The National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL) yesterday unveiled a compact integrated chip that can not only track users’ exercising habits and analyze their physical condition, but also meshes well with wearable devices.
Project leader and NARL Chip Implementation Center researcher Tsai Han-hui (蔡翰輝) said the integrated chip is the result of the laboratories’ collaboration with local chip manufacturers and is the first of its kind.
With the help of the technology, people could wake up in the morning to the voice of a microcomputer in a headset informing them of the state of their health and things to look out for in their lifestyle.
Combining sensor chips that detect the conditions in one’s surroundings — such as air quality and humidity — motion and physical conditions, the integrated chip recommends the best exercise for users at a given time and informs them of changes in their blood sugar level and heartbeat, while using a built-in antenna to transmit the data to a nearby hospital for processing, Tsai said.
Following analysis, the data is then transferred back to the chip to inform user of the state of their health and make suggestions accordingly, he said.
The chip measures just 2mm2, making it small enough to fit onto a headset or an earring and, therefore, is true to the concept of Internet of Things (IoT) applications, Tsai said.
Existing technologies deals with sensor chips and ordinary chips separately because the manufacturing processes are very different, Tsai said.
Previous attempts by researchers to combine the chips have resulted in damaged circuits, but the NARL was able to overcome the technical difficulties by developing the world’s first multitasking chip that integrates different types of sensors, as well as circuits for electromagnetic signal transmission and data processing, into a single circuit board, Tsai said.
The next-generation chip is low-cost, compact and consumes less energy than ordinary chips, he said.
Citing a survey by French market research firm Yole, Tsai said Taiwan, a leader in integrated circuit fabrication with a 60 percent global market share, has room for improvements in terms of sensor chip design, with local firms making up less than 1 percent of the number of firms in the sector globally.
Tsai said the chip is remarkable since all the major technologies on sensor chip fabrication are owned by overseas firms.
He said the Chip Implementation Center would seek opportunities to work with academic institutions and the private sector to develop more types of sensor chips that offer consumers more options on IoT applications and help Taiwan become a world leader in IoT and wearable devices.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and