Thirteen Taiwanese teams won innovation awards at this year’s CES, up from eight last year and four in 2018, Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said yesterday.
The annual tech extravaganza took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, from Tuesday to Friday last week.
This was the third year that the ministry had organized a national delegation to join the show, with the number of participating teams growing from 32 in 2018 to 44 last year and 82 this year, Chen said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Science and Technology
The growing participation showed that Taiwan’s innovative technology sector is benefitting from government patronage and moving from regional and smaller markets onto the global market, he added.
Show organizer the Consumer Technology Association said that Taiwan has increased its presence and is, along with South Korea and Japan, one of the top three competitors from Asia.
By contrast, the number of participating Chinese teams dipped 6 percent this year, the association said.
Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Hsu Yu-chin (許有進) told reporters during the event that Taiwan has benefited from the US-China trade dispute, with an increasing number of Taiwanese semiconductor companies relocating to Taiwan.
“More manufacturers returning to Taiwan is allowing better integration of software and hardware in the areas of innovative technology, artificial intelligence [AI] and the Internet of Things,” Hsu told the US TV channel CNBC.
“Taiwan is among the leaders, globally, in regards to AI technology,” Taipei Economic and Cultural Office San Francisco branch Science and Technology Division Director Yeh Chih-cheng (葉至誠) told the Central News Agency.
The 13 winning teams were LuluPet, AgriTalk Tech, AuthenTrend, Taiwan User-friendly Sensor and Tech, Ible Technology, Brilliant Optronics, Nestech, Maxon Creative, Happy Island, Yun Yun AI, Jarvish, Ganzin and Rice Ear, the ministry said.
In addition, Yallvend secured a contract to set up vending machines for the main grounds of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, while YoKai Express’s ramen machines landed contracts with San Francisco International Airport, the ministry said.
FaceHeart received an invitation from Sony Corp to jointly develop healthcare products, the ministry said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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