With the launch of the world's first smart home soap maker Soapmaker 1.0, Taiwan-based Lessdo raised over NT$1 million (US$33,275) on the first day its crowdfunding campaign went online in May 2019 and later accumulated more than NT$3 million during the funding period.The Lessdo team has been chosen by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) to present its product at the Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) at CES 2020.Soapmaker mixes soap in six minutesLessdo CEO Jun-Jie Li came up with the idea of developing a soap maker - inspired by a colleague's problem. This colleague had been suffering from chronic skin conditions and spending a fortune buying handmade soap for nine years. He wanted to make his own soap but it was not easy to figure out the correct proportions of ingredients. The process is time-consuming and error-prone. The ingredients are often sold in bulk and do not have a long shelf life. Also, there is no guarantee on the origin and quality of handmade soap on the market. Lessdo was born to address these pain points - a startup now comprising eight people.Their soap-making machine sticking to the principle of "one-button operation." But being simple is not easy. The ability to simplify the 20-some steps of soap making is the most eye-catching feature of Lessdo's Soapmaker. It is built with a 10,000 rpm motor module, 304 stainless steel stirrer and smart thickness sensor."Traditional soap making by hand is time-consuming. The process relies on the person's experience and feel. The tools they use may not comply with fluid mechanics design principles and may fail to achieve uniform mixing. With LESSDO's soap maker, it only takes six minutes to mix the soap batter," noted Shih-Chang Chang, a member of the startup.Chang added, "Making soap is not like cooking. When you make something too salty or too sweet, people can still eat it. Controlling the saponification reaction is at the heart of soap making."To verify the result of soap mixing by machine, Lessdo has repeatedly invited master soap makers for comparisons. Aside from designing the device, Lessdo additionally offers 54 combinations of ingredient packs, allowing users with no prior soap making experience to get started effortlessly. All they need to do is pour the pre-measured ingredient pack and clay powder into the cup and press the button at the top of Soapmaker. After the mixing step is completed, blend in the provided essence oil, using the stirrer for uniform mixing. Pour the soap batter into the mold. Set it aside for two days. Then, unmold and let it cure for five more days before use.Soapmaker can produce three bars of 100g soap at a time. Furthermore, making soap into a spherical shape adheres to the "form follows function" principle and can better prevent glycerin rivers compared to making it into a cuboid shape. This is why Lessdo's Soapmaker comes with a spherical mold.Expanding internationally to create a blue ocean marketDriving smart living forward, Lessdo will continue to optimize Soapmaker's technology and design, said Chang. The next generation product will incorporate Bluetooth communication and smartphone app to allow users to build a soap making database through Bluetooth connection between their smartphone and Soapmaker. In addition to handmade body soap, Lessdo will also develop soap ingredient packs for face, hair, and even home cleaning.Lessdo's marketing plan for the first half of 2020 will focus on the domestic market. It looks to build up brand image and customer loyalty through self-media and word-of-mouth advertising and thereby increase online repurchase. It will also try to expand into the giveaway market and explore co-branding opportunities to grow brand awareness. For the second half of 2020, following the participation at CES 2020, Lessdo will undertake a round of funding on American crowdfunding platforms such as Indiegogo in hopes of replicating its success in Taiwan.The long-term goal is to establish presence in the US, Europe, Japan and other international markets.Lessdo's SoapmakerPhoto: Digitimes staff, December 2019

Taiwan-based startup KaiKuTek has developed a system-on-chip (SoC) solution that combines mmWave radar technologies, antennas and AI accelerators to realize close-distance fine gesture recognition.The advent of the 5G and AIoT eras promises huge opportunities for applications of millimeter wave (mmWave) technologies. Especially when Google's Pixel 4 smartphone allows users to skip a song, snooze an alarm or mute a call with a simple wave over the phone, gesture-based human machine interaction is catching market attention again. However, it remains quite challenging for mmWave technologies to be used for gesture recognition while achieving low energy consumption, low latency and low cost.KaiKuTek, founded by Mike Wang with funding from JMicron Technology in 2017, has developed a solution that it says has matured to commercialization ahead of international technology heavyweights.KaiKuTek has been chosen by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) to be among 80 startup teams that will present their achievements at the Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) at CES 2020. It will showcase what it calls the world's first 3D gesture recognition SoC based on 60GHz mmWave radar technology.A useful solution made by a combination of technologiesWang founded the company at a time when he had little connection in the Taiwan high-tech business but only expertise in RF and wireless communication technologies."I had never worked for a Taiwanese employer before I started KaiKuTek. All my research partners were working in the US at the time," said Wang.Although starting his own business for the first time, Wang had helped build two startups when he was in the US. He helped start a company that provided RF CMOS solutions in 1999 when the Bluetooth technology was emerging. The company was later sold for US$150 million. The second startup that Wang helped establish offered indoor data transmission solutions for Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MOCA) set-top boxes. It later went public in the US, worth US$800 million at its peak.According to Wang, KaiKuTek is not smarter than others but just integrates related technologies and leverages all their benefits to create a useful solution. Wang said he had been researching on 60GHz mmWave radar technologies in the US, but it was not until he saw Google's Project Soli three years ago that he thought it might be interesting to combine radar sensors with AI.CMOS-based solutionWang highlighted KaiKuTek's three major advantages. The first is its innovative mmWave circuit design, which puts up a high barrier. Latecomers will have to spend tremendous time and money to be able to catch up with KaiKuTek, he said. Second, leveraging hardware capability and software algorithm, KaiKuTek's AI algorithm achieves higher power efficiency, shorter response time and optimal energy efficiency. Third, KaiKuTek has robust technologies and capabilities in antenna design.Despite the high bandwidth, the problem with 60GHz signals is that they do not travel far and attenuate quickly in the air. KaiKuTek is able to use this to its advantage. By using the radar only for close-range detection along with the use of directional antennas to avoid interferences from adjacent devices and increase recognition precision, KaiKuTek's solution can detect subtle finger movements. Not only does KaiKuTek make use of edge computing but it has actually implemented computing on the dedicated AI processing unit embedded in the SoC, realizing computing on the sensor and saving smartphone power consumption.As opposed to other mmWave radar ICs on the market that are manufactured on the expensive gallium arsenide (GaAs) process or use camera-based solutions, KaiKuTek's chip is made using the more mature and affordable CMOS process. Integrating 1T3R antennas, MMICs and its proprietary AI accelerator in an advanced antenna in package (AiP) SoC, KaiKuTek's solution enables multiple benefits including fast response, energy efficiency and low cost.In terms of applications, Wang is optimistic about market opportunities arising from the use of gesture recognition in home appliances enabled by AIoT developments. However, KaiKuTek will focus efforts on smartphones, wearable devices and gaming markets for the time being.KaiKuTek has been putting its test chips in action at major exhibitions with an aim to provide users a new and alternative human machine interaction experience. KaiKuTek marketing director Griffon Lin noted the demonstrations now use test chips with the purpose to gain an insight into market reaction and then KaiKuTek can make adjustments to better suit user needs. Volume production for the first-generation product is scheduled for second-quarter 2020.Gesture recognition has its advantages but it is not aimed to replace touch control. Wang thinks it can be a complementary addition to human machine interface (HMI) designs. The HMI market is big enough for different solutions to thrive, he added.KaiKuTek founder Mike Wang

Taiwan RedEye Biomedical will present at the upcoming CES 2020 its home-based health-monitoring optical hemoglobin sensor that can provide insights into people's health in just 10 seconds, according to the company.The Taiwan-based startup is introducing what it calls the world's first hemoglobin sensor that performs an optical scan of toilet water after bowel movement to detect invisible blood. This is a significant improvement from the traditional fecal occult blood test (FOBT), with which people have to collect stool samples, making sure the sample does not mix with water, and send the samples to the hospital or lab for testing. RedEye said its home-based health monitoring solution allows regular checks to be conducted and can encourage people to more willingly go to the hospital for early detection - a great step forward in preventive healthcare.RedEye has been chosen by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) to present its award-winning solution at the Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) at CES 2020, allowing it to expand beyond Asia and connect with more international investors, medical institutions, distributors and bathroom accessory brands to jointly build a global healthcare ecosystem.Pre-warning can start at homeRedEye said its optical hemoglobin sensor is not intended to replace the conventional examining procedures at hospitals. Quite the contrary, it is aimed to serve as a self-monitoring solution, with which pre-warning can start at home and people can take precautions and go for more detailed checks.Bleeding is an early sign of many serious diseases, according to RedEye's founder Nelson Yan, citing colon cancer as an example. It is the most commonly occurring cancer in Taiwan for 11 consecutive years with more than 15,000 cases being diagnosed every year. That is, 41 people are diagnosed with colon cancer a day on average. More than one third are stage 3 or 4 cases and they only go to the hospital after finding blood in the stool or experiencing other obvious symptoms. Making use of photoelectric technology, RedEye's hemoglobin sensor enables health screening at home so that people can detect early warning signs such as invisible blood and take precautions.People can also use RedEye's solution at home to regularly monitor intermittent bleeding resulting from tumors or polyps with scientific data which can be saved. In the future, they can also keep track of the measurement results with trend charts through an app purpose-built to work in correspondence with RedEye's hemoglobin sensor.RedEye looks to expand into US, Europe and JapanAside from detecting early signs like bleeding resulting from colon or stomach cancer, RedEye's hemoglobin sensor can also check blood in the urine, which can be a warning sign of diseases such as kidney cancer, bladder cancer, urinary tract infection, kidney stones and urethritis. In the future, the sensor, after being wrapped in filter paper, can be inserted 4cm into toilet water after urination. It will take only 10 to 15 seconds for the sensor to show a positive or negative result, Yan said.Yan pointed out that there could be other substances in the water including anthocyanidin, chlorophyll and uric acid. RedEye is working with National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch on clinical studies to develop algorithms that can collect optical readings and intelligently identify different substances.RedEye's sensor currently come in the form of either a handheld device that can be mounted on a wall or placed on a bathroom counter, or a module that can be embedded in a smart toilet. For the former, the company is looking into ODM partnerships with international brands as well as potential China-based OEM opportunities. It is projected that 80% of the product sales will be B2B and the remaining 20% will be B2C through e-commerce channels.Smart toilets designed and made by a Japanese bathroom equipment brand are being marketed in Taiwan with plans to expand into American and European markets to follow. RedEye was chosen to participate in the From IP to IPO (FITI) program. As part of the startup incubation program, RedEye employees were sent to the Netherlands for training for a month in September, 2019. Dutch health examination centers have expressed interest to lease RedEye's solution, which gave a boost to the RedEye team's confidence in their product's application in smart toilets, Yan said.In addition to steadily expanding its market footprint, RedEye, with an NT$20 million capital, plans to undertake another round of funding. The target is to add NT$30 million to its capital by 2020, raising the total to NT$50 million.RedEye founder Nelson Yan (center) and his teamPhoto: Digitimes stafff, December 2019

Hipposcreen Neurotech (HNC) has introduced a stress electroencephalogram (EEG) assessment system, a diagnostic tool that combines AI algorithms and brainwave signal amplifying circuits. It only takes the system 90 seconds to measure brainwave signals and generate scientific data that help doctors diagnose and treat depression, according to the company.HNC, founded by a National Taipei University of Technology (Taipei Tech) research team with investment from Compal, noted that more than 300 hundred million people in the world suffer from depression and fewer than half of them are receiving treatment. In some countries, no more than one tenth of the people with depression are getting medical care.HNC has been chosen by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) to be among the teams that will present their achievements at the Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) at CES 2020. It is hoped that HNC's participation at the event will help it expand internationally and make it a pioneer leading Taiwan's foray into the AI-based smart diagnostics systems sector.HNC's system features high usability, fast measurement and high accuracyThe research team led by Yi Hung Liu, a professor from Taipei Tech, that founded HNC in April 2019, have engaged in the study of brainwave signal processing, AI algorithms and neuroscience analysis for more than a decade.Daniel Weng, HNC's CTO, said the diagnosis of mental disorders, mostly depression, has always relied on the doctor's expert knowledge and clinical experience, along with the use of the patient's self-assessment reports. HNC's stress EEG assessment system is aimed to enable doctors to make diagnosis based on scientific measurements of brainwave signals and data readings so as to allow early detection and treatment.HNC's stress EEG assessment system amplifies brainwave signals measured through EEG, processes the signals and sends the results to the cloud for analysis. The system is easy to operate, fast and accurate so it can proceed to commercialization ahead of the competition, Weng said.Weng explained that HNC's system requires simple preparation procedures. The patient only needs to put on a black electrode cap and sit in front of the computer. Signals are collected through the electrodes. After the patient looks at the black cross on the screen for 90 seconds, an assessment report is generated to indicate the stress level with a colored distribution chart. Darker colors represent higher stress levels and the distance to the dark color zone indicates the subject's likelihood of having depression."The system's smart analysis achieves 80% accuracy, making it a valuable clinical reference," said Weng. The achievement is possible because when they were doing research at Taipei Tech, the team had collaborated with National Taiwan University Hospital and Harvard Medical School to collect EEG data from depressed patients and non-depressed individuals for machine learning. With the establishment and growth of HNC, they now partner with three major medical institutions in Taiwan for access to EEG data, which will help further enhance the accuracy and optimize the system, Weng said.Expand preventive medicine to mental health careWith Compal's support in hardware, HNC said it was able to complete the device side of its system in a short time. Furthermore, with Compal's well established presence in the biomedical sector, HNC's device is expected to pass safety certifications by the end of December 2019, making it the first brainwave instrument supplier in Taiwan to obtain medical-grade certifications.HNC plans to begin pilot operation of its first-generation stress EEG assessment system in the second half of 2020 and officially launch the system in 2021. It looks to market the system to hospitals and clinics in Taiwan in the first phase and tap the physical examination sector in the second phase.As part of its efforts to bring its product to market, HNC is also in the process of obtaining US FDA approval for medical devices in an attempt to foray into international markets. Aside from depression, HNC is also working on developing AI algorithms to help doctors diagnose other brain-related disorders including dementia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using scientific measurement tools. The aim is to make AI an important aid to medical professionals in mental health screening and treatment.Compal is HNC's largest shareholder, having invested NT$42 million (US$1.4 million) to hold a 70% stake.Weng expects HNC's participation at the TTA at CES 2020 to broaden HNC's horizon, and bring opportunities for HNC to team up with with international partners.HNC CTO Daniel Weng demonstrates how to operate the company's stress EEG assessment systemPhoto: Digitimes staff, December 2019