As the US-China trade war continues to exacerbate tensions between the countries, the formulation of a clean supply chain - whereby the manufacturing, assembly, testing, and packaging of products all take place in Taiwan - has become an important national security and economic strategy for the United States. Over the past 30 years, Taiwan has built a complete semiconductor industry chain that provides global customers with advanced manufacturing and R&D support. In light of this, Martin Lin, marketing director at Macronix, says that now is the time for Taiwanese industry players to continue actively expanding their business layout and take the initiative to wield their competitive advantages.To address the needs of its immense domestic market, over the past few years China has created a red supply chain that has become a formidable presence for all industries across the globe. Multinational companies, including those from Taiwan, have set up production sites in China, and the global economy is becoming increasingly dependent on the mainland. Circumstances have drastically changed, however, following the United States' launch of the trade war in 2018. As Lin indicates, at the time, the Trump administration made all-out efforts to promote its clean supply chain policy in 2020 to maintain the US's dominating position in technology and economy. In particular, the two most important actions taken were to tighten export restrictions on China's major technology companies and to prohibit the export of key semiconductor-manufacturing equipment to China. These two policies have prompted major technology companies in various countries to shift their focus to resources outside of mainland China, a move that has in turn shifted the spotlight to Taiwan where the semiconductor industry chain has become increasingly mature over the past few decades.Taiwan began developing its semiconductor industry in the 1980s. Some semiconductor manufacturers began focusing on optimizing the manufacturing process after assuming their roles as OEM wafer manufacturers, while others focused on the research and development of proprietary products, such as memory market leader Macronix. Apart from continuing to invest in R&D and manufacturing technology, the company has also formulated a complete product layout. European and American companies, on the other hand, focus on IC design, contributing to the division of labor in the semiconductor industry of which Taiwan plays a crucial part and to an industry that has been flourishing for 30 years.As manufacturing processes continue to evolve, the demand for capital and technology in semiconductor manufacturing is rapidly increasing. As such, semiconductor manufacturing has become one of the world's most advanced and sophisticated industries. In addition to semiconductor manufacturing, IC design, packaging, testing, and assembly are of equal importance. Based on current industry conditions, Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain is able to provide complete, vertically and horizontally integrated services within an area of just 36,000 square kilometers, and it is this advantage that enables Taiwan to play a significant role in the clean supply chain.Lin states that Taiwan's semiconductor industry chain has three advantages in terms of its role in the clean supply chain. First, IC design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, along with other semiconductor manufacturing processes, have already formed an industrial cluster in Taiwan. As such, suppliers are not only technologically advanced but also have sufficient production capacity. Second, Taiwanese industry players have always remained closely aligned with the international community and are, therefore, not only familiar with the rules of the game but have also established trusting, cooperative relationships with customers. Last but not least, they are able ensure compliance with the conditions and requirements of a clean supply chain. In view of these three advantages, therefore, Taiwan is perfectly poised to become a safe and reliable partner for industries across the globe.Even with these apparent advantages, however, Lin believes that Taiwanese companies must strengthen their product layout so as to further expand their niche, citing as an example the trend of "intelligentization" that has emerged in recent years. In the past, products manufactured by the electronics industry were primarily used in computer, communication and consumer - also known in Taiwan as 3C - products. With the advent of intelligentization, however, the application of semiconductor components began to diversify. Market needs such as in the industrial, medical and automotive segments gradually emerged, and the types of components required by these markets became so diverse that only manufacturers with complete product lines can satisfy supply. Macronix, for instance, has a comprehensive line of memory products that offers customers a full range of solutions and services that is rare within the industry.Lin said that, in the past, product R&D conducted by memory manufacturers were mostly oriented toward the optimization of compatibility. Macronix, however, adopted a different strategy by choosing to provide differentiated design services that fulfill the needs of leading chip manufacturers in the industry and create the most suitable product solutions for different fields of application. Under this strategy, Macronix was able to forge an even more complete product line layout, particularly with regard to its two main product lines, NOR Flash and SLC NAND, offering customers corresponding products ranging from the most basic to the most advanced specifications. In terms of manufacturing processes, Macronix's NOR Flash is manufactured using a 55-nanometer process that will be upgraded to 45-nanometer. SLC NAND, on the other hand, is produced using a 19-nanometer process and has also entered mass production. The company's 48-layer 3D NAND Flash is also ready to be launched and will be joining Macronix's line of memory products to better meet diverse customer needs.In addition to the complete product line, Lin pointed out that non-consumer applications, such as automotive electronics, industrial control, medical systems, and other applications have stringent requirements for product reliability. To remain competitive in this supply chain, advanced technology is a prerequisite, not an advantage, while unwavering quality and long-term stable supply capabilities are additional keys to success. Macronix, as a manufacturer fulfilling all of the above three criteria, has long been affirmed by customers in this field with whom the company has established profound partnerships.As competition between the United States and China grows stiffer, calls for the establishment of a clean supply chain has also become more urgent. Under these circumstances, Lin foresees that, with its advanced and complete semiconductor industry cluster, Taiwan will play an important role within the global clean supply chain. As such, industry players should grasp this golden opportunity to formulate development strategies that maximize and fully exert their advantages.Martin Lin, Marketing Director, Macronix

Manz AG is the wet chemistry process leader in Taiwan and China for production of displays panels, printed circle boards and advanced semiconductor packaging technology. The product offerings include solutions for cleaning, coating, plating, etching and stripping of various substrates, and the production automations. As Industrial 4.0 revolution and smart manufacturing swept through the global manufacturing industries, Manz leveraging intelligent technologies, production equipment and modular software design provide streamlined production automation systems to help Asia's customers for quickly expanding manufacturing capacity and production lines. Outstanding cost performance ratio and optimal productive time ensure excellent returns with consistent product quality.In an exclusive interview, Robert Lin, General Manager of Manz Taiwan, talked about the new development of Manz product strategy before Touch Taiwan 2021 exhibition. Over two decades, Manz delivered automation equipment to Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan. Nowadays, Manz's intelligent production solutions provide the automated handling services for display panels ranging from 4-inch to G10.5 generation line for big 8K TV manufacturing tasks. Moreover, the tailored solutions to fit different requirements of various customers are most welcomed.Manz highlights intelligent vertical handling systems for display industryManz is benefiting from the strong hardware and software design capability of its high-tech engineering teams. The new intelligent vertical handling systems showcase unique features with high stability, high availability, low glass breakage rate and high precision vertical handling capability. More than this, the teams create a close partnership between the company and the customers. The increasing trend towards automation in the production processes of Asian customers, Manz uses its long-standing technological expertise to collaborate with customers to provide tailored production solutions and tight integration in the processes. Following the company's successful development of intelligent production automation projects, the minimal breakage rates are achieved through material and chemical transport optimized to the process and substrate. Manz has gained customer trust from around the world.Moreover, these new intelligent production solutions are leveraging PC-based controller from Beckhoff, another Germany-based automation firm to utilize open architecture and popular IT protocols as a design basis. The systems are providing high precision positioning features by an accurate replica of human hand positions, even at high throughput, minimal breakage rates are achieved through material and chemical transport optimized to the process. There are four major unique features highlights including real-time data collecting and analyzing, modular software design, high stability and great integration of Electro-Mechanical Integration systems. The solutions will help customer to achieve shortening time-to-market goal.The automated projects in Taiwan are mainly focus on upgrades of 8.5th generation ("G8.5") facility. In China, due to the lack of flexibility and cost concerns, the new investment of G10.5 panel production lines are becoming more conservative. But the G8.6 investments are getting more attractive in China. Although, various automation solution providers with unique strength in the market already, the high value-added of Manz product offerings attract key customers because the requirements of high precision, speed and stability through long time establishment of corporate credits. Despite a high level of exposure to US-China tensions, European vendors like Manz still have good potential in China market while China panel makers beginning to focus more on high-end and advanced equipment.Taiwan panel makers show innovative Micro and Mini LED displayLin highlights smart manufacturing is a technology massively driven by automation. Thanks to the cross-strait customers welcomed AI-based technology to ramp up the speed of manufacturing optimization during the course of industrial upgrading. In the other hand, recently, the new display technology, especially Mini and Micro LED technologies, has emerged as a significantly driving force to push advanced production solutions. It is foreseeing the mass production of Mini LED display modules in this year. Taiwan panel makers are ready to launch mini LED backlighting applications targeting the smartphone, touchpad and TV market. And the Micro-LED display is also under developing to solve the technology challenges of Mass Transfer issues. The future growth of Taiwan panel makers is relying on this.From perspectives of production solutions, the change of process equipment making mini LED panels is limited. During development of the processes, the use of the equipment in the process of Color Filter and TFT Array may be not much changed. The automation solutions perform good results including robust production, easy operation and high reliability, as well as production yield. For the coming Micro LED display technology, Manz is highly participating to design the solutions for proofing in the experimental production lines.5G technology upbeat IC Substrate demandsManz provides wet chemical processing solutions for the Printed Circuit Boards. In the higher end PCB sector, there is strong demands from IC Substrate leveraging the hot trend of 5G technology. Taiwan-based IC substrate providers are poised to enjoy a particularly strong orders in the first half of 2021, thanks to robust demand for high-end substrates PCB boards. This is benefiting to Manz production solutions in the semiconductor production solutions. As the advanced packaging and testing solutions getting more sophisticated, Manz is maintaining the continuous investments of production solutions for further increase the competitiveness and win the market. An explosive opportunities of electric vehicle and lithium-ion batteryChina is the world's largest electric vehicle market. Taiwan is also continuing to expand its scale of operations and grow into the lithium-ion battery cells and modules as well as for the assembly of battery packs for electric vehicle industry. These are huge business opportunities. Manz already entered into a strategic cooperation in the field of lithium-ion battery systems and portfolio enabling innovative, integrated turnkey production solutions. Meanwhile, Manz Taiwan is joining the MIH Alliance to jointly build an Electric Vehicle open platform for entering this potential business and introduce Manz automation solutions to Asia maker for gaining next boost in the business.For further highlighting the new development of Manz production solutions and automation systems, during 2021 Touch Taiwan events, Manz will showcase at its booth a full range of products at Nangang Exhibition Hall 1 at fourth floor, booth no. M520. Manz sales and product teams warmly welcome you to visit the booth to experience more innovative solutions.Robert Lin, General Manager of Manz Taiwan

With the advent of the audio-visual era, whether for consumer use or commercial applications in retail, F&B or factory manufacturing, the demand for high image quality is ever-increasing. In recent years, moreover, breakthroughs in LED display technology have been rapidly and successively made, resulting in brightness, color gamut, and color contrast that are greatly superior to that of LCD displays.Focusing exclusively on the high-quality, high-performance mini/micro-LED market, Yenrich Technology Corporation has recently launched ultra-fine pitch LED solutions ahead of market contenders. Through its advanced technology, comprehensive services and extensive product line, it will be able to reduce system operator development cost and shorten time-to-market, allowing it to grasp next-gen business opportunities with its highly competitive advantages.The global market for large-size displays has been shifting since 2018 as LED screens that used to be installed outdoors began to move indoors, providing users with better display technology. In the past, indoor displays were mostly comprised of LCDs. Li-yuan Huang, VP of Sales and Marketing at Yenrich, nevertheless pointed out that LCDs designed with backlight architecture have certain limitations in terms of both color contrast and brightness. With regard to brightness, for instance, even though mini-LED light sources have become increasingly prevalent in backlight modules these past couple of years, the increased brightness - from 500 nits to 1000 nits - is still far from comparable with the 2000 nits of Yenrich's LED products. The lifetime, screen area and transportation convenience of LCD displays are moreover inferior to that of LED displays, therefore it is expected that mini-LED displays will dominate even in the market for high-end, large-size commercial displays.Li-yuan Huang went on to say that although LEDs will be the mainstream in the market for indoor / large-size displays, this does not mean that the technology can be directly replicated and applied to this field. Due to the different viewing distances between outdoor and indoor scenarios, user's perception of display resolution also differs. At present, the pixel pitch of outdoor LED displays is 10mm-2.5mm, but if used indoors, an even smaller pitch must be adopted, usually between 1-2.5mm. The flip-chip RGB mini-LED die used by Yenrich enables the company to make ultra-fine pitch screens with pitch below 1mm.Li-yuan Huang further indicated that under the demand for high-end audio-visual and digital transformation, boutique flagship stores, government agencies, and large enterprises have all begun to install LED screens in interior spaces for marketing advertisements or war room use. This trend has completely opened up the market for ultra-fine pitch LED displays, and garnered the interest of related industry peers. Most manufacturers, however, are currently still using conventional face-up LED dies to build their displays, a technology that can only achieve a minimum pitch of 0.8mm. In comparison, Yenrich's industry-leading four-in-one flip-chip RGB mini-LED package can achieve a pitch of 0.6mm or even smaller to further improve LED screen resolution.Yenrich Technology Corporation, a member of Ennostar Group, utilizes flip-chip RGB mini-LED dies as an important weapon for achieving ultra-fine-pitch displays. The high-quality flip-chip dies are the achievement of years of development conducted by EPISTAR, another member of Ennostar Group. Ever since it was founded, Yenrich has been focusing on next-gen packaging and expanding its market share with the flip-chip dies developed by EPISTAR. As all relevant materials and technologies are now readied, the company has been receiving orders from several end-customers. Li-yuan Huang stated that, in addition to advanced mini-LED packaging technology, Yenrich is also committed to providing clients with various solutions. Currently, the company has established joint ventures with partners in mainland China to offer customers a variety of advanced mini-LED packaging services and solutions, including advanced mini-LED packaging production lines and SMT lines equipped with capacity of 800kk monthly. Customer products can enter mass production upon completion of design, greatly shortening time-to-market.Even as it enhances its technology over production, Yenrich has also actively engaged in configuring its IP deployment. With confirmation in 2016 the company's mission is to produce high-brightness and high-tech displays, Yenrich has been continuously applying for patents for its research and development outcomes. At such, currently the company's ultra-fine pitch and advanced mini-LED packaging technology has been under patent protection in both the European and American markets. At this year's Touch Taiwan exhibition, Yenrich's new technological prowess will be unveiled. 0.46mm ultra-fine pitch products can be combined with 5G technology to make 8K resolution LED screens, stretching the limits of current LED technology. Another 0404 RGB LED package developed by Yenrich focuses on surface treatment technology, and is able to enhance visual uniformity while in off-state and correct color shift of the LED screen, creating a spectacular visual experience.Li-yuan Huang explained that, since its establishment, Yenrich has been deeply committed to creating high-quality products with advanced technology. As past research and development has now yielded fruitful results, the company has been able to offer solutions that indisputably lead the market in terms of technology. Moving forward into the future, Yenrich will continue to uphold existing strategies, utilizing its advantages of advanced packaging technology and comprehensive production line to provide customers with the strongest and most reliable support.Yenrich Technology Corporation has launched ultra-fine pitch LED solutions ahead of market contenders

Smartization has become a critical initiative to the healthcare industry in recent years. The incorporation of diverse innovative technologies, including LED, has given a boost to healthcare service quality. According to EPISTAR senior director Dr. Shao-You Deng, LED beams of different wavelengths used to measure physiological signals of the human body stand a chance of replacing the conventional invasive approaches to become the mainstream medical measurement technology. EPISTAR has built up strong LED technology and capacity advantages that will continue to step up efforts toward this market segment.Before seeing the doctor, people usually need to have their physiological signals such as heart rate and blood pressure measured by specific instruments. To make the process easier, high-tech firms have been marketing wearable devices including smart watches and wristbands that use LED light sources to detect the user's heart rate and aggregate the measurements for big data analytics to guide subsequent care plans.According to Dr. Deng, the physiological signals are now generally measured using specific devices such as blood pressure gauges and blood glucose meters and the measurements only indicate the health condition of the person at the time when he is tested. With wearable devices emerging, continuous measurements become available. However, network communication quality and charges prevent the continuous measurements from being uploaded to the backend management platform in real time so there is a limit to the benefit of wearable devices. This may be overcome with the advent of 5G communication, which features high bandwidth, high-speed data transfer and massive connectivity. Wearable devices will be able to maintain uninterrupted connection with the backend platform to allow the system to constantly monitor the user's physiological signals and instantly respond to emergencies.Smart watches introduced by leading tech firms including Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi all come with a heart rate monitoring feature. For example, Mi Band, Apple Watch and Amazon Halo use green 520-540 nm LED for photoplethysmogram (PPG) based heart rate monitoring to enable their healthcare features. EPISTAR senior engineer Dr. Yung-Hsin Lin noted such non-invasive health monitoring solutions are a clear trend now and LED technology will play a critical role to these solutions. Having built up robust LED technological capabilities through years of efforts, EPISTAR is a strong support for smart healthcare device manufacturers.When LED technology was first being adopted in smart healthcare solutions, EPISTAR had begun to work with customers looking to expand into the market segment, said Dr. Lin. After a period of testing, EPISTAR found the most suitable LED technology for use in end devices. For example, 620 - 1000 nm red and infrared light became the LED market standard for heart rate and blood oxygen level monitoring. Aside from the applications of LED with different wavelengths, EPISTAR has also developed products that meet power consumption requirements by wide-ranging healthcare devices. For instance, EPISTAR offers LED products for wearable devices that combine precision and energy efficiency. Visitors to Touch Taiwan 2021 will see EPISTAR's LED solutions for healthcare devices covering a full spectrum of wavelengths.Not only does EPISTAR hold strong advantages in product portfolio and production capacity, but it is also among the very few Taiwan-based LED suppliers that offer LED products covering all wavelengths. For short-wave infrared (SWIR) light, which will be used in smart healthcare applications going forward, it has developed the first-generation transmitter sensor. According to Dr. Deng, SWIR is classified to have wavelengths above 1,100 nm and requires the use of InP substrates. EPISTAR is also one of the few LED suppliers capable of producing SWIR sensors spanning across 1,100 nm, 1,300 nm and 1,500 nm ranges. Furthermore, its unique epitaxy process enables EPISTAR to make SWIR LEDs that deliver 10% to 15% higher power and require 5% to 10% lower voltage compared to products of Japanese manufacturers. More importantly, it is capable of large-scale production, ahead of most other LED suppliers in the world.Leveraging its strength in capacity, technology and quality, EPISTAR will aggressively grab the smart healthcare market. Initial-stage efforts will focus on consumer products that do not require certifications, with plans to expand into professional-grade medical devices going forward. In conclusion, Dr. Deng and Dr. Lin noted that despite the promising outlook for non-invasive LED-based measurement in the smart healthcare market, the performance of LED-based measuring devices will hinge on the precision and energy efficiency the LED can deliver. EPISTAR's expertise in LED and healthcare will make it a strong support for device makers, helping them capture rising opportunities.Source: EPISTARSource: EPISTAR

With the convergence of 5G, AI, IoT and hyperscale computing, what will computing needs look like in the next decade? As the heart of the computing and connectivity revolution, and the developer of widely used processor architecture, Arm has outlined its vision over the next decade through the recent launch of the Armv9 architecture.CK Tseng (left), President of Arm Taiwan, and Dr. JC Hsu, Corporate VP and GM of MediaTek's Wireless Communications Business Unit (right)As AI-powered compute becomes ubiquitous, CK Tseng, President of Arm Taiwan, expected that another 300 billion Arm-based chips to ship during the next decade and could be widely used in end devices, data networks, edge computing or in the cloud. After a holistic consideration of the balance between general purpose and specialized processing as well as factors such as safety, performance, ease of development and power efficiency, Armv9 is the solution developed to address this unprecedented opportunity for innovation. How to leverage Arm architecture and its strong ecosystem to make innovations is what the whole industry can think about to identify and size up the business opportunities.Computing needs and challenges for the next decadeIt has been 10 years since Arm launched Armv8 architecture. More than 180 billion Arm-based chips have been shipped over the past 30 years, Tseng said. From sensors, edge, networks to the cloud, the vast majority of shared data today are processed by Arm processors at some stage through its lifecycle. Therefore, when we started developing the Armv9 a few years ago, we have been thinking about what's the biggest challenge over the next decade? How can we help developers prepare for the future?Shipments of Arm-based chips are expected to reach 300 billion in the next decade for diverse innovative solutionsFirst, information security is the biggest challenge. "Data has become an important asset for individuals, whether in consumer, industrial or commercial applications, ensuring privacy and security is an urgent issue." In addition, with the growing innovative applications and the cost to launch an app is getting lower, there will be more and more people engaged in software development. In the future, the number of software will increase greatly, how to prevent important information from being stolen and make the development of applications easier and seamless is a matter to be considered.In the meantime, the popularity of AI and hyperscale computing applications will continue to drive the development of edge AI, and the market has endless demand for lower power consumption and higher performance. Arm is developing technologies to increase efficiency, bandwidth, cache size and reduce memory latency to maximize the performance of Armv9-based CPU to collaborate with partners to react to challenges.Another challenge posed by the ubiquity of AI in computing is that the requirements for specialized processing solutions will become higher. Different market segmentation, performance and use cases will bring different computing requirements. How to flexibly utilize the hardware and software capabilities of CPU, GPU and NPU processors to optimize the AI workload in the optimal solution is also a problem to be solved.The future of specialized computing delivers enhanced security, AI and system performanceTherefore, in addition to enhancing security and core performance, Arm is also trying to create solutions that meets the needs of specialized computing under the general-purpose and flexible hardware architecture to achieve the optimal "system-level" performance.Tseng said that in anticipation of this trend, Arm has changed to define the organizational structure from an application point of view rather to define from product lines to cater for the specific needs of computing technologies for different applications.David Hsu, Arm FAE Director, added that specified processing is needed to respond to the diverse needs for future chips. That's why Arm integrates Arm CPU, GPU and NPU platforms to deliver greater efficiency, scalability and flexibility. In addition to hardware, Arm has also put a lot of efforts in building a software ecosystem. "The future is an era of contextual optimization, moving beyond individual IP specification, where software will play a much bigger role."To this end, Arm introduces SystemReday program. As long as hardware and underlying software comply with defined system standards, all operating systems can run on top of them and can be compatible with Arm-based hardware, from sensors, edge to the cloud. Based on the concept of a software-defined device, the adoption of the Arm architecture, which is widely used in the industry, will ensure that developers can maximize their software investment, Tsang said. "Since we can't anticipate the performance of the end devices, in order to achieve the best performance, self-developed software and cloud software will co-exist in the future. There'll be more and more cloud-native software running on the edge devices, and we encourage partners to join."The Arm SystemReady program achieves balance between standardization and flexibility, helping partners innovate with differentiated designsHsu emphasized that for Arm, these efforts are all about trying to strike a balance between standardization and flexibility. Through standardization of hardware and underlying software, such as defining the standards in the Base System Architecture (BSA) and Base Boot Requirement (BBR), it will be easier for companies to port software and allow them to focus on application innovation and design differentiation.On the security front, Armv9 introduced the Confidential Compute Architecture (CCA), introducing the concept of dynamically created Realms for the first time to protect data in use. The main difference between Realms and the existing TrustZone technology is that the latter believes the underlying operating system is secure while isolating secure world from non-secure world. On the other hand, the protection in CCA is to transfer data to its own Realms through an additional address translation, making it hard for the operating systems to probe the code and data executed in the Realms. Therefore, even if an operating system is compromised, the data and codes in Realms can still be ensured.The Arm Confidential Compute Architecture (CCA) introduces a new concept of dynamically created RealmsRealms are an evolution of TrustZone. By being isolated from the operating system, Realms provide an additional layer of protection for software. Even dynamically downloaded apps on mobile phones can gain higher confidentiality by introducing the Realms. In addition, the Armv9 architecture provides enhanced support for Memory Tagging Extensions, which protects data passed from the CPU to the memory by allowing software to associate a pointer to memory with a tag to counter attacks on memory security vulnerabilities. Security is enhanced through the various protection mechanisms in hardware and software.In digital signal processing (DSP) and AI computing, Arm partnered with Fujitsu to create the Scalable Vector Extension (SVE) technology, which is at the heart of the Fugaku, the world's fastest supercomputer. Building on that work, SVE2, an enhanced version of SVE developed for Armv9, enables support of vector length from 128 bits to a variable of 2048 bits.Hsu said that such a large amount of parallel computing power enables Armv9 to work well for 5G systems, virtual reality, augmented reality and also for machine learning workloads. Over the next few years, Arm will further extend the performance with substantial enhancements in performing Matrix Multiplication within the CPU. In addition to expanding AI capabilities, AI innovations in Mali GPUs and Ethos NPUs will continue.Leverage Arm ecosystem to accelerate product innovation and differentiationThe release of the Armv9 architecture is just a start. The industry will continue to see Arm roll out new products and technologies to propel Arm's vision: specialized processing, built on the economics, design freedom and accessibility advantages of our ubiquitous computing platform, enabling our partners to deliver best in class solutions across all markets. The first Armv9-based product will be available this year.Armv9's advanced architecture opens up more innovation possibilities and new opportunities for Taiwan's technology industry. Tseng said Taiwan's technology sector had performed well in 2020, but the challenge of moving beyond existing business models to increase business value in response to the needs of the new generation of computing remains to be solved. "Taiwan companies have been very well versed in technology. Facing various opportunities such as 5G, IoT, cloud, automotive and others, they need to develop long-term profitability models and increase investment in innovation to lay the foundation for future growth.""In Arm's case, we started investing in Armv9 research and development a few years ago to keep pace with the trends and partner needs. The opportunity Armv9 brings to Taiwan is about providing more value and the possibility of differentiation, which is the key to success," Tseng said.Hsu explained, "In the case of smart camera, Taiwan companies has built strong capabilities from chip design, software to the machine. The competitive advantage can be further improved by taking advantage of Armv9's enhanced security and AI performance to take the lead in developing more powerful and more secure products, for example, achieving higher recognition accuracy in AI, in line with the special use case, or increasing product security.""Arm has been deeply cultivated in Taiwan for more than 20 years, and we have been committed to helping our customers expand the market and drive business value." Tsang said. "Taiwan has built up strong design capabilities and already been a critical part of global high-tech supply chain, and we look forward to helping partners speed up time to market for new products through Armv9's excellent features and enhanced connection of ecosystem.""We see great opportunities in areas including smart cameras, smart surveillance, PC, laptop, edge computing, data centers, automotive, and industrial computers for Taiwan companies." Tseng explained.MediaTek took the lead in adopting Armv9 and the new product will be available at the end of this yearMediaTek has become quite the household name in 5G mobile communication technology over recent years. Apart from just smartphones, Arm's collaboration with MediaTek on new Armv9 architecture products extends throughout its product range. "The Arm Neoverse solution supports more cores at constant thermal design power (TDP), improves energy efficiency and performance to offer greater potential for workloads such as high performance computing and machine learning. We are in ongoing discussion with MediaTek in consumer electronics and communication areas such as 5G wireless base stations, enterprise private networks, edge computing, core networks and data centers, etc., and look forward to more cooperation opportunities," said Tseng.At the global launch of the Armv9, MediaTek announced that their first Armv9-based smartphone product will be available by the end of 2021. "MediaTek has built up an abundance of product lines encompassing mobile devices, home entertainment applications, wireless connection technologies and IoT markets over the years. The scalability of the Arm architecture, along with excellent performance and design innovation are key as we expand the MediaTek portfolio," said Dr. JC Hsu, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of MediaTek's Wireless Communications Business Unit.JC Hsu believes that the support and advice provided by the Arm team has indeed played a key role in enabling MediaTek's continued innovation and product enhancement. He thinks very highly of the Armv9 architecture in terms of its better security, computing performance and energy efficiency. Through Arm's multiple solutions, including high-efficiency, low-power design and the scalability of the system platform, MediaTek will continue to work closely with Arm in all fields going forward.This echoes what Tseng has stressed all along -- the hope of helping Arm partners to leverage Arm core architecture, the powerful ecosystem and software support to expand markets and generate business opportunities. It is expected that Armv9 will become the foundation for next-generation chip designs as well as the opportunity for enterprises to enhance their competitiveness and technological innovation.Click here to get more details on the Armv9 architecture

Eyeing the huge market demand, FSP Group provides the industry's fullest range of open frame power supply for networking switch and PoE switch applications. The model series comes with a complete assortment of wattages that meet all relevant terminal applications' power supply needs.FSP Group has recently launched new FSP250-H24 and FSP260-P35 models. FSP250-H24 is a single-output model with 250W output power and a dimension of 2"x 4" x 1.283". The model series include 12v, 24v, and 54v. Specially designed for Networking Switch and PoE Switch, they feature A/C and HVDC (high-voltage d/c) voltage input functions.FSP260-P35 is a single-output model with 260W output power and a dimension of 3" x 5" x 1.34". the model series include 12V/18V/24V/54V output voltage options. The products are intended for networking switch, PoE switch, and docking applications.The two product series can maintain full power output at the fixed operating temperature of 50 degree C and 90-264Vac (128-370Vdc) without de-rating. Under standby mode, the input power consumption is less than 0.5W. In line with EMI EN55032: Class B specifications and in compliance with CB 62368-1, UL/cUL, and CE global safety regulations, terminal products are provided with the highest security guarantee.FSP group launch new open frame power supply

5G is no doubt a hot key word in today's high-tech world. The disruptive changes 5G will bring are nothing like those in the times of 3G or 4G. Never-before-seen features such as network slicing, virtualization, and ultra-low latency are expected to give rise to a myriad of smart innovations which will generate enormous business value. As such, the main 5G market will target enterprise applications, unlike the 3G/4G market which focuses on consumer applications.It is foreseeable that massive amounts of data will be generated as 5G services become available, which will be instrumental to the realization of AIoT applications. Data flow across each node, including the end devices, base stations, and core networks, will be much bigger than before and instant processing will be needed. In response, fronthaul or backhaul transmission speeds have jumped from 10Gbps to 25~50Gbps while core network transmission speeds have surged to 100Gbps, 400Gbps, and even 800Gbps. This has spurred escalating market demand for high-speed copper conductors and optical interconnects. JPC, long devoted to high-speed cabling and optical communication modules, stands to reap the benefits.There is one more thing that is quite different between 5G and previous generations of mobile communication technologies. That is, telecom operators are more concerned about their return on 5G investment than before. This leads to the rise of Open RAN (O-RAN), OCP, ONF and other international organizations promoting open-source 5G network architecture. Originally close-ended base station technologies, resources, and devices are now being delayered and deconstructed while software and hardware are being disintegrated as well. The open trend will have a major influence on JPC.According to JPC chairperson Shu-Mei Chang, the term "open" was hardly heard of during the times of 4G or even earlier 3G and 2G. In other words, the telecom world kept to itself. Telecom and datacom were two different worlds and their paths did not cross each other. Now with 5G O-RAN, new types of telecom operators like Japan-based Rakuten and German-based 1��1 Drillisch are emerging. Telecom heavyweights like AT&T are actively embracing open architectures as they will be able to freely purchase white-box servers, switches, storages and small-scale base stations to rebuild their mobile communication systems. Leveraging wireless network virtualization, they can change the traditional telecom network architecture, thereby breaking free from vendor lock-in and achieve performance and cost optimization.The market embraces JPC's high-speed transmission products with increasing O-RAN and OCP adoption"As O-RAN architectures and Open Compute Project (OCP) platforms get increasingly adopted, white-box equipment suppliers that had difficulty penetrating into the supply chain of the telecom industry with a history of over a hundred years now stand a chance of tapping into the new blue ocean market of 5G telecom networks," said Chang. To do so, white-box equipment suppliers need to find active optical cables (AOC) and direct attach copper cables (DAC) used to connect servers and switches, some of which need to deliver data rates as high as 400Gbps. A large quantity of fiber optic or copper cables is also required for the deployment of telecom central office infrastructure.This presents new opportunities to JPC. The customer base of JPC had primarily included switch or server manufacturers and cloud service providers with very few white-box equipment suppliers until two years ago when JPC started to reach out to white-box equipment suppliers and system integrators (SI) in view of rising O-RAN and OCP popularity spurred by 5G and stepped up efforts to pitch JPC's high-speed transmission products to them. After a break-in period, JPC has strengthened the engagement with data center operators, equipment suppliers (including servers, switches and storage devices) and electronics manufacturing service (EMS) providers and has begun making shipments to these new customers.What's more, growing 5G developments have also prompted distributors, value-added resellers (VAR), supercomputer suppliers, hospitals, schools and information security device vendors to actively approach JPC for partnership deals to incorporate 100G/400G high-speed transmission products to enhance their application/service performance. What this means is that enterprises or organizations that had nothing to do with JPC in the past now join its expanding customer base, allowing JPC to tap into tremendous opportunities.Of course, these burgeoning opportunities do not come out of nowhere but result from JPC's technological strength built through two decades of efforts. Dr. Chi-Hsien Sun, in charge of JPC's product R&D for the cloud network communication component industry, noted that JPC has stay committed to enhancing its electronics development capability since 2000, transcending from traditional molding, stamping and injection processes. This allowed JPC to lead the industry in replacing conventional connectors with PCBA terminals and thereby build up a strong foundation of PCB layout and impedance matching technologies. JPC has also stayed ahead in the transition to active copper cables (ACC), based on which it was able to increase the transmission range and reliability of copper cables.Soon afterwards, JPC undertook the development of optical modules featuring optical packaging and laser/optical coupler technologies. Not only has JPC effectively raised the transmission speed of its optical modules, but it has also reduced the power consumption and enhanced the heat dissipation. JPC has received four patents for its optical module technologies. Its leading-edge technologies will enable JPC to capture preemptive opportunities in the low speed to high speed transition and electrical signal to optical signal conversion brought by 5G and become a strong force supporting white-box equipment suppliers' foray into the telecom market.JPC chairperson Shu-Mei Chang

Shortages, which were originally attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, have continued to worsen in 2021. Continuous demand growth in various sectors like 5G, automotive and IoT, ongoing raw material shortages and catastrophes are the primary culprits.2021 Q1 in reviewThe year opened with renewed concerns over legacy case size MLCCs used in the industrial sector, 5G smartphones and the automotive sector due to a fire outbreak at the Walsin production plant in China. And, it's getting worse as supply of high-capacitance MLCCs, in particular, has been exacerbated since January, largely caused by a sharp rise in 5G mobile phones after the Chinese New Year.In February, a winter storm in Texas caused widespread power shortages and blackouts. Because Texas is a US hub for chip manufacturing and electronic production, major chip manufacturers were impacted including Samsung, NXP and Infineon.In the same month, an earthquake resulted in a blackout at Renesas's Naka factory, and production was temporarily suspended. The impact on supply chains from this event was limited. However, in mid-March, the same plant caught fire, and damaged 23 machines, including plating machines used for wiring. The components most affected include a variety of automotive and non-automotive MCUs as well as power management and MOSFETs.Unexpected events, such as the Nittobo and Renesas factory fires, have also worsened the supply of already short raw materials like silicone and glass substrate, wafers and crystal oscillators. Production for a variety of components has been impacted as a result, causing shortages of ICs, CPUs and memory. Memory module pricing, for example, increased 5-10% above official pricing.The shortages have hindered the automotive industry especially. The lack of MLCCs and automotive chips forced automakers like Volkswagen, Ford and Toyota to cut production early in the year despite growing consumer demand. As a result, the US, German and Taiwanese governments were pressured to convince IC leaders like TSMC and UMC to reallocate production to support struggling automotive manufacturers. Unfortunately, the Renesas plant fire will only increase the obstacles the automotive industry continues to encounter.The rollout of 5G technology has also been hindered by the IC and CPU shortages. Chipmakers are currently struggling to meet demand for processor chips used in smartphones, which has affected production lines of Samsung and Apple. The shortage of ICs has also led to supply constraints for SSDs, which have been in high demand from the rollout of 5G, IoT and new gaming activity.A look into Q2In Q2 we are sure to fully realize the impacts of these unpredictable disruptions while facing additional shortages on the horizon.Raw materials worsenAs seen throughout 2020 and in 2021, raw material shortages have intensified, and it doesn't appear to be ending any time soon.The ABF substrate shortage has been the biggest contributor to the CPU, GPU and IC shortages, and is currently predicted to last until 2023. Because ABF manufacturing equipment has a lead time of 12 months, ABF makers are focusing on increasing yield rather than capacity. With no supply relief in sight, prices will continue to rise over the next 6 months, leaving customers to pay the price.Semiconductor production continues to be disrupted by the 8-inch wafer shortage with dim prospects for recovery as the substrate shortage continues. The 8-inch wafer is needed for CMOS sensors, power supply controller, MCU, RF component, MEMS, etc., which is why numerous industries are competing for this resource. As TSMC moves to focus its production on automotive chips, the production of other industries will suffer as a result.Certain crystal oscillators, including TCXOs are seeing supply issues fostered by the Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM) fire that occurred in October 2020. Despite AKM starting to ship out stock through its subcontractors, there is extremely limited supply and customers are being urged to find products from other manufacturers until alternative production is available. AKM's production lines will not be fully operational until March 2022.Other raw material shortages are starting to appear, such as with glass and precious metals. Palladium, used in electronics and a key component in vehicle pollution-control devices, is experiencing rising prices as usage grows. Price increases currently paid by automakers may be passed off to customers if output falls short of demand as predicted.Growing component shortagesThere is growing demand for ICs related to five key areas: energy efficiency, mobility, security, IoT (internet of things) and server/cloud services, which is putting pressure on supply. As such, overall IC shortages are expected to continue to be widespread across all brands throughout Q2.Rising automotive demand has worsened the chip shortage, causing a chain reaction across different industries. Because some chip makers are shifting production to focus on automotive products, supply for industrial products will likely take a hit and pricing will continue in the quarter.Pricing for automotive ICs, generally, is rising by about 30% while current lead times are around 28 weeks - and could grow up to 40 weeks. Lead times for industrial application MCUs are currently facing extending lead times due to automotive demand as the industry continues to see many shortages.Demand from the automotive market, in addition to high demand for PCs and smartphones, has put a strain on MLCCs, which has resulted in price increases. Analysts have predicted that the MLCC shortage is expected to worsen through Q3, and prices are believed to increase in Q2. With limited foundry capacity and many manufacturers competing for these necessary products, the automotive industry won't see supply relief until the second half of the year.The mobile phone market is also being affected by IC shortages, as well as heightened memory pricing from little supply and growing demand. Mobile phone memory products are seeing price increases and a supply gap from customers pulling in extra stock as a buffer against these prices.If demand for memory strengthens as predicted, contract prices for memory will rise further in Q2 and gaps in supply will worsen. Samsung has already announced a pricing increase of 10% in April, and Intel and Micron prices are to rise by 5% as well.Furthermore, implementation of 5G coupled with rising consumer demand for smarter technology in mobile phones, automobiles, wireless applications, and appliances will cause enterprise and cloud storage companies to have increasing need for larger and faster SSDs, which requires more NAND flash. Since NAND flash demand will likely outpace supply in Q3 as new mobile devices and CPUs hit the market, SSD pricing will rise anywhere between 5-15% as a result and continue through the year.Ramification of natural disastersThe Texas storm is sure to cause supply issues for memory, automotive MCUs, storage and more for weeks to come. Plant interruptions from the rolling blackouts in February have decreased overall production at a time when chip demand is already higher than capacity can met.NXP is one company that reports it experienced a month's loss of chip production due to the event and lead times for its products will extend by 8-12 weeks as a result. Infineon's production of MCUs and NOR flash memory chips have also been heavily affected, especially since its NOR flash supply had been facing shortages. Because of this, memory pricing is predicted to rise as much as another 10% in Q2.Comparatively, Renesas's fire has had a much worse effect on its production of MCUs and MOSFETs, which will require at least 100-120 days to recover according to the company. It will take 6 months for the company to recoup its losses, and automakers, especially, will feel its effects in April.The continued drought in Taiwan will only exacerbate the effects of these shortages, especially since Taiwanese plants and foundries produce approximately 53% of global semiconductors. Because water is key in processing silicon and chip production, shortages through May could be a major blow to semiconductor production.A tumultuous road ahead for global markets

While COVID-19 is taking its toll on brick-and-mortar retail around the world, it actually has been fueling a surge in online shopping. Taiwan's largest e-commerce group PChome Online , recently celebrating the 20th anniversary for its PChome Online Shopping platform, has seen its profits double for two consecutive quarters. In its two decades of development, PChome has borne witness to the growth of Taiwan's e-commerce. Joining forces with its most trustworthy partner Chunghwa Telecom IDC, PChome will stay committed to enabling more reliable, convenient and comprehensive services both online and offline while continuing to innovate and expand market footprint to create unparalleled e-commerce success.Kevin Tsai, PChome Online Inc. CEOPChome has pioneered multiple trend-setting e-commerce practices that online shoppers in Taiwan are ever so familiar with - guaranteed 24-hour delivery, installment payment plans by credit cards, one-click return and convenience store pickup and payment. More than that, PChome has played a vital role in shaping Taiwan's vibrant e-commerce scene today. Starting out as an online electronics retailer, PChome has advanced with the times and kept abreast of today's young generation needs. More than half of its shoppers are aged 35 or younger. This goes to show PChome's efforts to target the young and mobile population have continued to generate brilliant results.Professional server room management service enables premium shopping experienceLooking closely at PChome's e-commerce strategies going forward, one will find that it attaches great importance to high-speed, stable and professional IT infrastructure management capability as it strives to keep up with a diversity of network services and mobile phone apps, so as to be able to provide premium, prompt and instant e-commerce services with the expansion of its service roadmaps. "For example, PChome has conducted the only global Singles' Day online shopping festival in Taiwan for four years in a row. It once set the record of receiving 1,300 orders in a minute," said Kevin Tsai, PChome Online Inc. CEO. He added, "Any operation disruption not only means loss of business but more importantly it also hurts customer satisfaction and worse yet business reputation."To ensure its server room maintains glitch-free operation, PChome has chosen to work with Taiwan's leading telecom service provider Chunghwa Telecom IDC for years. Chunghwa Telecom IDC has attained multiple certifications both at home and abroad. The server room is equipped with N+1 electrical and mechanical design, dual power source, and diverse telecom paths. In the case of unexpected power failure, large-sized oil tanks allow the backup power system to sustain server room operation for 72 hours without interruption.Furthermore, server room access is controlled with multi-factor authentication. Chunghwa Telecom IDC's Network Operation Center (NOC) is in charge of 24/7 server room surveillance, guaranteeing the highest level of security. Chunghwa Telecom IDC's reliable services perfectly support PChome's requirements in handling massive data traffic and ensuring information security. They work together to create the ultimate online shopping experience.Responding to changes with changes, PChome builds up an O2O e-commerce ecosystem"To an e-commerce operator, each day is full of challenges. On top of all the work that is done at physical retail stores, an e-commerce operator has to efficiently operate an online platform and speed is everything. Each step along the process, such as ordering, warehousing and shipping, has to be done expediently and any of them could be a bottleneck that hinders efficiency," noted Tsai. During the online to offline (O2O) transition, an e-commerce operator has a lot of barriers to overcome. Running its own logistics service and warehouses, PChome is in full control of its parcel delivery operations. Leveraging wireless communication technologies and big data analytics, PChome stays on top of logistics operations and consumer needs. It is expanding the PPoint ecosystem to not only services offered by its subsidiaries but also 180,000 physical retail locations throughout Taiwan, including convenience stores, department stores, electronics and appliance stores, cosmetics stores, drink bars, grocery stores as well as other sales channels. It also plans to make PPoint redeemable for 800 million items sold online in an effort to keep building up the membership economy.With Chunghwa Telecom IDC's support, PChome is capable of handling the tremendous computing load required for smart warehousing and big data analytics while flexibly and promptly accommodating cabinet expansion and bandwidth adjustment. Chunghwa Telecom IDC also offers colocation Smart Hands services so PChome can save the costs of on-premise manpower and maintenance operations. "In the case of any issue, all it takes is one phone call and Chunghwa Telecom IDC comes to the rescue," said Tsai.Enjoying success after twenty years of efforts, PChome joins forces with Chunghwa Telecom IDC in marking a new milestoneExtending the e-commerce success established through its 20 years of development, PChome has been targeting markets abroad in recent years with an aim to more comprehensively meet consumer needs. For example, it launched the cross-border e-commerce brand PChomeSEA and overseas purchasing service PChome Bibian in an effort to offer more diverse service platforms and expand its e-commerce footprint. As PChome's most trustworthy partner, an enabler of system computing power and bandwidth, a provider of webcast platforms as well as a protector of e-commerce security, Chunghwa Telecom IDC fully supports PChome's strategic moves, allowing it to focus attention on making innovations and perfecting products and services and to thereby rise up as Taiwan's leader pushing the frontiers of e-commerce and embrace a brighter future.For more information about IDC, please visit the website. Regarding more IDC article, please visit the website.

In recent years, a wave of cross-industry partnerships has emerged in the industry to target trends in AIoT and 5G. The cross-industry partnerships are expected to form comprehensive capabilities to seize opportunities in diversified intelligence applications. To date, there have been more and more cases of partnerships. 5G Drones for highway hillsides, and reservoirs watershed survey combining "perceptive AI" and "fully autonomous AI" to enact disaster prevention, environment protection is one of the examples.Since its establishment in 1992, Coretronic Corporation has positioned itself as an "innovative display system integrated solution provider." For more than 20 years, Coretronic Corporation demonstrated its technical capabilities in displays, optics, thermal management, materials and precision molds. It actively branched out from its core capabilities to smart robotics, MEMS sensor components, AR/MR, and cloud services in four subsidiaries. Coretronic Corporation CTO and AI Application Research Center Vice President Robert Hsueh stated that the mission of the 4 subsidiaries is to manage various smart application solutions and develop critical, related upstream components, in order to seize the massive opportunities in AIoT and 5G.Robert Hsueh also emphasized that there are already many companies offering AIoT and 5G related products and solutions today. To build competitive edge over increasingly fierce competition, Coretronic must secure the sources of the technologies. Coretronic not only develops solutions, but also secures critical components and modules upstream, thereby strengthens its competitiveness in the market. Taking the LiDAR sensor as an example, Coretronic develops the state-of-the-art MEMS-based LiDAR sensor which integrates optical machines, system, and signal processing algorithms. Compared to mechanical LiDARs consisting of laser scanning structure currently available in the market, MEMS LiDARs are more compact and lighter, less power consuming, and more reliable. If the cost of these modules fall to an acceptable price in the market, it will explode onto the market.Coretronic Corporation has been investing in drone development since 2014. From the beginning, the focus has been on "full autonomy". The many years of development is now starting to bear fruit and the company is starting to enter the Japanese market. Besides airborne robots, Coretronic Corporation is also developing land based robots for smart factories, smart logistics, and other specific applications, which includes fully autonomous forklifts/AMR. The selling point of these robots is the integration of image recognition technologies, autonomous navigation, and high-precision motion control. This allows the robots to move stably on uneven surfaces or in narrow corridors. Based on the SLAM-based 3D model, the forklift understands its surroundings and its position, uses AI to identify different pallet types, and connects to the backend assignment system to deliver the goods from point A to point B. The key technologies involved in this process are all related to the four subsidiaries.CP Wang, senior director of the Coretronic Intelligent Robotics Corporation Career Development Center, stated that when the company started to develop drones in 2014, the company utilized the innovative energy of Silicon Valley to successfully create fully autonomous movement and replace traditional remote control methods. The new system reduces the need for manpower, improves efficiency, and captures data. At the same time, the company discovered that the communication structure is also an important part of the system. Drones do not only need to integrate Edge and AI and incorporate environmental data, they also need to connect to the safety monitoring system of the site, in order to fulfill their roles within a specified range, such as safety maintenance, basic equipment testing, patrols of energy facilities, and 3D project mapping. Therefore, the robots are very reliant on the communication system.Creating the value of innovative services for users as a verticals expertIt is worth mentioning that as video recording technologies improve exponentially, resolutions have gone from 2K to 4K and now 8K. In addition, cameras are now equipped on airborne drones instead of being stationary on the ground. These improvements in technology allows for the recording of video from a wider range of angles. It is evident that the combination of the vast amount of video data with AI analysis will provide significant benefits to operators of large-scale sites. People are no longer required to inspect every corner of the site and operators can clearly monitor and detect any environmental changes at any time. However, to reach this goal, the reasoning response time of AI must be improved. The use of AIoT smart terminals is not enough. The system must be integrated with 5G to maximize the value of its application.With regard to smart cloud services, verticals such as smart advertising and smart retail have been introduced at this stage. Starting in 2016, the first smart projection advertising wall was introduced in Taipei MRT, and more precise advertising services were provided through the cloud and crowd analysis technology. More than 20,000 smart advertising billboards have been introduced around Taiwan. In the future, the higher bandwidth, lower latency, and greater number of connections provided by 5G technology will facilitate real-time streaming and two-way interactions, further improve the visual experience. In terms of smart manufacturing, the 5G network is used to construct a digitized manufacturing information platform to achieve real-time transmission and storage safety. Combined with Coretronic Corporation MEMS sensor components and predictive diagnostic AI, real-time monitoring of the equipment can be achieved. In addition, the integration of industrial Internet of Things, autonomous mobile robots, and the Coretronic Corporation smart cloud platform will realize the smart and automated production model of Industry 4.0.In the future, Coretronic Corporation expects that as the 5G era approaches, the rules of the market will change and form a new business model of B2B2X. The first "B" represents the telecommunications industry; the second "B" represents the verticals expert; and the "X" represents anyone. It could be a person, institution, site, or various smart terminals such as webcams, sensors, robots, AGV, or self-driving cars.In past B2B2X projects, generally the telecommunications company played the role of SI and the verticals expert would assist. This is because the telecommunications company was in control of the communication resources. However, in the 5G era, network configurations have become more diversified. Communications is no longer the key element that influences the value of projects. Following this, experts in a field and system solution providers who possess key technologies for different industries gain a bigger say and more control than they had in the past. Through their collaboration with telecom companies, they will advance from the supporting role and assume the main role, creating more innovative service value for end users. This is the role Coretronic Corporation wishes to play in the future.Coretronic Corporation CTO and AI Application Research Center Vice President Robert Hsueh