Wistron Group (緯創集團) yesterday announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft Corp Taiwan’s artificial intelligence research and development center, whereby the two firms would create an office in Kaohsiung for artificial intelligence and big data-related products and services.
Wistron is also to invest NT$50 million (US$1.69 million) over the next two years to develop new talent in the area, Wistron Corp (緯創資通) vice chairman Robert Huang (黃柏漙) told a news conference in Taipei.
The office is part of the contract electronics manufacturer’s “digital transformation” from an original design manufacturer into a technology service provider, Huang said.
Photo: CNA
“Big data is not just for big business … it is the company’s mission to help all businesses embrace digital technology,” he said.
The Kaohsiung office is to have a strong emphasis on the cultivation of talent, as “we are growing people, not factories,” he added.
Artificial intelligence technologies are being developed for many different industries, and Wistron, in conjunction with Microsoft, plans to use its resources, as well its subsidiary WiAdvance Technology Co’s (緯謙科技) expertise in corporate digital transformation and smart manufacturing, to address various challenges facing local industries, Huang said.
Huang also serves as chairman of WiAdvance.
Tragedies such as the fire that killed six people at a karaoke parlor in Taipei in April could be avoided if inspectors could continually monitor firefighting equipment online, WiAdvance senior technology director Raymond Fan (范振煌) said.
Smart technology could also assist with disease prevention efforts by tracking individual’s movements and body temperature without compromising their privacy, he said.
As an example, Wistron has provided En Chu Kong Hospital (恩主公醫院) in New Taipei City’s Sanxia District (三峽) with a smart healthcare system incorporating remote capabilities.
The system allows medical instructions to be passed to patients and doctors to inspect how wounds are healing remotely, the company said.
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