A group of professors and research assistants from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US shared the latest artificial-intelligence technology with researchers from Taiwan last week.
The four-day Oxygen Alliance workshop held at Acer Inc's Aspire Park in Taoyuan County -- the first time the research group has met outside the US -- ended on Friday.
Thirty-two participants took part in the workshops, learning about at least three new speech and face recognition technologies.
Launched in June 2000, the Oxygen Alliance is a US$50 million five-year project that intends to increase computer use and make their operation more human, creating technologies to replace desktop computers and keyboards with smaller, portable electronic devices. The group is also developing voice-controlled devices that can be hidden inside the walls of buildings and structures, making computers ultimately invisible to the majority of users.
MIT delegates at the workshop shared Galaxy, SpeechBuilder, and a face and speech recognition technology with participants, teaching them how to install and make enhancements to the technologies so that they can create their own branded products. Galaxy allows technicians to integrate speech technologies into devices to create conversational language systems. SpeechBuilder is a means to allow engineers unfamiliar with speech and language processing to create their own speech-based applications.
Security applications
MIT's face and speech-recognition technology allows a face snapshot to be taken and sent to a face-detection and face-recognition server wirelessly. Participants also learned about other technologies for use in digital personal organizers and tablet PCs.
A total of 250 researchers are involved in the Oxygen Alliance, which includes two MIT laboratories, Taiwan's Acer Group and Delta Electronics Inc (
"Acer has long cooperated with world class companies to conduct research into technologies designed to fit people's most natural and practical needs, and to drive innovation in a knowledge-based economy," said a statement from the company issued during the workshop last week.
Two examples of how Acer is developing artificially intelligent technologies were given in the statement. iRobot Corp, a joint venture between Acer and MIT, launched the automatic vacuum cleaner "Roomba" last September. The pizza-sized device uses intelligent navigation technology to clean hardwood, carpet or tiled floors without the need for human direction.
SensAble Technologies, also an Acer-MIT joint venture, made the first transatlantic handshake over the Internet in October 2002, using a computer and small robotic arm in the US and the UK.
Acer launched the Acer Value Lab in October last year as part of the Oxygen Alliance project. The primary objective of Acer Value Lab "is not only to create new technologies, but also to find practical ways to implement them to the best benefit of users," Acer's written statement said.
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
ROUGH RECORDS: Bonds in Japan, as well is in New Zealand, Australia and the US, are seeing the effects of a nervy market as stock exchanges across Asia edge down A deepening slump in Japanese government bonds added fuel to the selloff in global debt markets as rising oil prices stoked inflation fears and pushed yields to multi-decade highs. Japan’s 30-year yield yesterday surged as much as 20 basis points to the highest level since the tenor’s debut in 1999, before paring some of the move. Shorter-maturity Japanese debt was also under pressure, underscored by weak demand at a sale of five-year notes that offered a record-high coupon of 2 percent. Concerns over inflation and government spending rippling through markets including the US, Australia and New Zealand are being amplified in Japan,
The US has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia Corp’s second-most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) chip, the H200, but not a single delivery has been made so far, three people familiar with the matter said, leaving a major technology deal in limbo as chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) seeks a breakthrough in China this week. Huang, who was not initially listed in a White House delegation to Beijing, joined the trip after an invitation from US President Donald Trump, a source said. Trump picked him up in Alaska en route to a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping
Wall Street is licking its chops over an unprecedented slate of massive initial public offerings (IPOs) set to arrive in the coming months, beginning with Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) next month. That is expected to be followed by artificial intelligence (AI) rivals OpenAI and Anthropic PBC. The trio of mega listings, each eyeing valuations around US$1 trillion or more, constitutes a heady period of elevated risk and reward. SpaceX is targeting an IPO that would raise up to US$80 billion — about double the funds generated from all IPOs last year. OpenAI and Anthropic are eyeing IPOs raising US$60 billion. “We’re