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.

Cerebrovascular Accidents (CVAs), or stroke, are the top cause of disability and the second leading cause of death worldwide, posing significant threats to human health.Unfortunately, many individuals only become aware of their condition after experiencing a stroke, missing the optimal window for early intervention and treatment.Carotid Artery Stenosis (CAS) has been identified as a crucial factor contributing to strokes, serving as an early indicator. Therefore, early detection and treatment of carotid artery stenosis are vital measures for stroke prevention.However, traditional methods for detecting carotid artery stenosis are limited by expensive equipment, heavy reliance on specialized medical personnel for operation and interpretation, lengthy testing procedures, and high costs, preventing widespread early detection of risk for stroke.Through collaboration with a team of professionals from National Taiwan University, Pulxion Medical Technology has developed a non-invasive AI imaging technology for rapid screening of the risk of carotid artery stenosis, PulStroke, which breaks through traditional testing limitations.With rapidity, standardization, and high cost-effectiveness features, the technology can significantly reduce the need for medical manpower and resources. It is poised to enhance the accessibility of early stroke screening greatly.The limitations of traditional methods make early stroke detection challengingPulxion was founded by Professor Hao-Ming Hsiao from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at National Taiwan University. The co-founder is Dr. Hsien-Li Kao, a Professor in the Medicine School at the National Taiwan University and Chairman of the Cardiology Division at the National Taiwan University Hospital. Their long-term collaboration started in 2014, dedicated to addressing numerous challenges in early stroke detection, and they officially established Pulxion in 2020.According to Professor Hsiao, the main reason for choosing the carotid artery as the topic of their research is that there are over 12 million new cases of stroke worldwide every year, which means one new case occurs every 3 seconds. It is not only a threat to human health but also significantly impacts healthcare and societal costs. There's an estimation that by 2030, the global economic burden of stroke, including post-care, will exceed one trillion US dollars.Carotid artery stenosis serves as a critical early indicator of stroke. Existing common diagnostic methods for carotid artery stenosis include carotid artery ultrasound, Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA), and Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA). However, due to issues such as expensive equipment and complex operations, early screening is challenging to implement widely.The carotid artery is the closest blood vessel to the body's surface, making it easier to observe the pulsation characteristics. Therefore, Pulxion starts with carotid artery stenosis assessment and utilizes non-invasive AI imaging technology to evaluate the risk of stroke.Unique Screening Method: Rapid, Accurate, and Easy-to-UseBy analyzing subtle pulsation variations on the subject's skin surface, Pulxion's PulStroke can differentiate between the pulsation patterns of normal individuals and those with carotid artery stenosis. The device projects visible light onto the subject's neck and then performs the video motion analysis with AI algorithms to highlight skin surface pulsations.Comparing these pulsations with features associated with carotid artery stenosis, a risk assessment report is generated to evaluate the subject's risk of carotid artery stenosis. The entire process is completed within 1 minute, with reports available within 5 minutes.PulStroke possesses several key advantages. First, compared to traditional methods like carotid artery ultrasound, CTA, and MRA, the technology is non-invasive, offering a non-invasive and radiation-free screening approach for subjects.Second, it's portable and user-friendly, with a compact size and no need for specialized operators, making it suitable for placement in small to medium-sized clinics, health examination centers, and potentially homecare and community service in the future. Third, utilizing AI algorithms and big data analysis supported by PulStroke, clinical trials have demonstrated an accuracy of nearly 90% when compared to ultrasound.Regarding the business model, Joy Chen, CEO of Pulxion, said that PulStroke includes both hardware device and cloud platform. The hardware device can be set up in medical facilities with buyout or leasing options. The analysis reports generated on the cloud platform are billed separately and also come with several options for users.For marketing, Pulxion will first work with health examination centers and large hospitals, with plans to participate in government disease prevention programs. The next step is to enter the community clinics with the ultimate vision of making the technology accessible to the general public and integrating it into home healthcare and nationwide health services to increase stroke screening rates and ultimately reduce stroke incidence.Pulxion has completed its angel round funding and plans to sign an MOU with internationally renowned medical device companies this year. Pulxion also plans to file the medical device regulatory submission to the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) this year and is preparing to apply for the Breakthrough Devices Program of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).Chen said that Taiwan will be the first launch market for Pulxion, and the company will subsequently begin preparations for regulatory submission in the United States.PulStroke enables rapid and accurate assessment of stroke risk. The company immediately attracted attention from the medical industry upon its release. Professor Hsiao believes the key driving force behind the successful commercialization of Pulxion technology is the Startup Value Creation Program promoted by the National Science and Technology Council. As he mentioned, the program activates the value of academic research by providing resources, regulatory ease, and policy support to allow professors to play significant roles in startups. It also encourages various forms of innovation matchmaking.Pulxion has participated in the acceleration program of Mosaic Venture Lab – a TTA accelerator partner as well. The program not only organizes various activities to increase interaction opportunities with investors but also helps startups to expand their exposure. All the support for Pulxion has transformed into its competitiveness. The company will do its best to broaden the applications of its technology to other diseases, creating a healthy society in the future and fulfilling its vision of preventive medicine and home healthcare.(Editor's note: The original article was published in TTA Magazine Issue 14. Read more startup stories in TTA Magazines.)Pulxion PulStrokePhoto: Pulxion

Endoscopes play an instrumental role in minimally invasive surgeries.They allow doctors to perform inspection and treatment procedures inside the body using smaller surgical cuts or even without cuts while increasing surgical precision. EndoSemio's single-use endoscope developed on the foundation of miniature imaging devices and high biocompatibility tubing materials boosts surgical safety, drives technological innovations, and satisfies special healthcare needs. With EndoSemio's single-use endoscope, hospitals will be able to improve patient experience.Leveraging technological and medical strengths, EndoSemio overcomes the shortcomings of traditional endoscopesTing-Xuan Chen and Chih-Peng Lin co-founded EndoSemio. Chen worked for the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in charge of helping medical research organizations turn clinical needs into products.Lin is an attending physician and director of the Division of Pain Management, Department of Anesthesiology, National Taiwan University Hospital. Their decade-long partnership has brought multiple healthcare products into reality.Following his return to Taiwan after completing advanced study at Stanford University, Lin found Taiwan's healthcare sector, despite being among the world's front runners, still has needs that were not addressed due to the lack of cross-industry collaborations. Such needs can be fulfilled through rapid prototyping and technological R&D to thereby improve healthcare quality and efficiency. This prompted Chen and Lin to establish EndoSemio, focusing on special-purpose single-use endoscopes to solve the many pain points of traditional endoscopes and address a small portion of clinical needs. According to Chen, an endoscope reprocessing guide easily goes over 100 pages and contains more than 150 procedures. In reality, as high as 45% of the important cleaning steps are skipped as they are too complicated.In particular, the steps of brushing the accessible channels and forced air drying are often carried out for no longer than 50% of the specified duration. Furthermore, not only is it costly and labor-intensive to maintain traditional endoscopes, but improper cleaning may also lead to cross infections. All the time and effort for disinfection and preparation also hinder patient flow and undermine hospital operation efficiency. The slew of limitations with traditional endoscopes give rise to tremendous opportunities for single-use endoscopes. FDA has approved multiple single-use endoscopes in recent years as part of the efforts to promote such products.As opposed to traditional endoscopes with a long history, single-use endoscopes are still in early-stage development. Those currently available on the market generally target large usage applications, rather than special-purpose small-quantity needs. In view of this, EndoSemio decided to start with tracheostomy endoscopes, neonatal catheters, and flexible ureteroscopes.EndoSemio introduces three single-use endoscope products to meet clinical needs According to Lin, a traditional tracheostomy requires two teams of medical professionals, one monitoring the bronchoscopy while the other performing the tracheostomy. Things could go wrong when surgeons have to perform tracheostomy without bronchoscopic images.Without an imaging system on the tracheal tube, surgeons can only rely on experiences and feel the way through. Now with EndoSemio's innovative endoscope imaging tracheostomy kit, featuring the world's first tracheal tubes integrated with endoscopes, medical professionals can avoid complications and mitigate the risk of incorrect placement in false lumen, improving tracheostomy efficiency and ensuring patient safety.The product has won the 20th National Innovation Award. Neonatal respiratory imaging devices are generally miniaturized.Their level of precision is critical to neonatal respiratory care. EndoSemio's neonatal and pediatric respiratory imaging catheters help physicians correctly identify delicate infant airways and examine the conditions therein to effectively lower the risks of hypoxia or complications.The flexible ureteroscopes that EndoSemio provides combine miniature imaging modules with tubes made of advanced materials to enable visibility. The solution reduces chances of infection and cross-infection and therefore is an ideal choice for stone removal in a laser lithotripsy.Lin pointed out EndoSemio's advantages in a few aspects. First, the EndoSemio team interviewed 20-some physicians and designed the products based on their comments and feedback to ensure the products addressed their needs. As such, the resulting products feature a user-friendly interface and simple structure design, requiring no learning curve for users to effortlessly operate. Moreover, their digital imaging and navigation functions with enhanced navigation precision and optimized operation flow are also highly praised by medical professionals.Second, the EndoSemio engineering team has a decade-long experience developing endoscopes. Integrated with patented designs including medical-grade high-resolution miniature CMOS image sensors, color calibration, and silicon endoscope tubing, EndoSemio's products boast superior performance and reliability. Last but not least, EndoSemio has grasped critical manufacturing know-how for miniature front-end camera modules and tubing so it has full control over its product quality and performance. It is also able to keep costs at bay through vertical integration efforts.EndoSemio has submitted applications for FDA approval. It expects to obtain FDA approval by year-end 2024, allowing it to launch the products in 2025. Everything is proceeding according to schedule, noted Chen.For the smooth progress, EndoSemio gives credit to not only team efforts but also Taiwan's startup environment fostered by industry-government-academia-research collaborations. Lin spoke candidly that physicians or scholars involved in startup ventures were considered impractical but things are different today.Taiwan's startup scene, especially in the healthcare sector, has exhibited significant changes in the recent decade. The National Science and Technology Council and the Ministry of Economic Affairs support multiple projects aimed at cultivating an environment that appeals to entrepreneurs and effectively accelerates startup development. Going forward, EndoSemio has set goals for each development stage and will continue to endeavor on medical imaging solutions for special-purpose applications to help medical institutions create premium patient experiences.(Editor's note: The original article was published in TTA Magazine Issue 14. Read more startup stories in TTA Magazines.)Innovative endoscope imaging tracheostomy kitPhoto: EndoSemioNeonatal and pediatric respiratory imaging cathetersPhoto: EndoSemioEndoSemio's neonatal and pediatric respiratory imaging catheters on display at a medical technology exhibitionPhoto: EndoSemio

In the last six months, four new IT brands — Logitech, Microsoft, Sharp, and Voxicon — have been added to the list of brands with products certified according to TCO Certified. The growing number of certified products helps purchasers make more sustainable choices.The demand for more sustainable IT products remains high. TCO Certified is the world's leading sustainability certification for IT products, and a tool that helps purchasers and purchasing organizations get sustainability right. Since December 2023, four more brands — Logitech, Microsoft, Sharp, and Voxicon — have been added to the extensive list of well-known brands with products certified according to TCO Certified. All certified products are listed in Product Finder on tcocertified.com."Having more brands on board creates a great opportunity to expand the range of certified products. A wider selection is good news for purchasers wanting to make more sustainable choices, drive change, and meet both internal and external sustainability goals," says Sören Enholm, CEO at TCO Development, the organization behind TCO Certified.On 31 May 2024, the following brands had certified products listed in Product Finder: Acer, AOC, ASUS, BenQ, DELL, EIZO, FAIRPHONE, FUJITSU, HP, iiyama, INSYS, Jabra, Lenovo, LG, Logitech, Microsoft, NEC, NTT Systems S.A., Philips, Samsung, SHARP, Soundcore, SteelSeries, V7, ViewSonic and Voxicon.Any organization citing TCO Certified when purchasing IT products can also use Report Generator to assess the impact of purchasing and using certified products. Report Generator allows organizations to create customized sustainability reports on their IT product portfolios – based on independently verified data and claims covered by the stringent social and environmental criteria of TCO Certified.

According to a market research report, the global gaming market is set to exceed a value of US$525 billion in 2025. Taiwan-based gaming machine manufacturers enjoy an established presence in the global gaming market for the premium quality and reasonable pricing of their products.Jumbo Technology assigned the problem for the games and entertainment division of the AI Wave: Taiwan Generative AI Applications Hackathon, held on May 19, 2024, by DIGITIMES, asking the participating teams to identify and integrate games with generative AI to enhance gamer experience and platform operation efficiency. Jumbo Technology also provided resources and data for the teams to use.The team named Sitta, comprising Heng-Jia Huang, Xin-Hua Li, Li-Ci Gu from the Department of Information Management, Chung Yuan Christian University, used Anthropic Claude 3 Sonnet on Amazon Web Services (AWS) Amazon Bedrock, a fully managed service offering a choice of high-performing foundation models from leading AI companies, to analyze gamers' movements and expressions and thereby allow electronic gaming machines to make appropriate responses in real-time. Sitta stood out from a group of strong competitors and won the honorable mention award, voted unanimously by all the judges.The enormous value of the global gaming market also gives rise to fierce competition among gaming machine manufacturers. Whether they can outperform the competition hinges on their ability to ensure profitability for casino owners and increase gamers' stickiness to gaming machines.Aiming to use generative AI to enhance interactive experience, Sitta developed AI-based analyses of gamers' movements, voices, and facial expressions. Based on these analyses, they built satisfaction and recommendation, emotion and preference analyses, gamer quit time and probability prediction, and other innovative features. The team hopes by enabling gaming machines to make real-time responses that meet gamer expectations, their solution will create a win-win-win situation for gaming machine manufacturers, casino owners, and gamers.For example, concerning satisfaction and recommendation, if AI-based analyses of the gamer's expressions indicate that the gamer may be unsatisfied with the odds, the solution will immediately recommend another type of game to keep the gamer in the casino. When AI-based analyses of the gamer's behavior data indicate that the gamer is about to leave the slot machine or the casino, the solution can offer a restaurant or hotel coupon to please the gamer and encourage re-visits.Moreover, for first-timers, an AI assistant will provide game instructions to spur their interest in the game. Sitta thinks if their generative AI solution can tap casino data, it will be able to provide responses that better fit gamers' expectations.Sitta, winner of the Generative AI Applications Hackathon, created AI-enhanced interactive experiences to boost gamer engagement with gaming machines

Hosting an array of concerts, Kaohsiung is enjoying a tourism boom in recent years.The Kaohsiung City Government assigned the problem for the smart city division of the AI Wave: Taiwan Generative AI Applications Hackathon, asking the participating teams to leverage generative AI to create innovative tourism applications that enhance tourist experience of Kaohsiung's concert economy. The teams named "AI Shines" and "Urban Smart Team (It's Takao)" won the gold and silver awards for the generative AI creativity and usability their works demonstrate.AI Shines creates customized itineraries Zhi-Jia Wang, Sheng-Ya Weng, Song-Kai Hong and Ting-Jia Guo from Department of Statistics, Ministry of the Interior formed AI Shines. They came up with the idea of the "Kaohsiung smart traveling and shopping" platform, which was built with AWS PartyRock, a service that allows users to create generative AI applications without coding, to provide customized itineraries to tourists.The platform features customization, innovative ways to shop, massive data integration and AI-enabled personalized itinerary planning. Backed by big data from the Kaohsiung City Government, the solution interacts with tourists through a natural language user interface to learn their preferences and thereby plans itineraries for them based on six data categories.It provides tourists with an all-in-one itinerary that includes shopping, dining, sightseeing, and souvenir buying, and dynamically adjusts the itinerary based on real-time feedback and user preference. It further uses AI to create personalized travel maps and plans for tourists to easily reference and follow.Amid the post-pandemic tourism boom, people have an increasing demand for customized and interactive tours. AI Shines' solution will attract more tourists, extend their stay and boost repeated visits. On top of partnerships with local businesses, it can create value and spur growth for the tourism sector. On the foundation of AI Shines' solution, the Kaohsiung City Government can develop a diversity of tourism themes to help drive local business growth.The teams named "AI Shines" won the gold award for the generative AI creativity and usability their works demonstrateUrban Smart Team (It's Takao) boosts the financial benefits of concert events Jen-Yu Chen, a journalism major at Shih Hsin University, Pin-Xuan Yu, an electronic engineering major at Chung Yuan Christian University, as well as Chia-Chin Huang and Yong-Han Chang from Chao Info Media (���T�C��) formed Urban Smart Team (It's Takao). The team observed that Kaohsiung hosts 50+ concerts every year, drawing tens of thousands of music fans to the city.Unfortunately, most young concertgoers leave the city right after the concerts so these events have not effectively benefited local businesses. In view of this, they came up with the idea of the "Urban Smart Team (It's Takao)" platform, built with the Anthropic Claude 3 on Amazon Web Services (AWS)' Amazon Bedrock, a fully managed service offering a choice of high-performing foundation models from leading AI companies.They use AI to generate stories in two languages and combine the stories with mixed reality treasure hunt games and personalized smart assistant to spur young tourists' interest in exploring Kaohsiung. The platform connects the city's major attractions and offers coupons from local specialty stores to participants who pass scavenger hunt challenges. The games are designed to encourage interaction and spice up users' experience of Kaohsiung. As people attach greater importance to personalized tourism experience, the solution developed by Urban Smart Team (It's Takao) caters exactly to young tourists. The interactive tours and promotional favors make tourists spend more time and money in the city. The team estimates their solution will increase business growth in the surrounding areas from 30% to 60% and foreign tourists' interest in visiting Kaohsiung from 20% to 40%. The solution has great development potential and future collaborations with local businesses can create more revenue streams.The teams named "Urban Smart Team (It's Takao)" won the silver award for the generative AI creativity and usability their works demonstrate

AI is becoming central to game development. A high number of companies throughout the continent have been quick to adopt AI for developmental and game-enhancement purposes.For example, China's second biggest games developer, NetEase, made non-player characters (NPCs) AI-powered in last year's Justice Online game. This meant that players could hold unique conversations with characters in the game. Like ChatGPT, the NPCs in this game generate unique responses based on player prompts.This made the gameplay more personal and unique to each player, which is one way in which AI will shape the future of gaming in Asia – by expanding the possibilities of narrative and game structure.This level of AI adoption is not limited to video games. Developers of other forms of gaming entertainment, such as online casinos, have been able to enhance the gaming experience through the power of AI.Several online casinos available in Malaysia, for example, have adopted AI to deliver better customer support, personalized gameplay, and improved security. The online gambling sites highlighted by Bintang Tiong also come with big bonuses and fast withdrawals.There has also been a rise in video and online casino game developers utilizing AI technology to improve the graphics, title cards, and promotional materials for a game.For example, the Japanese gaming company Level-5, which is known for its Professor Layton and Ni no Kuni games, uses Stable Diffusion, an AI model, to complete title screens and characters. The company submits draft copies to the AI tool so it can build and improve upon them.Level-5 then employs another AI tool, SwinIR, an image restoration tool, to enhance the quality and appearance of its images and graphics. This saves the company a lot of time and money - it also means that the finished product looks as good as possible.As such AI tools become more readily available, more Asian game companies will adopt them. The AI market in Asia is expected to grow at a significant rate over the next five years, with a predicted CAGR growth rate of 39.93% between now and 2029. This growth will manifest in more game developers using AI tools.While AI makes game development more cost-effective and quicker for gaming companies, it does hurt the game development job market. 70% of illustrators reportedly lost their jobs last year in China, while a recent poll revealed that 58% of Japanese illustrators fear that their jobs will be replaced by AI.One thing that Asian-based gaming companies have so far been reluctant to experiment with is programming an AI tool to generate an entire game. However, this is one usage of AI that will become more prominent in the near future, at least to some extent.Soon, it's likely that more Asian-based game developers will use generative AI to create limitless gaming worlds. Once a game developer has designed the basic layout and environment for a video game, they can program an AI tool to develop this world further and to an infinite extent.The AI tool could be programmed to expand the universe while keeping the layout unique and interesting. By doing so, AI has the power to create a potentially limitless game. While human input would still be needed to design the basics, AI could be left to do the rest.AI will also take over several testing and quality-assurance-related jobs. Instead of manually looking through a game for glitches and errors, AI technology could be programmed to find all potential bugs. This would be more efficient than doing it manually and would provide more accurate results, mitigating the risk of publishing a glitch-ridden game.What does AI mean for the future of gaming in Asia?Photo: Company

Consumers' growing favor for stylish clothing has given rise to a rapid increase in fast fashion brands over the recent decade.However, low-quality fast fashion apparel has also made consumers demand more from fashion brands. Especially in developed countries where birth rates are declining, parents are inclined to spend more on the clothes they put on their children to ensure comfort and safety. According to market research reports, the global organic cotton children's apparel market is set to grow at a CAGR of 9.4% from US$4.4 billion in 2022 to US$8.8 billion in 2030. For their outstanding quality, Taiwan-based fashion startup Baby Baby Cool's products are carried in French department store Printemps.It is the only local brand available at the Bellavita Shopping Center in Taiwan. Better yet, it has signed agreements with Japan's Hankyu Department Store and Isetan Department Store to sell Baby Baby CoolBaby Baby CoolBaby Baby CoolBaby Baby CoolBaby Baby CoolBaby Baby Cool apparel in their stores starting in the second quarter of 2024.Erin Wei, founder and director of Baby Baby Cool, remarked that she established the company to help children develop a sense of taste and style at a young age by providing chic fashion for children as opposed to common kids' wear with cartoon illustrations on the market. When selecting fabrics with manufacturers, she found most of them are produced using chemicals in the process which children may absorb through their skin, harming their health and the environment. To protect the health of infants and kids, Wei decided to use organic cotton to make safe and stylish fashion for children.Premium organic cotton combined with fashion design and craftsmanshipFounded in 2016 on the core concept of love and aesthetics, Baby Baby Cool aims to foster children's sense of taste and style through fashion design while safeguarding their health starting with the clothes they wear every day. The company insists on using GOTS-certified premium organic cotton and proven non-toxic metal accessories to produce pure, soft, and comfortable clothes that kids can confidently put on.Applying the techniques and craftsmanship used for adult fashion to design children's wear, the Baby Baby Cool team goes beyond the boundaries of kids' apparel and creates a Taiwan-based fashion brand boasting both style and health. Featuring originality, the Baby Baby Cool team comprises professional advertisement stylists, prominent fashion designers, skilled pattern makers, and experienced seamstresses who work together to produce clothing entirely in-house.Making use of proportions, structures, cuttings, simple yet vivid colors, and patching techniques to create interesting and innovative aesthetics, the team makes children's clothing featuring sleek lines, chic style, and simple colors. Their products with the unique style allow the world to see Taiwan's strength in children's clothing design.Wei noted that there are kids' fashion brands on the market that highlight the use of organic cotton but they often lack design elements that appeal to consumers. Despite being a startup company, Baby Baby Cool uses special 3D tailoring generally used only for luxury fashion to deliver a more three-dimensional look through cutting, folding, shrinking, grabbing, and pinning techniques.3D tailoring is a technique that leading international fashion brands have growingly adopted in recent years. Although everything about 3D tailoring is more costly and challenging from design to manufacturing compared to conventional practices, it can make clothes that better fit the body contour and structure. This is why Baby Baby Cool is enthusiastically embraced by the market.Leveraging TTA's diverse services, Baby Baby Cool forays into worldwide markets Adhering to the principles of making healthy and stylish clothing, in 2017, a Baby Baby Cool store opened at the Bellavita Shopping Center, a high-end department store in Taiwan, followed by another one in the French department store Printemps in 2018. It began to expand into overseas markets including Hong Kong and China in 2019.However, after the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, Baby Baby Cool shifted its focus back home and started to make efforts toward an e-commerce platform, reaching out to potential customers via multiple channels. After it was introduced to Sparklabs Taiwan, a Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) accelerator partner, it received guidance that significantly helped it improve operation efficiency and rethink its management and marketing strategies.According to Wei, when Baby Baby Cool was first founded, a decision was made to tackle the most difficult sales channel. It took a while to get in touch with Bellavita but Baby Baby Cool was able to prove that their product quality is on par with hundred-year-old brands'.From the first presentation to the final product introduction conducted in a way similar to museum exhibits, Baby Baby Cool successfully convinced Bellavita to carry its brand. This helped considerably in Baby Baby Cool's subsequent business development.The startup faced the same challenge in 2023 again when it engaged in talks with Japan's Hankyu Department Store and Isetan Department Store. Wei was happy to win recognition from the two Japanese department stores. The availability of Baby Baby Cool clothes at their stores starting second-quarter 2024 will allow more visibility on Taiwan-based brands.Undertaking all-out efforts toward overseas market expansion starting this year, aside from Japan, Baby Baby Cool will shift focus back to France again in 2025. As part of the efforts, it will more actively participate in TTA's events in hopes of leveraging TTA's global visibility and network to find more partners and investors that will enable Taiwan-based brands to keep shining on the global stage.(Editor's note: The original article was published in TTA Magazine Issue 14. Read more startup stories in TTA Magazines.)Baby Baby Cool founder and director Erin Wei