TH Tung, chairman of Taipei Computer Association (TCA), likens the startup scene - whose fundamental elements are capital, talent, technology and market - to wine making, which depends on the sunshine, rainfall and terroir. Apart from these, the type and quality of the grapes are also very important.That is to say, the characteristics are very important in raising the added-value. There have been so many different wines using various types of grapes around the world, but Burgundy winemakers have been sticking to one single grape for their red wine, and yet they still manage to stand out in the industry. This is because the wine from this appellation has its characteristics and clear market target.Tung takes his analogy further to the watchmaking industry. Electronic watches are the mainstream of the market, and the popularity of the Apple Watch and other smartwatches has been rising. But the Swiss makers of mechanical watches have never lost their appeal to consumers of the high-end market segment.Tung noted that Taiwan does not lack capital, but the concern is how to direct these investment funds into startup businesses that may stand out from their international competitors. He disagrees with the idea that the government should make a policy to encourage a massive influx of capital into Taiwan. He said that without a clear set of regulations to implement to such policies, a lot of the funds would end up not in the tech sector, but rather in the real estate market, shooting up housing prices in Taiwan and creating a bubble in the stock market.Taiwan's characteristicsIn the face of growing competition from Southeast Asia, Tung said Taiwan, with limited land and a small population, is very similar to Israel, Singapore and the Netherlands, and it needs to develop its own characteristics and focuses on specialized services in order to stand out from the global IT ecosystem, and create a "Taiwan brand." The road to innovation will lead Taiwan to see fast growth again in the future, Tung believes.The government plays an important role in economic and technological developments. The developments in Japan and Singapore are examples. Singapore is high in the rankings of countries with a free market economy. But its government has been embracing a planned economy, having successfully turned the country into an important petrochemical hub in the area. It has also become a financial center, thanks to government policy support.Singapore has a large population of migrant workers, all of whom stimulate developments of various business sectors that provide services and support for the workers. The city state may not be much bigger than Taipei, but it is the destination of an annual volume to 15 million tourists. To boost its tourism, Singapore has made policy changes that were unthinkable in the past, such as legalizing gambling.Tung said the lesson to be learned from Singapore is that there must a balanced development. Taiwan should not rely too heavily on its ICT exports; it must maintain a balanced development.Japan may not be as open to foreign workers as Singapore, but the Abe government has already introduced a new policy trying to attract more foreign workers.For Taiwan to attract foreign talent and create an optimal environment for startups, it must introduce ways to relax the restrictions on foreign investment, such as easing the visa requirements.The government roleWhile Tung shows skepticism about how market economy and planned economy can really work together seamlessly in Taiwan, he still thinks there is room for the government to make changes in terms of opening the door wider to foreign professionals.Tung said he can foresee that the gradual relaxing of regulations and establishment of IT industry infrastructures will motivate more Taiwanese investors to return home, creating job opportunities. This would boost the startup scene in Taiwan, as well as the quality of life and jobs.But he identified one major problem with the government's calls for businesses to move their manufacturing operations back to Taiwan from China - a trend accelerated by the escalating US-China trade war.Relocating a plant is not just about moving the equipment and recruiting assembly line workers for the relocated the plant. It will need a team of managers to run it. The original team should be able to make the relocated plant up and running fast, but the government is not supporting the idea of letting Chinese managers come to work in Taiwan, making it difficult for Taiwanese businesses to relocate their manufacturing plants back home.Many Taiwanese businesses have clearly shown strong intentions of returning home, but the problem with the relocating of the managers needs the government relaxing the regulations.AI and 5G: The 'magical' innovationsWhile 5G and IoT promise explosive growths of the next generation, Tung noted that every era has its own "magic" that boosts the economy. Japan relied on washing machines, refrigerators and TVs to get out of the economic doldrums in the post-World War II era during the 1950s. And in the 1960s, the "magical" products were cars, color TVs and air conditioners.Tung said the color TV fad that Sony created at the time was comparable to what we feel about the trendsetter, Apple, of the present time. The birth of air conditioners gave people more comfort on hot summer days. Tung said such changes that increase value and solve problems are what tech innovation is all about. But he thinks management of innovative technology is as important as the hardware and software technology itself.ICT vendors have been able to make a living as long as there are customers buying their products. But in the AI and 5G era, things may work differently for businesses. With so much R&D going on and so many innovative ideas emerging, it is the infrastructure of smart city that will be necessary to materialize the R&D and innovative ideas of businesses. That means that businesses' efforts alone will not be sufficient; it will need strong government support - from the national to local levels - to upgrade and rebuild the cities in order to materialize the AI and 5G applications.Tung thinks 5G, AI, edge computing all offer good opportunities for Taiwan's startup sector. For example, it is much easier to implement self-driving in Taiwan than in Australia, where the vast territory and sparse population makes it cost-inefficient to make intensive and extensive deployments to enable self-driving.For 5G, China and South Korea are looking to begin commercialization in 2020, but it may take Taiwan two to three more years to catch up, Tung said.He said 5G development involves a lot of investments. The costs for 5G licenses and infrastructure constructions are key to whether smart city and self-driving cars can succeed. If the operators have to spend big in deploying their networks, consumers will have to pay expensive rates, undermining the popularity of 5G. But if the operators have to sacrifice their profits in order to boost the number of users, it will leave them with few resources to continue building and improving their networks.Unicorns and disruptive businessesAccording to Taiwan's government figures collected between 2007 and 2014, the survival rates of startup businesses from the first to fifth year of operations are 89%, 78%, 69%, 62%, and 57% respectively. They are similar to those in the US, Germany and other countries that are known for their startup scenes.Tung said it is not easy for Asian startups: The risk of investment is high, and it is very difficult for one to last beyond 10 years. Startups may all want to become unicorns - privately owned businesses whose market cap is estimated at more than US$1 billion - but Tung pointed out that few unicorns have been able to make a profit. He said the aim of incubating a unicorn should therefore focus on what value and service it can bring to society.The mentality of investors has changed. In the past, a company that wanted to get listed on a stock market would have to make profits for several years before it could stand a chance of submitting an application for listing, according to Tung. But now investors look for companies with potential, allowing them to go public before making profits. Google and Facebook are examples. Google offers Google Map, Gmail and Android, with skeptics initially asking how it could make money by offering so many free services. But these companies have now become giants whose market cap and revenues are among the top of all IT firms in the world. Their operations have also changed fundamentally people's life and disrupted all business models and supply-demand patterns.But different countries have their own unique situations and progress of development, Tung said, disclosing that some governments in this world may still require their suppliers to provide PCs that can support floppy disks - which still functions as a main storage format of their data.If Taiwan wants to play a leading role in the next wave of IT development, it must create a friendly and diverse environment, making the best use of its talent and resources, according to Tung. It would then be able to help its enterprises and startups compete with international companies on an equal footing.But the slow progress in making rule changes cannot be totally blamed on the government because there are many areas in AI, such as the medical sector, that need extra caution in planning. He said policymakers must seek advice extensively, and learn from other countries, in order to find a new way for the development of Taiwan's startups and emerging technologies.Taiwan aspires to become the Asian Silicon Valley, but Tung said such an ambition should not simply mean building more factories. It must be implemented with a broader vision and clearer directions in the form of an international industrial park. Tung suggests that a tariff-free repair hub within one kilometer of the airport could save a lot of time and paper work, shortening the time to fix devices sent from abroad. Such a value-added operation would attract international investors and make it a new practice for the IT ecosystem. That is the reason why Pegatron (where Tung is chairman) maintains international repair centers in Taoyuan, Japan, California and Shanghai, with a total workforce of over 2,000. Income from services will only increase when the quality of services increases, Tung maintained. Running repair centers in places where labor costs are high may increase the operation cost of a company, but the high value from shortening the repair time will increase customer satisfaction and their willingness to pay more for the services.The turning pointJapan enjoyed years of post-war prosperity until 1985 when the Plaza Accord was signed, stalling its economic growth since. Tung said the kind of global economic conflicts that Japan fell prey to is not unique, the latest case being the escalating US-China trade war.The US-China trade row is definitely presenting challenges to the world, but Tung thinks every generation has its own challenges and opportunities. The oil crisis in the 1970s actually prompted the four Asian Tigers to successfully transform their economy. Tung added that it may still take some time before Taiwan can successfully transform its economy.TCA chairman TH TungPhoto: Michael Lee, Digitimes, May 2019

As Gigabyte Technology's premium gaming brand, Aorus has come to its fifth year of operation in 2019. Continuing its multi-product lineup strategy, Aorus is offering its latest gaming monitor series for 2019 featuring exclusive tactical advantages in games and a patented Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) technology to significantly improve users' experience in communication.The gaming market is expanding every year with growing numbers of gamers joining. Aorus also sees the business opportunity and has been keen on participating in the communities, aiming to strengthen its brand recognition. To understand the strategies Aorus has adopted for the niche sector, Digitimes talked to Eddie Lin Gigabyte's executive vice president of Aorus Brand Marketing, about the gaming market's current status.Q: What is Aorus ' view on the gaming market in 2019?A: During our annual review last year, research reports and feedbacks from our social media groups and gamer communities all showed one prominent trend in the gaming market: it is gradually turning into an all-around entertainment phenomenon.Many game developers have started partnering with streamers and video content creators such as Youtubers, looking to attract the attention of a new gamer group that we called the popcorn gamers: Watching someone playing games has already become a new way of entertainment similar to watching traditional TV programs.The popcorn gamer group has already been included as part of the gaming market by many research firms studying the market.According to a research report, the worldwide gaming market has a value of US$134.9 million in 2018 and the value has been picking up by around 10% almost every year for the past several years. And it increased by about that rate in 2018. The major driver that supports the gaming market's double-digit value growth is this phenomenon that turns the sector into a new entertainment ecosystem.The business opportunity of popcorn gamers also offers a new career route for e-sport players after retiring from e-sport competitions. In Asia, a couple of e-sport players have been recruited by companies to become streamers or Youtubers.Another area in the gaming market that has been rising in the past few years is the mobile game. Because of smartphones' increasing hardware performance, game designers have started bringing intense games such as Arena of Valor and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) to the mobile platform, attracting a wave of new gamers into the mobile game sector.Because of the games' friendly user interfaces and the fact that gamers only need to spend a short amount of time to complete a match, these games have been able to attract some popcorn gamers to join and play themselves, relatively expanding these games' overall player bases. Their participation also boosts demand for gaming peripherals and hardware rigs as they try to become more competitive in the games.As the number of gamers continues expanding and more diverse groups of gamers join the sector, we expect the market to stay on the growth track for the next couple of years.Q: How does Aorus introduce itself and handle branding?A: Since 2017, Aorus has been focusing on raising its brand recognition in the gaming market. Most resources have been spent on participating at worldwide major gaming events such as North America's Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), Germany's Gamescom, France's Paris Games Week, China's ChinaJoy, Russia's IgroMir, South Korea's G-Star and Brazil's Brasil Game Show (BGS).In Taiwan, we have mainly participated at Wirforce and Taipei Game Show (TGS).We now participate at an average of 10 shows at least a year and by showing our brand images via booth decorations and product innovations, Aorus is confident it will promote its brand recognition.Aorus has also been sponsoring e-sport teams that share the same passion and values with us. After one year of sponsorship activities in 2018, Aorus has slightly adjusted its strategy and instead of directly handling all the sponsorships via the headquarters, Aorus has passed down some of the work to local offices in places where the e-sport teams come from, as Aorus' local staff should have better understanding of how to promote Aorus brand products with the e-sport teams in the market.Aorus' headquarters are now primarily focusing on handling the promotions with e-sport teams that are more globally renowned. Just a couple weeks ago, one of our sponsored e-sport teams, G2 Esports, won the 2019 League of Legends Mid-season Invitational in Taiwan.Aorus has also started creating video content for promotions in social media such as Facebook and Instagram and through these sites' management tools, the company is able to get more information about where its customers come from and what kind of content its followers are interested in.Q: How does Aorus provide better gaming experience for gamers?A: We are aiming at building an ecosystem for gamers, and the gaming monitor is the final piece to fill the last gap in its PC gaming lineup.Although the Aorus brand has often given consumers the impression that its expertise mainly lies in motherboards and graphics cards, the team believes if the brand is looking to make products that meet customers' demands, a strategy of developing multiple product lines is necessary.The tactical gaming monitor is the latest product line that Aorus has come up with for the brand. Before creating the monitor, Aorus conducted a lot of market research to identify really exclusive and unique features, looking to differentiate from competitors' products, since we are looking to redefine the meaning of gaming monitor, not just a spec comparison.The unique feature of Aorus' tactical gaming monitor is its Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) functionality. By connecting a headset to the monitor, the technology can cancel out environmental noises and sounds and pass on players' undistorted voice to their teammates, giving users of the monitor an advantage over opponents in communication, while not violating any of the rules.Aorus' latest 25-inch monitor also features a 240Hz refresh rate and a specially designed setting to adjust user OSD interface, allowing the user to make adjustments to the monitor via a mouse or a keyboard. Users simply need to connect their monitors with PCs using USB for the functionality to work.In addition to the monitor, with Aorus' expertise and strong R&D capability in PC components, it has come up with the world's first Gen4 SSD memory solution, which can dramatically enhance data transmission speed to shorten users' processing time.As we have said that Aorus is looking to build an ecosystem for customers, a new service to fulfill that goal is currently underway as we are trying out the Xtreme Combo bundle to provide top-of-the-line hardware combos that satisfy customers' demanding needs.One example is the combination of Intel's Core i9 9900K processor with Aorus motherboard and liquid cooling solutions. Since the latest-gen CPU is not easy to acquire in the retail channel and there is no guarantee it will feature a clock speed over 5.1GHz, it has become an issue for some consumers that wish to obtain the top-tier hardware.It is rather difficult for consumers to purchase 50 units of the same CPU in order to filter out the one with clock speed over 5GHz; but it is an easy job for Aorus. Therefore, we like to offer the services to help consumers find specific hardware combination they are looking for.Before we ship out the product combos, our engineers will conduct a thorough inspection on the hardware to ensure our customers will receive well functioned products, minimizing the chance of hardware failure.Eddie Lin, Gigabyte's executive vice president of Aorus Brand MarketingPhoto: Joseph Tsai, Digitimes, May 2019G2 Esports won 2019 League of Legends Mid-season Invitational in TaiwanPhoto: Gigabyte

Science minister Chen Liang-gee has been making a lot of efforts grooming Taiwan's startups, a clear example being his ministry's arrangement of a large delegation to Eureka Park at CES 2019. Taiwan has also been keen to promote its own edition of startup showcase, InnoVEX. Ahead of the annual event, which takes place in Taipei from May 29 to 31 this year, Chen talked about Taiwan's plans and visions for promoting its innovations and startup teams.The 4 elementsThere are four elements supporting entrepreneurships: Capital, talent, technology and market, according to Chen. Taiwan had seen a disruption in investments in startups since the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and the migration of manufacturing operations to China - until recent years. Now more locally-groomed or overseas-educated talent is jumping onto the startup bandwagon, with government stepping up efforts to connect them with local and overseas accelerators.Chen described the accelerators as the "table top" sitting on the "four legs" - his metaphor for the relationships between the funding programs and the four entrepreneurship elements.He said the four elements need the accelerators to integrate them. The accelerators introduce technologies and industries which can inspire startup teams' innovations and connect them to the industries. Whether it is small fledging startups or more experienced enterprises looking for new opportunities and clients - they can rely on such help to wow the market with solutions that connect well with the ecosystem and meet what the market really needs.Entrepreneurship and ICT prowessChen said Taiwan has done it differently from the US and Europe in terms of grooming its entrepreneurs. In the US, some start setting up their businesses while still in high school. In Taiwan, starting a business may be more about fulfilling parents' expectations. That is why young people in Taiwan have received little training or education that steers them towards entrepreneurships. Despite that, now there have been a lot more young people in Taiwan founding their own businesses with support from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), receiving much attention and acclaims from many other countries, said Chen.He noted the strong ICT technology prowess that Taiwan has built up over the years remains the core competitiveness of the country when providing support for worldwide businesses. Taiwan has a population of only about 23 million - accounting for 0.36% of that of the global total - but it has still been able to build a strong and globally-renowned ICT supply chain that the world relies on heavily. The science minister is very confident about Taiwan's global competitiveness, enabled by talented people in diverse fields who are able use their knowledge in cross-domain applications.Exchange programsExchange programs with foreign institutions have allowed Taiwan researchers to see more of and connect with the rest of the world, such as the Stanford-Taiwan Biomedical Fellowship Program (STB) - which has entered its 10th year - and the Berkeley-Taiwan Biomedical Fellowship Program (BTB) - which has entered its second year. Chen likened these exchange scholars to "potential seeds" that can inject new energy into Taiwan when they return home.These seeds may grow into "big trees" by founding their own businesses, or become mentors of other startup teams. Chen said such interaction between different teams will enable creativity in multiple and diverse forms. He also noted that some programs have enabled one to three entrepreneurs to stay and learn in Silicon Valley for two to three months. But he said such exchange programs may be expanded to include 20 to 30 startup teams a year. These programs will let the startup teams get a quicker and clearer understanding of the resources and principles of entrepreneurships in other countries, and at the same time connect them to the innovative ideas of other communities.Hardware-software integrationTaiwan must think hard how it can integrate its hardware prowess with software in order to catapult its innovations and startup teams to higher levels in a new wave of digital transformation - an integration sought after by those embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution and attempting to fulfill demand for Internet of Things (IoT) applications.Development of new products will have to cater to specific scenarios. The hardware-software integration must also provide multiple services and a link between those front-end services and devices. Chen cited Taiwan's precision machinery sector as an example. He said it is not the machines themselves that need to be upgraded; what is needed is that they have to come with multiple IoT sensors that connect and inspect each and every step of the procedure during the manufacturing process.He said the key to future development is not just the hardware - namely the machines, but also the software that managements the machines.In contrast to software development, hardware manufacturing and production capacity installation need much more capital investments. That's why many startups - usually short of funding - choose to focus on software development. Chen suggested the idea of "hardware accelerator." He said hardware alone may not create too much value, but if software development is based on extension from hardware, then the results would be more competitive.Attracting foreign startup teams and accelerators to TaiwanChen said the Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) plans to incubate 100 startups a year, with half of them to be foreign teams. This is meant to let local teams come into more contact with international counterparts, investors and experiences.As to how Taiwan can attract foreign startups to come here instead of Silicon Valley or Europe, Chen said the key is let them have industry links and opportunities that they may not get in other countries. Their businesses will also be getting support from relevant government projects. That is to say, according to Chen, stationing in Taiwan will add to their competitiveness, which will naturally attract and keep them here.The minister said introducing foreign accelerators into Taiwan will also be important. But he said running an accelerator needs a lot of investments in capital, time and human resources. The government offers a lot of help to diversify business risks and to build up ecosystems. Taiwan will also set up locations and connections in other countries in a bid to bring foreign accelerators to Taiwan.Taiwan may be a small country with a small market, but Chen pointed out that Singapore is much smaller, and yet has been very active in the startup sector. He thinks Taiwan can work as a partner for startups from Singapore and other countries, facilitating the development of Taiwan's ICT applications and forming a more complete ecosystems enabled by international links and better technologies. He said France is also stepping up efforts grooming its startups, and Taiwan may send its startup teams to France, Israel, Boston, Singapore, and San Diego - places and countries that are known for their startup developments - for short-term exchange. Chen thinks such exchanges can inspire Taiwan startups' innovations.The 'national team' of startupsIn order to let the world see Taiwan's innovations, MOST set up a pavilion at VivaTech in France. The MOST-led delegation of 40 startup teams to Eureka Park at CES 2019 was also a huge success. It means that startups in Taiwan no longer need to fight alone; they will receive support from the government, which is keen to promote the nation's startup scene as a whole.Chen said Taiwan is well-known for its ICT manufacturing capabilities, but it is now time to shape a distinct image in the startup sector. He said it may be more efficient to work as a "national team," building a new image of Taiwan as a whole to attract investors and create opportunities for its startups.Cross-department effortsMOST focuses its resources on advancing the country's technology, which means it plays a leading role in helping other government units and academic researchers try out their ideas. For example, in 2017 MOST worked with the Council of Agriculture to develop smart agriculture. MOST integrate all necessary technologies and build up a agricultural park whose management the COA later took over. Chen said that's the role his ministry has been playing.MOST has also been working closely with academic researchers. The risk of failure is high for academic research teams to build up their startup businesses. But more investors now accept that only a minor few could grow into "big trees."AI and automationChen identifies three major directions for Taiwan's AI development in the next five to 10 years: voice database; information security; self-driving cars; and digital medical care.Chen noted that voice is still the fastest and most intuitive way of communication between people, and therefore AI-enabled technology for dialogue will be very important. MOST and various other institutions, such as Public Television Service (PTS) and National Education Radio, have been working together to build up a voice database.A total of almost 2,000 hours of Chinese voice data has been collected, with plans to expand to a database of 5,000 hours - presenting a significant collection of various languages and dialects that are used in Taiwan, Chen said. As for use of the database, Chen said big ICT firms may choose a relevant field where they can make use of the voice data and incorporate it into their chips. With the local database, Taiwan firms would not need to get licenses from Google or other international IT firms when putting their voice technologies into practice, Chen said.Many businesses have been keen on adopting new technologies to increase their values, solve problems, and cut costs. Chen noted that a lot of the conventional industrial sectors are introducing AI, big data analytics and predictive maintenance to enable their manufacturing. He thinks AI applications will see explosive growths in the next five to 10 years, particularly in the form smart manufacturing, such as using IoT technology, cloud-based control and robots. The smart medical care may grow more slowly because the laws will be stricter in order to protect human lives.AI chip development is key to Taiwan's future IT industry. The age of the Internet is one where the winner takes all. But the AI age of the future needs domain-focused applications that integrate software and hardware. And this is exactly where Taiwan stands a chance of giving birth to its own unicorn businesses. He cited a few examples where services are built on hardware: electric scooter vendor Gogoro; AI application provider Appier; and AR/VR-based shopping platform iStaging.Ambition: 3,000 startups a yearChen's ambition is to let Taiwan give birth to 300 new startups every year. Such a massive scene would create tremendous momentum for interaction and exchange of resources, technologies, talent and capital.Chen said he began promoting startups in 2007 when he was still at National Taiwan University, and since then he has seen a lot of changes to people's mentality - changes that are positive for entrepreneurships. Back then people were afraid of failures, but now more investors and enterprises accept the fact that it takes time for startups to grow. They also accept the idea that it is worth taking the chances as long as a certain proportion of the startups will succeed.Science minister Chen Liang-geePhoto: Michael Lee, Digitimes, May 2019

AI applications can usher in brand-new values for Taiwan's medical sector, given the growing integration of health insurance data and technological resources and improving relationships between doctors and patients, according to Barry Lam, chairman of Quanta Computer, which is actively developing AI-based devices including servers.But more efforts must be made to address five major issues seen in the integration of AI-based healthcare resources and the development of smart solutions, so that Taiwan's smart healthcare industry can progress smoothly, he said.The first issue concerns the ownership of healthcare data, including personal data of patients and their medical records. Will such data be owned by hospitals, doctors, patients or the country? Based on current regulations, the data can be provided to a third party only for research purposes. But patient's right to know and own their own medical data emerges as an issue that must be well dealt with, according to Lam.Then comes the issue of privacy and cybersecurity. Lam said that his company helps enterprises conduct detailed studies in this regard, allowing Taiwan's smart healthcare data to be more systematically collected, stored and analyzed.The third is the lack of uniform data standards and forms adopted by hospitals, which has made big data integration a difficult job. Lam said the government in Taiwan has yet to work out clear-cut policies for developing innovative technologies and related industries, and the policies are needed to promote uniform data standards and patterns.The fourth rests with the difficulty in industry-academia cooperation. At the moment, Taiwan's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) maintains mainly academic units as its research partners for AI innovations, Lam said, adding that it has been difficult for ITC firms to have more exchange or cooperation with MOST and academic units. He hopes for more opportunities for such exchange and cooperation.The last problem is that a cross-ministry cooperation mechanism has yet to be established. MOST is now in charge of AI development, but Lam opines that cooperation among more ministries is badly needed to achieve effective combination of AI technologies and professional knowledge of diverse industries. For instance, Lam continued, medical care going smart requires exchanges between the transport and health authorities, and smart transportation needs technology and information support from both the transport ministry and MOST.Cooperation between doctors and engineersTaiwan's national health insurance databank, set up in 1995, has been fully digitalized, but what counts more is whether big data collected by major hospitals can be effectively utilized to support AI training, Lam said. He stressed that in the development process for AI healthcare solutions, it is crucial for doctors to record and illustrate symptoms, which can be done through cooperation between many doctors and AI engineers. In this regard, Quanta can help doctors more efficiently handle diagnosis, symptom illustration and data analysis by providing better interfaces, and the company will move to research language input to help further boost diagnosis efficiency.AI technology development is now a hot topic at both the healthcare end and engineering fields, but it remains to be seen how patients can be convinced that AI can provide accurate analysis and innovative services in the process of medical diagnosis. Lam said AI can first make doctors smart and then patients, meaning that they can all quickly access accurate and diverse medical resources and references.Quanta Computer chairman Barry LamPhoto: Shihmin Fu, Digitimes, January 2019

UnlimiterHear, a Taiwan-based hearing technology specialist, has teamed up with Airoha Technology to develop Bluetooth chips for hearing aids.Airhoa, a subsidiary of MediaTek and the largest supplier of solutions using True Wireless Stereo (TWS) technology, wanted to enter the Bluetooth hearing aid market more than three years ago, only to realize that it faced a high entry bar without the necessary expertise, according to company CEO and president David Chang.Airoha has now decided to form a partnership with UnlimiterHear to jointly develop the chips, he said. Many first-tier earphone brands are clients of Airoha.UnlimiterHear has been devoted to developing technologies for hearing protection and enhancement for over 10 years, and currently owns 171 audio-related technological patents.UnlimiterHear chairman Kuo Ping Yang pointed out that Apple and Samsung Electronics have also been developing technologies in the field, showing the potential of the hearing healthcare market amid.Figure from World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015 showed that the world had around 1.1 billion young people facing the risk of hearing impairment by unsafely using smartphones and earphones.Most of UnlimiterHear competitors' technologies only allow manual adjustments on the sound volume. In addition to protecting users' hearing, the companies are also keen to avoid any possible dispute arising from misuse.But UnlimiterHear's in-house developed smart algorithm features ability to comprehensively detect sound level and dynamically adjust the output volume for each piece of music to ensure users are listening to the music within a safe sound range.According to NIOSH's standard, users are able to enjoy up to eight hours of listening activities with a sound level of 85dB, but with a sound level of 103dB, the maximum usage time is cut sharply to only seven minutes and 30 seconds. Beyond the time limit users will start to suffer hearing impairment.The hearing safety level is determined by the sound strengthen (loudness), continuity (length of the sound) and frequency (occurred often or not). The three factors are related to each other, forming the level of the overall sound volume, according to UnlimiterHear.Yang, who also has an expertise in the acoustic technology, explained that the total sound volume that a person can accept safely is unchangeable. The energy generated from a long-term low-volume sound and the one from a short-term high-volume sound are the same.Yang noted that hearing impairment is irreversible and will eventually affect a person's understanding of speech and life quality.Yang revealed that UnlimiterHear's technology of dynamic hearing protection can be embedded into a smartphone or Bluetooth chip.The company has also signed agreements with Bluetooth chip and medical healthcare platform developers to integrate its 171 IPs, including Hearing Test, EarSafe, EarEQ, EarClarity and Ubiquitous Hearing, into their chips. Related products and services are expected to become available in the market shortly, it said.For hearing protection, limiting the sound volume at a fixed level, adopting noise reduction functionality and using sound volume warning are three types of solutions that earphone and smartphone brands usually adopt.However, none of these solutions are capable of providing dynamic management of overall sound energy and hearing volume levels that have critical impacts on hearing safety. UnlimiterHear's core technologies not only are able to create personalized and smart hearing protection, they can also be integrated with big data for further management, said Chang.During a recent Internet of Things (IoT) summit, a China-based medical healthcare platform demonstrated a smart Bluetooth earphone with hearing protection functionalities that use technologies from UnlimiterHear. An executive from the platform noted that the smart Bluetooth earphone is able to track usage time, signal energy and hearing volumes and can real-time respond with dynamic sound level adjustments and visual information to prompt users to change their listening behaviors in order to help them continue enjoying their music without noticing any dramatic volume reduction, while still under protection, according to UnlimiterHear.Airoha CEO David Chang (left) and UnlimiterHear chairman Kuo Ping Yang (right)Photo: Digitimes, December 2018

The government of Keelung has been keen on proceeding with smart city development in recent years, aiming to turn the harbor city in northern Taiwan into a people-serving city from the past cargo-serving one in the context of industrial upgrades and transformations, according to mayor Lin Yu-chang.In a recent interview conducted by Digitimes, Lin stressed that smart city development should not be restricted by administrative boundaries, and instead should cover the whole northern Taiwan with a population of 10 million including residents in four northern cities - Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung and Taoyuan.Northern Taiwan boasts an expansive tech industry corridor covering Hsinchu Science Park, Taoyuan Aerotropolis special area, as well as Taipei's Beitou-Shihlin Technology Park, Neihu Technology Park and Nangang Software Park, which can combine with Keelung River valley corridor to form a global smart innovation ecosphere, according to Lin.Lin pointed out that the community formed by the four northern cities has become Taiwan's cash flow, people flow and logistics centers, with Taoyuan as the western gateway and Keelung as the eastern one.Mega city with 10 million residentsThe belt-type tech industry corridor spanning the northern cities together are like a mega city with a population of 10 million. In this regard, all must seriously mull how to effectively integrate productivity in the mega city, Lin continued, indicating that the Keelung Harbor and industry-use land parcels along the Keelung river valley can combine to to attract innovation and high-value industries to station in the harbor, and the enclave of the harbor area can be utilized to create new economic momentum for northern Taiwan.Lin stressed that positioned as the gateway of northern Taiwan but with a population of only 370,000, Keelung cannot attract industries to station in without sound infrastructures. To enhance the attraction and competitiveness of Keelung, the city government will map out a comprehensive city and harbor renewal project based on the architecture of the whole northern Taiwan.With Keelung 93% covered by hills, the development of the Keelung harbor has been restrained by limited hinterland available. To maximize the economic benefits of the harbor city, the government will build a third cruise center and innovation industrial complex at the old sites of container yards and military harbor in the eastern coast after their relocation to the western coast, so as to attract high-end talent and enhance the competitiveness of the city through building sea-friendly environments.Lin emphasized that industrial upgrades driven by smart applications may bring a turnaround opportunity for Keelung, the development of which has stayed stagnant for a long time. He said that his government is seriously mulling what industries could be best developed in the planned industrial complex in the eastern coast.Smart applicationsIn terms of smart applications, the Keelung government has readied a pilot area for the development of a smart fishing port, Lin disclosed, adding that LED streetlamps installed in the area can serve as micro weather stations, conduct security control, and accurately detect the locations of returning and departing fishing vessels, while also saving power consumption by 65% compared to mercury lamps.In addition, the local government is also actively promoting smart bus stops to provide dynamic bus service information by utilizing LPWAN (low-power wide-area network) wireless communication system, with the power generated by hand dynamos. The smart bus stops will be first deployed at the Maling recreational farming area.Moreover, the city government is also planning a public transportation system dedicated to autonomous electric vehicles, Lin revealed, adding that the system, spanning 2.86 kilometers, will first connect the east and west coasts and may be extended, if needed, to connect all scenic spots and local districts of the city to help upgrade local commuting, tourist and commercial services.As to smart education, the city government has installed education-use computers and 55-inch projectors in all the classrooms at all the 56 elementary and junior high schools in the city, and one smart classroom will be set up at each school by the end of 2018, equipped with video conferencing equipment, 3D printers, touchscreen TVs, and Chromebooks. Keelung mayor Lin Yu-changPhoto: Michael Lee, Digitimes, November 2018

PCB chemical and equipment provider Atotech has participated at TPCA Show 2018 to showcase their new products and talked about the company's plans and strategies.Q: What are the core products and competitive advantages of Atotech today?A: Atotech is a leading provider of chemicals and equipment for PCB, package substrate, functional electronics and semiconductor technologies, with a long lasting history in electroplating and surface finishing. As a supplier, we have the reputation for providing solutions that make the difference. We see ourselves as a strategic partner for our customers and help them fulfill the requirements of their customers, the OEMs. Besides leading technology change, our strongest competitive advantage is that we are the only company within our industry that can provide both wet chemicals and equipment as a total production solution.Our business here in Taiwan supports all markets and applications and we are a preferred supplier for every step of the production process for printed circuit boards, package substrates, functional electronics and semiconductors. We offer solutions that include everything from multilayer bonding, desmear and PTH to plating, surface treatment and final finishing technology. For semiconductor our portfolio includes plating for dual damascene, re-distribution layers (RDL) and pillar plating, as well as pad- and under-bump metallization, through-silicon via filling and double side-plating of wafers. This is what we are showcasing here at TPCA 2018, our broad portfolio and latest innovations for each segment.Q: What are the Atotech product highlights of this year's TPCA show?A: Atotech has several new products that are now available to a wider audience. For example, we developed new products (based on mSAP technology) to comply with latest fine line and space requirements especially in mobile applications. Here I like to highlight our BondFilm LDD MSAP, a laser drilling pretreatment for advanced mSAP application, our Printoganth U Plus/T1/TV, a new series of horizontal and vertical electroless copper processes, and our Inpulse and InPro processes for horizontal and vertical BMV and through-hole filling. We also developed new solutions for photoresist stripping, differential etching, bonding enhancement as well as final finishing whether this is ENEPIG or EPAG. All of this is supported by our systems technology, our Uniplate and Horizon lines, of which we have sold and installed more than 1,900 systems until today.Another innovation is our MultiPlate, a next generation ECD plating tool that meets the challenges of wafer- and panel-level packaging. For panel-level packaging we are offering RDL plating of fine lines, copper pads, and BMVs, as well as high speed copper pillar plating. For wafer-level packaging its double side copper plating, RDL plating, high purity and high speed copper plating as well as through via filling. We receive a lot of requests for all these new products from customers and OEMs alike. This makes us proud and moves us forward.Q: In response to the current wave of 5G and AI, does Atotech have any related development ongoing?A: 5G is on its way, and it's all about high-frequency applications. Atotech is already very active in working with customers, developing new processes to meet the very stringent requirements for high-frequency applications. But to answer your question more precisely, one must understand what the challenges are and impacts of AI and 5G implementation vs the current technology available. Let me give you a few examples of the main challenges on 5G and AI products:- First you need enhanced adhesion promotion to reduce your signal loss to fulfil signal integrity requirements- Then you need an optimized electroless copper for high speed signal transmission- Followed by a higher plating uniformity impacting warpage and last but not least- Your reliability and thermal heat dissipation need to improve by an advanced through hole/copper filling processAll these are only a few examples that will help manufacturers to build 5G and AI electronic components, so they can benefit from this growing market in the future.Daniel Schmidt (right), Director, Global Marketing and Technical Training; Bill Kao (left), Business Manager, Atotech

Having developed a solid presence in Armenia, US-based electronic design automation (EDA) solutions provider Synopsys has spared no efforts fostering young Armenia IT talent through a dedicated unit dubbed Synopsys Armenia Educational Department (SAED).Since its inception in 2001, SAED has helped educate 64 holders of doctoral degrees, 904 master's degrees and over 1,000 bachelor's degrees, with around half of the graduates employed by Synopsys Armenia and the rest by other IT firms in Armenia and the region, according to the company.Under the umbrella of the Synopsys University Program, SAED has developed competitive curricula based on a proven model of cooperation between the industry and academia, helping universities overcome common challenges in microelectronics education.SAED has been engaged in many successful cooperation programs with major universities in Armenia and the region, including National Polytechnic University of Armenia (NPUA), Yerevan State University (YSU), Russian-Armenian University (RAU), National Research University of Electronic Technology (MIET), and European Regional Academy (ERA).Synopsys has also cooperated with around 1,000 universities around the world including those in Russia and India's Mumbai and Hyderabad, in exchanging teaching resources, materials, students and other personnel. A student exchange plan between Armenia and Taiwan has been put into practice in 2018, with one selected Armenia doctoral student to study at a Taiwan university for three semesters, marking the first cooperation plan between both countries.Crucial Armenia talent outletHovik Musayelane, director of Synopsys Armenia, said that more and more high-tech firms no longer just rely on traditional education system for talent supply. He said that Synopsys Armenia has maintained highly close connections with international enterprises, providing a crucial outlet for Armenia talent, the country's important assets.Musayelane indicated that Synopsys Armenia has a total of over 800 employees, making it the largest tech firm in the country and the largest operating base of Synopsys outside Silicon Valley. Accordingly, he stressed, Synopsys has developed a strong corporate social responsibility for Armenia.While extending strong support for the 2019 World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) to be held October 6-9 in Yerevan, Armenia, Musayelane said he strongly hopes for more concrete cooperation with Taiwan's semiconductor sector. He said if Taiwan can cooperate with SAED, Taiwan can introduce more quality engineers from Armenia and attract more tech talent from East Europe and Central Asia to join the global semiconductor cooperation systems.(Editor's note: This is part of a series of reports about Armenia's IT industry development.)Synopsys Armenia director Hovik MusayelanePhoto: Digitimes staff, October 2018

In Armenia, Aleksandr Yesayan, co-founder and business development director of telecom operator Ucom, is an iconic entrepreneur, as he founded the company in 1998 at the age of only 16. The company is now a business with 1,800 employees and annual revenues of US$80 million, and Yesayan is a role model for young Armenians establishing startups.Yesayan told Digitimes in a recent interview that more than 10 million Armenians live abroad, and they need to be in touch with their families in the country. But back in 1998, he added, it was a heavy financial burden for low-income Armenians to place a phone call to the US at a rate of US$3 per minute.After reaching the US in 1998, he and his elder brother Hayk learned that the telecommunication cost could be sharply reduced through Internet calls. This inspired them to offer Internet call services at fixed places in Armenia, allowing people with memberships to make overseas calls at US$1 per minute. Then, Yesayan set up many Internet cafes to allow more people to enjoy low-cost Internet call services.Soon after Armenia liberalized its telecom market in 2006, Ucom acquired the debt-ridden Orange Armenia, transforming its traditional analog wired telecom service firm into a digital one. Now, Ucom has become Armenia's No.1 fixed-network and No.2 mobile communication services provider.Armenia's smartphone market scale is estimated at 400,000 units per year, with Samsung commanding a share of up to 45% despite strong competition from China's vendors, such as Huawei. The domestic smartphone market in Armenia alone can hardly be enough incentives for investors to set up smartphone production lines there, but Armenia is a crucial gateway to the East Europe and Middle East markets, particularly Iran, which is touted by Yesayan as an "untouched market." Armenia has recently signed a free trade agreement with Iran, and over 40% of Iran's external web traffic volumes are contributed by Ucom.Education counts mostYesayan believes that future opportunities for people living in landlocked Armenia, which is 96% covered by mountains, will surely hinge on education and that only through education can quality Armenia engineers be employed worldwide. In fulfilling its corporate social responsibility, Ucom has set up digital learning centers in remote rural areas, offering basic courses on 3D design and robotics for children when aged 10, and the company is expected to establish over 600 digital education footholds in Armenia by 2019.Having visited Taiwan for many times, Yesayan expressed the hope that his company can have more opportunities for cooperating with Taiwan businesses in 3D design and telecom services.He said Ucom has established a complete Internet protocol television (IPTV) service system exclusively for the millions of Armenia around the world. He also stressed that now 40% of VMware's R&D engineers come from Armenia, Synopsys has over 800 Armenian engineers, and Mentor Graphic also has a major R&D base in the country.Hosting 2019 WCIT ArmeniaIn his capacity as one of the directors of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITAS), Yesayan will represent Armenia to host the 2019 World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) on October 6-9 in the Armenia capital city Yerevan.Yesayan disclosed that the 2019 WCIT Armenia will bear the theme of "Other Nature, Other People, Other Time" to convey his country's hope of playing a distinct role in the global science and tech service field, and the event will highlight Armenia's prowess in the fields of decentralization, 3D printing, smart architecture, and IC design.Apart from WITSA member states, Armenia will also invite countries maintaining close ties with Armenia, including Russia and Israel, to participate in the the event. Former US president Barack Obama and global business leaders including Dell founder Michael Dell and Siemens' president will also be among VIPs at the 2019 WCIT Armenia, Yesayan disclosed.He stressed that Armenia is a small country with a global vision and is eager to learn from Taiwan's tech industry experiences while also seeking to enhance mutual cooperation.(Editor's note: This is part of a series of reports about Armenia's IT industry development.)Ucom co-founder Aleksandr YesayanPhoto: Digitimes staff, October 2018

Deeply aware of Taiwan's robust tech prowess, Armenia hopes that industries in both countries can build closer partnerships and that more young tech talent can complement each other through bilateral industrial exchanges, according to Hakob Arshakyan, Armenia's minister of transport, communications and IT.Arshakyan expressed the hopes in a recent interview conducted by Digitimes after he opened the three-day DigiTec Expo 2018 on October 5 at Yerevan Expo Center.The 33-year-old Arshakysan said Armenia's prime minister is only 42 years old and its deputy prime minister Tigran Avinyan was born in 1989 - all young leaders who grew up surrounded by digital technologies and are eager to gain industry experiences. He stressed that Armenia is eager to build a new-generation science park modeled after the Hsinchu Science Park (HSP) in northern Taiwan.He continued that Armenia boasts special expertise in the military engineering sector - which was showcased in many related exhibits at DigiTec Expo 2018, including solar energy-controlled autocannons, large-size drones and the nation's first autonomous vehicle.Arshakysan also disclosed that Armenia will launch some foundations capitalized at over US$100 million each to support investment projects by tech startups, so as to more effectively encourage the development of startups.Accompanying Arshakysan at the interview, Yvonne Chiu, chairperson of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), said that though a young country, Armenia has developed its own characteristics in many tech fields.Chiu revealed that the 2019 World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) will be held in October in the Armenia capital city of Yerevan, and that Taiwan will organize a large delegation to render the largest support to the event.Chiu led WITSA member representatives from Malaysia, Belarus, Egypt, Greece and Taiwan to attend the DigiTech Expo 2018.(Editor's note: This is part of a series of reports about Armenia's IT industry development.)