Industrial computer maker Advantech Co (研華) is eyeing strong growth potential in edge artificial intelligence (AI), as the technology shifts from cloud-centric computing to edge deployment and real-world applications, Advantech embedded Internet of Things president Miller Chang (張家豪) said on Thursday last week.
Amid rising demand for inference as the industry shifts from training, edge AI is emerging as a key field, given the need for low latency, real-time response and data privacy, Chang said in an exclusive interview with the Taipei Times.
While consumer devices such as smartphones already feature some AI capabilities, large-scale inference demand would mainly come from applications for industries such as healthcare, manufacturing and semiconductors, where data privacy and real-time requirements drive the adoption of edge AI, he said.
Photo: Meryl Kao, Taipei Times
Since Advantech’s core business has long centered on providing edge computing for industrial applications, it is well-positioned to benefit from growing edge AI deployment, Chang said.
The company is already seeing deployments across industries, from automation, smart manufacturing, healthcare and retail to energy management and robotics, he added.
As the AI technology moves toward integration with physical systems, the development of physical AI, which combines sensing, decisionmaking and action — particularly in robotics and automation — is expected to become a future growth driver for the company, Chang said.
Advantech plans to roll out next-generation integrated edge AI platforms this year, featuring at least 100 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of computing performance, as AI capabilities become a standard configuration rather than an optional add-on, he said.
“In the past, customers asked whether they needed AI; now, systems come with AI capability by default,” he added.
To support diverse industry needs, Advantech has developed a three-tier edge AI hardware architecture, he said.
The first layer, Edge AI Embedded, provides modules that could be integrated into existing systems to upgrade their AI capabilities, Chang said.
The second tier, Edge AI Appliance, offers complete systems tailored for sectors such as healthcare, automation and robotics, he said.
The third layer, Edge AI Server, involves on-site data processing in applications not suited for cloud deployment, Chang said.
On top of the hardware, the company integrates its AI of Things system with development tools to shorten development cycles, he said, adding that through the “three-layer hardware plus one layer of software” approach, Advantech aims to accelerate AI deployment across industries.
Advantech is to present its latest edge AI and AI application solutions across industries at this year’s Computex Taipei trade show in June, Chang said.
During the show, the company would collaborate with major chipmakers, including Intel Corp, Nvidia Corp and Qualcomm Inc, to demonstrate how its platforms support different AI architectures, he said.
Advantech also plans to showcase an integrated AI solution based on Nvidia’s NemoClaw — an open-source platform for deploying autonomous AI agents with built-in security and privacy controls — that aims to help customers accelerate AI adoption, Chang said.
That solution has been applied in areas such as factory operations and energy management, and would be expanded to more scenarios, he added.
“AI will inevitably be deployed in real-world scenarios — and it is already happening,” Chang said.
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