Hiwin Technologies Corp (上銀), one of the nation’s leading machinery makers, yesterday said it will start mass production of its new automated robotics with 3D vision next year.
The new robotics will be outfitted with 3D depth sensors developed by local chip designer Etron Technology Inc (鈺創), Hiwin chairman Eric Chuo (卓永財) told reporters at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Hiwin already uses Etron’s 2D sensors in its industrial robotics.
Chuo said he expects strong demand in the near future for “smart” machinery tools and 3D sensors, which are the key components for upgrading machinery to Industry 4.0.
He was speaking at a news conference held by the nation’s four major machinery and semiconductor industry associations after they signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop “smart” machinery.
The collaboration between the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (台灣半導體協會), Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robotics Association (台灣智慧自動化與機器人協會) and Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders’ Association (臺灣區工具機暨零組件工業同業公會) is the first effort made by different industries to work together to develop “smart” industrial robotics.
The aim is to help elevate Taiwan’s industry to the next level, or the so-called Industry 4.0.
The memorandum states that semiconductor companies will develop chips for advanced machinery tools such as accelerometers and motor controllers.
“We are seeing the buds of local smart machinery industry as companies start to integrate their advantages,” Chuo said. “We should see some early results next year.”
Minister of Economic Affairs Lee Chih-kung (李世光) said that the government has set up a framework to help foster the “smart” machinery industry, but support is needed from different industries.
With the aid of local semiconductor companies’ technologies, machinery tool manufacturers will be able to develop niche products, Lee said.
The Executive Yuan last month approved the plan for a series of hardware upgrades at factories in Taichung as part of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) five innovative industries policy to stimulate the economy.
The plan is to create a machinery industry environment that is digitally interlinked and turn Taichung into the global capital of “smart” machinery.
The first Industry 4.0 factories are expected to be built in Taichung and then spread toward Changhua, Chiayi and Nantou counties.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained