is a leading provider of silicon-proven semiconductor IP solutions for SoC designs and partners with customers and collaborators to enhance their next-generation designs, incorporating new features to reduce the complexity of large-scale chip design.It is worth mentioning that Synopsys continues to expand its IP product portfolio with a design team of 2,000 engineers. After 2020, the offerings further expand to use subsystems as an extension of IP products to help customers' AI chip projects enhance the standard architecture for their next-generation designs, incorporating new features now available with the latest specifications, which will further shorten the design process.As part of its efforts to drive mainstream adoption of multi-die design, Synopsys has successfully demonstrated the first silicon-proven UCIe-connected and a result of collaboration between Synopsys and its foundry partners. UCIe's high-speed data transmission features will continue to assist in the design of multi-die systems in the future.This is an important foundation for High-Performance Computing (HPC) and AI chips that require large amounts of data transmission and processing capabilities. Synopsys helps customers to stay competitive in a market where new standard developments are already being adopted.The development of 2.5D, 3D, and even 3.5D multi-die heterogeneous integrated chips will continue to evolve. Moreover, a broad IP portfolio, an end-to-end, AI-driven EDA platform, and the most advanced multi-die solutions will boost the development and enable the march to trillions of transistors IC innovation.Digital twins of electronic devices enhance software-defined systems prototypingWith software-defined systems, taking the example of the modern car with its 500 million lines of code, in which operations and enablement of new features are primarily managed through software, verification, and validation of these systems are dominating the cost of product development. For these products, digital twins enable a dramatic reduction in cost and design risks.In response to the design requirements of software-defined systems, software simulation, and verification have become important requirements. For faster, higher capacity emulation and prototyping, Synopsys provides system-level design and simulation tools to verify the real software execution to ensure the correct operation and use of software-defined systems.The HAPS-100 12 virtual prototyping solution is targeting high-capacity FPGA-based prototyping with a mix of fixed and flexible interconnects and a rack-friendly design, particularly useful for prototyping big designs that require many FPGAs, such as multi-die systems and large SoCs.Meanwhile, the ZeBu EP2 hardware simulation system is the latest version in the Synopsys ZeBu EP family of unified emulation and prototyping systems with the fastest emulation and prototyping platform for AI workloads, making it ideal for software bring-up, hardware validation, and power performance analysis. Both systems can help customers reduce design risks and provide automotive engineering teams with digital twin applications of vehicle electronic systems to facilitate automotive software and ensure that increasingly complex semiconductor designs and high-function software systems can be integrated and operated smoothly as expected.Kunkel pointed out that AI-driven EDA tools are developing rapidly to assist engineers in solving problems. By automating tedious repetitive tasks and optimizing design process flow, AI can free up the mental bandwidth of design engineers for the creative work that drives growth.His advice to engineers is: By continually analyzing data and learning optimal approaches through AI-driven EDA solutions, engineers still need to go back to the role of a designer to focus on design and creative work that drives innovation and growth. Learning more about application areas and system architectures will help engineers understand how to design things and make your work more fun.

Walter Liu has been hired by American Express for the recently created role of Head of the Asia Region.In this capacity, he is in charge of managing AmEx's issuance operations in the markets of Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. He oversees the Company's proprietary business and acts as the Managing Director of their operations in the market.Liu has over 20 years of experience with American Express and is a seasoned business leader and risk management expert. He is in an excellent position to manage the region as AmEx pursues its goal of controlling and catering to the premium segment in Asia because of his background in creating and managing high-performing teams and his comprehensive knowledge of the Asian market.Liu's appointment marks a huge step in AmEx's expansion plans, and it is expected to boost its presence and adaptability in the market. With his deep understanding of the Asian market dynamics, Liu is poised to lead AmEx's efforts in expanding its footprint across key Asian economies.One of the key areas of focus under his leadership will be the enhancement of AmEx's digital and online services. As more consumers and businesses in Asia embrace digital payments, AmEx aims to provide cutting-edge solutions that cater to the evolving needs of its customers.The evolving needs of AmEx customers mean that the plastic card is becoming popular for a variety of uses. From shopping to online gaming and gambling, AmEx is leading the way in Asia.When it comes to online gaming and gambling, the AmEx payment options are endless, with a huge variety of gambling sites now accepting AmEx. As Techopedia author and casino expert Sergio Zammit notes, AmEx is popular because players get points in return for every payment. Beyond that, AmEx is also setting itself apart by offering players:Safety and security: AmEx is known for its strong security features. This makes it a trustworthy choice for online transactions. Users appreciate the added layer of protection that comes with using a credit card with a strong fraud prevention system.Convenience: Many online casinos and betting sites have started accepting AmEx because of its popularity and ease of use. Players can quickly and securely deposit funds into their gambling accounts, allowing for a hassle-free gaming experience at online casinos and crypto betting sites.Beyond online gaming and gambling, AmEx is also widely used for online shopping across Asia. Let's explore why AmEx, in particular, is becoming one of the most popular plastic cards for shopping in the region:Partnerships with Retailers: AmEx has established partnerships with major online retailers, offering exclusive deals and discounts to cardholders. This has encouraged more consumers to use their cards for online purchases.Growing E-commerce Market: The e-commerce market in Asia is growing, with countries like China, Japan, South Korea, and India leading the charge. AmEx's presence in this market is growing as more consumers turn to online shopping for convenience and variety.Cross-border Shopping: AmEx is favored for cross-border transactions because of its reliability and acceptance at international online stores. Asian consumers often use AmEx when purchasing goods from overseas, leveraging the card's global acceptance.Under Liu's direction, AmEx is starting this new chapter in a position to take advantage of the expanding potential in the Asian market. AmEx is poised to solidify its position as the area's top financial services provider by emphasizing digital transformation and customer-centric solutions.American Express names its new head of the Asian region and plans to grow in the online and digital sectors

The finance sector is one of the key areas where AI is put to use to drive innovations.FinTechSpace provided the challenge for the AI finance division of the AI Wave: Taiwan Generative AI Applications Hackathon, challenging the participating teams to utilize generative AI to develop innovative fintech solutions. The teams named "Happy Oh Oh" and "I Want to Travel Abroad" stood out from the competition and won the gold and silver awards.Happy Oh Oh drives green finance with generative AIYi-Ling Li, Xiang-Yi Ke, Hong-Chang Lin, Jia He, and Shao-Wei Chu from the Interdisciplinary Program of Management and Technology at National Tsing Hua University formed Happy Oh Oh. They used generative AI combined with green finance to solve financial difficulties for farmers and drive the low-carbon agriculture transition.Leveraging AWS Partyrock to build a generative AI application platform without coding, the team built three systems. They include an evaluation system that assesses farmers' credit risk and expected return, a check system that tracks farmers' project progress, and a settlement system that calculates carbon credits and issues payments.The way it works is that the bank grants a green loan to the farmer to cover upfront investment costs and the farmer earns carbon credits which can be used to pay off the loan. After the load period ends, the farmer can sell the carbon credits at the purchase price and the bank can trade the carbon credits in exchange for profit and SG responsibility fulfillment.With the solution, farmers can get extra income from selling carbon credits. Corporations can buy carbon credits as a way to reduce spending.Banks can make a profit while making a social influence. Governments can use the opportunity to build a carbon trading and offsetting system. Benefiting multiple parties, the solution integrates generative AI with green finance to improve farmers' financial well-being and drive low-carbon agriculture transition.I Want to Travel Abroad uses generative AI for fraud preventionMeng-Ru Chuang from AVA Angels and Hsiao-Hung Huang from Taiwan Association for Blockchain Ecosystem Innovation formed I Want to Travel Abroad. The team used generative AI to develop an innovative solution that fights increasing financial scams on social media.The team built a chatbot on the foundation of AWS PartyRock. Using an automated process, their solution gathers past performances of stock market gurus, analyzes the content, finds suspicious investment advice using big data algorithms, sorts the findings into personalized investment portfolios, performs fact checks, and offers the information to users via a friendly interface. The solution was aimed at using generative AI to help users identify suspicious investment advice and prevent them from falling victim to financial fraud.The rapidly rising popularity of social media on top of people's increasing need to invest their money provides a breeding ground for financial scams. The solution from I Want to Travel Abroad uses generative AI to collect different perspectives and convey them via a chatbot.It perfectly fits what users need and thus has great market potential. Future developments of the solution include collaborations with brokerage firms to provide their clients with tailor-made AI investment advice to create more revenue streams.The teams named "Happy Oh Oh" won the gold award for their innovative generative AI fintech solutionThe teams named "I Want to Travel Abroad" secured the silver award with their creative AI-driven fintech innovation

Rugged embedded computer brand – Cincoze recently received two international awards honoring its DS-1402 high-performance and PCIe expansion rugged embedded computer. Part of the Rugged Computing – DIAMOND product line, the DS-1402 meets the performance and expandability demands of edge computing, with the reliability and stability required for smart factories, machine vision, and other industries.The DS-1402 was recognized by two professional media outlets, receiving the Innovators Awards from Vision System Design (a well-known American machine vision media outlet) and the Product of the Year Awards from Control Engineering (a major industrial automation magazine), affirming its design innovation and technical prowess.Cincoze DS-1402 can be equipped with Raptor Lake-S / Alder Lake-S 65W processorExcellent Computing Performance for Machine VisionFor machine vision and industrial applications, performance is key, and the DS-1402 is the ideal choice. It can be equipped with a 13/12th gen Intel (Raptor Lake-S / Alder Lake-S) 65W processor, with up to 24 cores (8P + 16E) and 32 threads that deliver 1.35 times the processing performance of its predecessor, the Comet Lake-S.The DS-1402 supports 64GB 4800MHz DDR5 ECC memory to meet the needs of applications requiring high reliability and data integrity. Storage options include 2.5" SATA, mSATA, and M.2 Key M, offering flexible configuration to match application requirements.PCIe Expansion for Various ApplicationsThe DS-1402 has two PCI/PCIe expansion slots that support various I/O, GPU, image capture, data acquisition, and motion control cards to tailor-match the system to application requirements. For applications that require maximum computing performance, a 110W GPU card with a size of 111 x 235mm can be installed.Poor contact is a big headache when cards come loose in high-vibration environments, so the DS-1402 has a patented adjustable PCIe holder (patent number: I773359) that secures the expansion cards and eliminates the loosening that can cause operation shutdown. GPU cards can generate a lot of heat, so Inhaling and Exhaling fans are available to wick that excess heat away, these fans can be added according to the cooling needs of the GPU card to improve the cooling performance.The DS-1402 can also easily add additional I/O and functions (PoE or IGN) through Cincoze's exclusive CMI/CFM moduleRich Expandability for Wireless and MoreIn addition to the native high-speed I/O interfaces (2x 1GbE LAN, 8x USB), the DS-1402 can also easily add additional I/O and functions (PoE or IGN) through Cincoze's exclusive CMI/CFM module, effectively shortening the Configuration deployment cost and time. Three Mini-PCIe slots support the full spectrum of wireless transmission, such as WiFi, GNSS, 4G, and Bluetooth, and also support other add-on cards to meet diverse application needs.Professional-Grade Protection and Industry CertificationsThe DS-1402 is built tough, with industrial-grade protection design and industry certifications in different fields to back it up. The DS-1402 can withstand a wide temperature (-40 - 70°C) and wide voltage (9 - 48 VDC) range; boasts overvoltage, overcurrent, and ESD protection; and complies with the US military shock standard MIL-STD-810G. Internationally recognized UL 62368-1 safety certification further ensures its safety and reliability. For maximum security in railway computing solutions, it has also passed the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) EN 50121-3-2 standard in EN 50155.

Targeting one of the most complex and sensitive parts of the human body, any minor error during a spinal surgery could lead to severe consequences such as infection, nerve damage, or spinal cord injury. This makes spinal surgery a high-risk surgical procedure.To overcome the challenges, Point Robotics MedTech created a minimally invasive spine surgery robot platform by combining medical expertise and state-of-the-art technologies such as robotic arms, optical positioning, and algorithms. The platform can help surgeons perform complex spinal surgeries with high precision and optimize the patient's medical experience.Point Robotics' surgical robotics technology is inherited from a professor at Imperial College London with over 30 years of experience. The company was founded in 2016 with support from the National Science Council's Germination Program. It aims to leverage the technical prowess of Taiwan's medical and mechanical industries to develop a spinal surgery robot that assists surgeons in enhancing surgical precision and reducing risks.Minimally Invasive Spine Surgical Robot with Precision and ReliabilityAccording to Brad Lin, Chief Marketing Officer of Point Robotics, there are two main challenges in existing spine surgeries. First, surgical precision requirements from medical institutions and patients are increasing, especially in minimally invasive surgeries.Traditional surgeries rely on surgeons' experience and tactile sensation, but this approach has limitations, particularly in tasks like bone grinding, where achieving high precision is more challenging. Moreover, surgeons performing spine surgeries over a long period are prone to wrist and eye fatigue, which can adversely affect surgical quality and career longevity.The second challenge lies in the increasing expectations of patients regarding surgical outcomes and post-operative recovery periods. Improving surgical efficiency and post-operative recovery outcomes have become significant missions for medical institutions. Not only to achieve precision, surgeries today also aim to minimize incisions and recovery time as much as possible.While technologies and equipment for spinal surgery have advanced rapidly, there is still room for improvement to meet all those demands. Particularly in the realm of robotic surgery equipment, existing systems are mostly focused on soft tissue surgeries, with fewer applications for hard tissue surgeries. Point Robotics' minimally invasive spine surgery robot and navigation system are perfect for addressing clinical needs today.Michael Lo, Head of Corporate Strategy of Point Robotics, explained the architecture of their product, which integrates a six-motored robotic end-effector with navigation systems and control technology, combining precision and flexibility. The company's surgical robot uses a robotic end-effector to compensate for deviations from the planned path, enabling real-time tracking of patient movement during surgery. This allows surgeons to perform precise and stable surgeries.By precisely controlling the robotic end-effector, the surgical robot has expanded its functionality to decompression capabilities. The precision of bone grinding can reach mere paper-thin thickness. During surgery, the force feedback system detects changes in bone density and dynamically adjusts grinding force, depth, and path accordingly to ensure surgical precision and safety.Point Robotics' Detail-focused Product Development Builds a ReputationAccording to Lo, for a medical device to gain industry recognition and successfully commercialize, it needs to overcome technical challenges and undergo lengthy clinical validation. "Robotic technologies are categorized as the high-precision, cutting-edge field, and the medical products are closely related to human safety," he emphasized. Thus, every prototype of a medical device must undergo rigorous validation and continuous communication with clinical physicians to ensure that the product design meets medical needs.In practical application, variations in each patient's bone density and other external factors can also impact the surgery process and outcomes, presenting challenges from theory to clinical practice and commercialization. Point Robotics' products have undergone iterative modifications and validation to achieve the clinical benefits doctors expect.Point Robotics' navigation system has been in clinical use since 2023. As of now, it has been utilized in 150 surgeries. The first-generation navigation system and robotic-assisted surgical system were cleared by the U.S. FDA and certificated by Taiwan FDA between 2022 and 2023.Regarding the product marketing plan, Lo mentioned that because the medical industry is typically cautious about new products, they will initially focus on the navigation system, which has higher market acceptance. Next, the company will develop a decompression surgery robot capable of performing various functions such as bone grinding, assisting surgeons in conducting more spine surgeries and improving surgical efficiency.According to Lo and Lin, the success of Point Robotics' technology in transferring from concept to product is due not only to the full commitment of the team members but also to the continuously improving ecosystem for startups in Taiwan. For example, while Point Robotics was looking for clinical resources, BE Accelerator – a TTA accelerator partner, helped the company connect with suitable physicians, enabled product testing, and received feedback on suggestions and feasible directions.The locally enthusiastic startup atmosphere and policy support have also attracted many young overseas Taiwanese entrepreneurs to return home. These entrepreneurs bring back global perspectives and innovative thinking. When combined with Taiwan's technology, medical and manufacturing industries, a virtuous cycle begins.Looking ahead, Taiwan's startup ecosystem is expected to mature further and be more internationalized. Point Robotics also looks forward to interacting and collaborating with other companies, expanding Taiwan's influence in the global medical technology field.(Editor's note: The original article was published in TTA Magazine Issue 14. Read more startup stories in TTA Magazines.)Point Robotics’ robotic-assisted surgical system and navigation system can help surgeons perform complex minimally invasive surgeries with high precision.