Author and Photography / Zhang Zhengwei 2020.09.24
In October 2019, the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Taiwan fourth among the world's top ten super innovative economies, citing reasons such as Taiwan's diverse talent pool and a high number of patent applications per million people. Taiwan's ranking not only surpassed Japan and South Korea but also secured a place on the list for two consecutive years. Yes, our country's innovation capability is even more impressive than you might think! Don't believe it? Well, you really need to visit the "2020 Taiwan Innotech Expo," which is taking place at the Taipei World Trade Center for three consecutive days starting today.
The Taiwan Innotech Expo is jointly organized by ten government ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Science and Technology, and Council of Agriculture. It is executed by the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council. The original name of the event was the "Taipei International Invention and Technology Trade Show." However, to showcase Taiwan's innovation and research capabilities on an international stage, the event was officially renamed in 2018. As Taiwan's Premier Su Tseng-chang said at the opening ceremony, "The old name was too long, the new name is simple and clear, and it can be said without taking a breath." Additionally, the "Future Tech Expo" previously organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology was integrated into the 2020 Innotech Expo, showcasing cooperation and innovation among government agencies.
(Learn more: Premier Su Tseng-chang's Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the 2020 Taiwan Innotech Expo on September 24, 2020)
Frankly speaking, this is the first time I've stepped into this expo full of innovation and creativity, and it's also the first time I've interacted with so many inventors at once. It's like Liu Laolao entering the Grand View Garden, with over 900 booths and thousands of patented technologies, each one leaving me in awe. These technologies come not only from Taiwan's industrial, governmental, academic, and research sectors but also from teams representing 69 international institutions. Worth mentioning is that even though the COVID-19 pandemic prevented many international teams from physically attending in Taiwan, the application of technologies like remote video conferencing and virtual reality online exhibition halls has allowed the world to see Taiwan and has enabled Taiwan to reach an international audience.
This year's Taiwan Innotech Expo features three major pavilions: the "Future Tech Pavilion," the "Sustainable Development Pavilion," and the "Innovation Navigation Pavilion," each with its own unique characteristics:
- The "Future Tech Pavilion": Collaboratively created by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Academia Sinica, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Health and Welfare, it mainly focuses on key trend areas such as precision health, electronic optoelectronics, novel materials, AI, and AIoT applications. For example, the booth showcasing the recycling of high-value resources from industrial waste into lightweight aggregates (Booth 105) takes difficult-to-process industrial waste and repurposes it into earthquake-resistant and energy-saving construction materials. Such technology aligns well with the circular economy and contributes to the future of humanity (Learn more: Launch of the Future Tech Pavilion Focuses on Strategic Industry Dialogues in Precision Health)
- The "Sustainable Development Pavilion": Coordinated by the Council of Agriculture, with participation from the Environmental Protection Administration, Industrial Development Bureau and Energy Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, state-owned enterprises, Atomic Energy Council, and Ministry of Labor, this pavilion showcases themes like new agriculture and green energy technology. For example, the booth demonstrating the mass production technology of red antenna prawns (Booth 025) uses artificial breeding to enhance the diversity of the aquatic market and significantly increase industry value (Learn more: Sustainable Development Pavilion Links Life, Energy, and Resources in Circularity and Sustainability). Additionally, ITRI also exhibits several technologies in the Sustainable Development Pavilion, with a notable highlight being the AI material recognition technology (Booth 058), which claims to be revealed in Taiwan for the first time. This technology utilizes high-tech verification management techniques to turn resource materials into products and standardize them, allowing computers not only to choose peanuts but also to identify reusable resources (Learn more: ITRI Envisions the Next 10 Years of Industry with Sustainable Environmental Technology)
- The "Innovation Navigation Pavilion": Organized by the Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, this pavilion integrates the Technology Department, Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, Ministry of National Defense, and National Development Council. It consists of four major ecological scenario areas: national defense industry ecosystem, disaster prevention solution ecosystem, future mobility theme zone, and technology epidemic prevention theme zone. It showcases numerous forward-looking innovative technologies. Among these, the most attention-grabbing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly the fully Taiwan-produced, safe, and aesthetically pleasing disposable medical protective suit by Catcher Industries (Booth 006). Not only are mask-related businesses part of the anti-epidemic team, but protective suit manufacturers are also keeping up. Additionally, the punchboxing bicycle (Booth 050) is another highlight. By combining punching and pedaling with color and graphics as striking signals, accompanied by musical rhythms, users' body, mind, and brain are simultaneously engaged (Learn more: Innovation Navigation Pavilion Showcases Hundreds of Applications in Four Major Themes Integrating into Life
