The National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) yesterday signed an agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to set up a “City Science Lab” to focus on the development of “smart” city infrastructure and autonomous vehicles.
MIT City Science Initiative director Kent Larson signed the agreement with NTUT president Li Wen-lung (黎文龍) in Taipei, the first time that the US institute has signed an agreement with a Taiwanese university.
With the growing prevalence of applications associated with the Internet of Things, “smart” city infrastructure plays a key role in industrial development and autonomous vehicles, which involve the development of human-centered concepts, a major indicator of how developed a “smart” city is, Li said at the ceremony.
Photo: Courtesy of National Taipei University of Technology
Li said he hopes the strong research capacity of the two institutes, coupled with the multitude of technology firms set up by the universities’ alumni would provide the collaboration a solid basis.
NTUT is to send six students to programs at the MIT Media Lab each year to acquire knowledge on “smart” city infrastructure, with each program to last for at least two months, Li said.
Lecturers will also be able to use the opportunities to engage in exchanges with MIT counterparts, he said.
Michael Lin (林家樑), a Taiwanese doctoral student who is also a research assistant at the MIT Media Lab said that the two institutes are like-minded, as they both value the idea of “learning by doing,” while the Taipei university has earned its reputation by putting its beliefs into practice.
The two universities plan to embark on projects to improve transportation and housing, Lin said.
The MIT City Science Initiative aims to develop autonomous vehicles that operate like Uber, he said.
It hopes to analyze “big data” regarding commuters’ behavior to create an improved public bicycle system that would save operators the trouble of transporting bicycles from one location to another, he said.
It hopes to provide residents with space-saving homes that include “movable” furniture, Lin said.
He said that he hopes the partnership would serve as a gateway that links MIT to Taiwan’s business sectors, thereby motivating small and medium-sized enterprises to submit innovative ideas to the Taipei institute, through which MIT could engage in reciprocal and mutually beneficial research projects with Taiwanese firms.
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
CHINA illness surge: Of 88 travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau with respiratory symptoms who were encouraged to get tested upon arrival, 70.6% had the flu Two hundred and sixty people with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 31 deaths related to the virus were reported last week — the highest numbers in four weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that cases are expected to peak next month. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the 260 people hospitalized last week with moderate to severe COVID-19, 98 percent had not received the Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine. Among the people hospitalized this year, 78 percent were aged 65 or older, while most of the those who were hospitalized or died have or had
Taiwanese who have recently traveled to China for tourism, to visit friends or relatives or for business reasons have been interrogated, detained and faced other forms of unreasonable treatment from Chinese officials, a source said on Sunday. Among them was a Taiwanese who was detained for eight hours at an airport in China due to their research, which is related to religion, while others have had their travel documents for China canceled for a number of reasons, the source said. In July, China expanded the scope of its counterespionage law, and recently announced a draft amendment to the law on the protection
RSS