Taiwan Innotech Expo (TIE), organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Science and Technology, Council of Agriculture of the Executive Yuan, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Environmental Protection Administration of the Executive Yuan, National Development Council, and Academia Sinica, was successfully concluded on September 26th.
This year, TIE was integrated with the Future Technology Expo (FUTEX), with over 400 domestic academic, industrial, and research units participating in the exhibition. The event also invited 71 international institutions and startup teams from 20 countries, including the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Japan, Switzerland, and Canada. Over the course of three days, the expo showcased over a thousand technological and research achievements, attracting more than 53,000 visitors and facilitating over 1,800 business negotiations. Despite the challenges posed by the global economic impact of the pandemic, the event achieved remarkable success by utilizing technology and innovative exhibition models, opening up new possibilities for intelligent living in the post-pandemic era.
In addition, by combining local innovative dynamics and regional advantages, the expo played the role of "International R&D Transaction Hub (IP HUB)" to connect with regions such as Europe, the United States, Japan, and the New Southbound, promoting Taiwanese technology internationally and continuously demonstrating Taiwan's smart value.
The opening ceremony was attended by Premier Su Tseng-chang, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua, and Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong. Premier Su stated that even in the midst of a global pandemic, the fact that Taiwan could host the "Taiwan Innotech Expo" is truly a blessing and achievement amid turbulent times, a result of the joint efforts of the industry, people, and government.
Minister Wang mentioned that encouraging invention and innovation, the most important thing is to commercialize ideas and transform them into market value. She also invited the financial industry to use the guarantees of the Export Credit Insurance Fund to realize entrepreneurial dreams through financing of intangible assets. Furthermore, Minister Wu Tsung-tsong revealed that the expo was renamed "Taiwan Innotech Expo" three years ago from the "Taipei International Invention and Technology Trade Show" to represent Taiwan as a window for promoting domestic innovative technologies to the international community, aiming to achieve the goal of linking the local with international and marketing globally.
The "Innovation Navigation Hall" focuses on innovative technologies that can be applied to industries within five years. It includes four main thematic areas: "Super Automation," "IoT Everywhere," "Crossing Virtual and Reality," and "New Healthcare." Each of these is complemented by highlight presentations such as "National Defense Industry Ecology," "Disaster Prevention Solution Ecology," "Future Mobility Theme Zone," and "Technology Epidemic Prevention Theme Zone."
This year, the "Innovation Navigation Hall" features eight innovative visual, intelligent, and sensory technologies to create a futuristic experiential space. This space includes scenarios such as service robots, smart gyms, VR empathy community platforms, reality puzzle solving, robot cafes, and smart interactive baseball fields. Visitors can experience these scenarios up close, seeing the future digital era.
Given the severe global COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan has developed top-tier protective clothing in addition to being known for its mask production. In the "Technology Epidemic Prevention Theme Zone," the protective clothing produced by Walsin Lihwa Corp. for frontline healthcare workers has passed multiple tests, including strong seam strength, tear resistance, breathability, hydrostatic pressure, blood penetration prevention, and virus invasion prevention at the highest level (P3).
The "Future Mobility Theme Zone" combines intelligent transportation facilities, electric and energy-saving systems, self-driving, and vehicle networking. It showcases technologies like "Connected Smart Motorcycle Safety System," "V2X Vehicle Networking/5G Signal Information Security Solution," and "Smart Roadside AI Recognition System," providing a comprehensive blueprint for the future of transportation.
In the "National Defense Industry Ecology" section, a major highlight is the "Liquid Disposal Device and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robot." This device uses a specially designed articulated control arm that allows the robot arm to follow the operator's movements, intuitively and conveniently positioning the gripper as desired.
In the Sustainable Development Hall of this edition, the organizers have developed outcomes based on the Redesign, Recovery, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle concepts, creating a "Circular Economy Technology Ecology." This is further integrated with the four main themes of "New Agriculture," "Green Energy Technology," "Circular Economy," and "Safe Workplace," and connected as the "Green Industry Chain Highlight Zone," outlining a blueprint for achieving a sustainable green home for humanity in the next 10 to 20 years.
The "Green Industry Chain Highlight Zone" features the "package+Recycling Box," a package made from recycled materials that can be reused over 50 times. Using this box once reduces approximately 1.2 kg of carbon emissions, successfully mitigating single-use packaging waste.
Representing "Life Sustainability" are highlighted technologies like "Fish-Electricity Symbiosis" and "On-site Environment and Physiological Monitoring Technology." The latter involves wearable environmental and physiological monitoring devices developed to instantly detect hazards at work sites.
The Future Technology Hall presents interdisciplinary applied technologies from the 5+2 industries, showcasing research and technological advances that will lead the direction of science and technology development over the next three to ten years. Highlighted technologies include the "Food Safety Epidemic Fast Screening Smart Internet Inspection System." Combined with a portable testing device, this technology rapidly matches different antibodies and nucleic acids for corresponding biochemical testing platform development. It allows quick screening in areas like food safety and epidemic prevention and received the 2020 CES Innovation Award.
Additionally, the brand-new "3D Point Cloud Gripping Detection Network" can quickly detect high-quality gripping positions, improving speed by about 30 times compared to the best academic methods. It also achieves the highest rate of successful gripping.
Furthermore, an exhibit displays "Electronics Skin (Human-Machine Interface) and Nano Thin Film Generator," which can serve as a small power supply for the Internet of Things, wearable devices, medical equipment, or personal electronics. This electronic skin is self-repairing, battery-free, stretchable, fully transparent, and capable of generating power.
Furthermore, in response to the need for new cancer drugs, a greater diversity of new drug targets and lead compounds are offered, accompanied by a "One-Stop Service" that combines targeted cancer drug sources from coral libraries and artificial breeding techniques.
Integrating the Themes of Innovation, Future, and Sustainability: Overcoming the Pandemic, Combining Virtual and Real Exhibitions
In this year's Taiwan Innotech Expo, over a thousand innovative technologies were showcased across the "Innovation Navigation Hall," "Future Technology Hall," "Sustainable Development Hall," "Outstanding Inventions Hall," and "Invention Competition Area." In addition to the physical exhibition areas, this year introduced an online reality exhibition to ensure that the innovative technologies showcased at the event do not fade away after the three-day expo period. Domestic and international buyers can explore innovative technologies virtually for the next year as if they were on-site.
Moreover, various presentation activities were organized, including long-distance technology presentations with international companies and online one-on-one matchmaking sessions. This diverse range of exhibition formats demonstrates Taiwan's rich research and development capabilities from academia, industry, government, and research, even under the constraints of border control measures due to the pandemic. International buyers unable to attend in person could explore interesting innovative technologies through online real-time guided tours available in English and Japanese.
Furthermore, more than 60 groups participated in on-site professional tours, including groups from AU Optronics, Meta Company, Nan Pao Group, bank VIP groups, and industrial park manufacturers led by the Industry Development Bureau of the Keelung City Government, all actively engaged in this grand event.
International Exhibition Zone: Breaking Boundaries and Creating New Patterns
Amid the global impact of the pandemic, large-scale exhibitions around the world have been postponed or canceled. However, TIE this year has established a different pattern. International institutions such as Corning from the United States, Cisco, Microsoft, Siemens from Germany, KLA, Lely from the Netherlands, Logitech from Switzerland, and the National Science and Technology Development Agency of Thailand, as well as Nissan from Japan, showcased their cybersecurity, Industry 4.0, robotics, biotechnology, energy, and agriculture-related technologies and solutions through physical or online means. For example, Cisco highlighted "Next-Generation Firewall Technology," Siemens exhibited cloud and AI artificial intelligence-related technologies, and Logitech presented a full-scene video collaboration solution to cater to the rising demand for video conferencing due to safety concerns.
During the expo period, three remote technology presentation sessions were conducted with international companies, allowing international institutions unable to attend the event—such as Nissan from Japan, Tsuru Robotics from Russia, and more—to remotely present the technologies they wished to promote. Real-time video communication enabled instant interaction between international companies, Taiwanese companies, and on-site visitors.
On the morning of September 25th, the Taiwan Innotech Expo hosted the Taiwan Innovative Technology Forum. For the first time, the Ministry of Economic Affairs partnered with the UK-based Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) to hold the forum online.
Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua stated that building a robust intellectual property environment is a critical cornerstone of Taiwan's technological and manufacturing development. In light of the ongoing challenges posed by the U.S.-China trade situation and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, constructing a long-term intellectual property environment and strategically thinking about intellectual property deployment from a higher perspective is crucial for anticipating changes in the international landscape.
The forum focused on enhancing the commercial value of intangible assets, connecting technology markets with capital market strategies, and innovative management models for corporate technology transfer and collaboration. It was hosted by Dr. Su Meng-tsung, Director General of the Industrial Technology Research Institute, and Dr. Wu Chih-yi, Director of the Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering, attracting over 300 participants, including chief intellectual property officers, chief technology officers, and government officials from over 14 countries.
Yu Yi-sheng, Senior Manager of the Intellectual Property Division at AU Optronics, reminded us that resources must be invested in the corresponding stages of research and development and that patent value can be created in response to industry needs.
Satoshi Matsuo, Head of Intellectual Property at Hitachi, shared his company's experience, transitioning from a strategy that emphasized obstructing market entry to one that focuses on cooperative strategies that promote healthy competition.
Additionally, Kurt Brasch, Head of Patent Transactions at Uber, and Dr. Wu Chih-yi from the Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering both emphasized the importance of lean asset strategies in recent years. They highlighted that every patent should have a strategic purpose, with the Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering aiming for more precise patent portfolio construction to maximize strategic impact.