Key Players in Taiwan's IC Industry Showcase Hard Power in Ecosystem

According to the latest survey by McKinsey & Company, the global Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) application output value is expected to reach a staggering US$11.1 trillion by 2025. Under such trend, the Industrial Development Administration (IDA) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) advised the Institute for Information Industry (III) to establish an AIoT ecosystem based on the "IoT Service Hub." After its establishment, the IoT Service Hub has integrated the 4D resources (i.e., Demand, Design, DevSecOps, and Diffusion) from the Digital Transformation Research Institute (DRTI) to assist industrial entities in formulating demand specs and designing technical specs, thereby ensuring the quality and efficiency of product R&D through a systematic approach and further empowering local industries in both domestic and foreign markets. After six years of efforts, the IoT Service Hub has become a powerful facilitator for the vigorous development of Taiwan's IC industry, gathering abundant synergy from various partners in related fields.

The 2023 IoT Service Hub Annual Conference focused on the theme of "Smart Manufacturing in HUB! Co-creating AIoT Service Community" and held 15 key forums, with representatives from major domestic IC manufacturers such as MediaTek, Realtek, and PixArt Imaging to discuss various AIoT development projects in Taiwan. At the same time, company representatives from the smart manufacturing ecosystem (e.g., Winstec, AptObject, HSW Technology, RICHLINK Technology, Domex Technology, etc.) were also invited to introduce their products of domestic IC derivative components. Developers who have introduced domestic ICs for innovative product development, such as representatives from Toby Design & Development, UEC System Solutions, LOOKTECH, and the Taiwanese maker community also shared their projects and development experiences on the application of multiple "MiT (Made in Taiwan)" model EVBs.

The application of domestic ICs was demonstrated in multiple perspectives, and innovative service applications in three major fields, that is, smart medical electronics, transformation of traditional industries, and smart living, were presented to showcase Taiwan's strong innovation capabilities in AIoT applications and smart manufacturing, highlighting Taiwan's indispensable role in the field of tech innovation.

Domestic IC Introduced into Application Development, Creating Value for Transformation

At the event, Mr. Calvin Tsai (Director of DRTI, III) indicated that the IoT Service Hub ecosystem has been developed by the III by integrating upstream and downstream manufacturers to develop independent domestic IC chips, its aim being to diversify local AIoT services as well as to accelerate the mass production and optimized development for products/services. With the support of the MOEA IDA, the IoT Service Hub has established service branches in northern, central, and southern Taiwan since 2018. By offering professional services such as inventory check, diagnosis, and consultation, it has helped a considerable number of companies achieve the mass production of IoT products. Over the past six years, a total of 10 model IC EVBs have been developed, which means Taiwanese companies does not have to rely on imported foreign IC chips to develop AI solutions anymore.

The IoT Service Hub of III is committed to promoting the AIoT ecosystem in Taiwan and integrating upstream domestic IC chip design and manufacturing resources. Under this context, it seeks to connect with professional manufacturers to formulate specs and optimize the development of module components, thereby introducing customized development according to the needs of end users. In short, the IoT Service Hub's services can be categorized into three major areas:

  1. Introducing domestic ICs into product development to upgrade industrial services or automate processes, e.g., traditional Chinese medicine identification device, smart chessboard, generator remote monitoring, AI switch device and system, etc., allowing the introduction rate of domestic ICs to reach 65%.
  2. Promoting the creative practice of courses/programs based on domestic ICs, cooperating with about 30 colleges/universities in Taiwan on nearly 100 open source cases to implement industrial-academic cooperation, with projects such as smart voice elevator buttons, gesture recognition rock-paper-scissors game, and so on.
  3. Planning cross-domain devices for theme-based AIoT industry platforms, such as the Relaxation Center, to create value-added sleep and relaxation experiences for customers through the integration of diversified innovative products; for SMEs, smart manufacturing devices were introduced, such as smart stickers, automated precision film cutting equipment, monitoring devices for machines or production lines, all of which help to quickly collect and analyze environmental data, diagnose machine conditions, and monitor production quantity and quality.
Industry-leader MediaTek Launching World's First Wi-Fi 7 V2X Solution

Focusing on the popular topic of electric vehicles and automotive Internet of Things, MediaTek shared how its technology would enhance driving experience in the future.

  1. Smart cockpit: MediaTek and NVIDIA worked together and used the advanced 3nm process to provide a complete smart cockpit and infotainment systems (Dimensity Auto) for cars, providing high-quality sound, ISP multi-lens image processing, and multi-screen display functions.
  2. Automotive IoT: In the future, vehicles will also become an IoT device; in addition to the internal connection of systems and information in the car through Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, Ethernet will also be incorporated to enhance the interface of internal connection, and the "external communication" without mutual interference will be created through V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything).
  3. Smart driving system: Advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) and DMS/OMS driver/passenger monitoring systems have been established.
  4. Introducing "MiT" IC key components into the automotive IoT ecosystem: PMIC power management chips are used to monitor the flow and direction of electricity to meet main system requirements, and the GNSS global satellite navigation system uses AI technology combined with cameras for road and driver to provide higher convenience and security.

The smart wireless connection technology of MediaTek's Filogic Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7 chipsets represent fast, reliable, and always-on connected experiences. The speed was increased from 1024QAM to 4096QAM, which can accommodate more signals and increase the maximum connection rate by 20%; multi-RU batch processing reduces transmission latency by 25%, using non-contiguous frequency bands more efficiently and shortening transmission delays. Also, OFDMA adds new multi-user resource allocation methods and more detailed wireless resource allocation/spatial multiplexing to avoid interference. Wi-Fi 7 supports three bandwidths, dynamically switching link connections and increasing overall transmission speed and coverage to ensure the quality of both connection speed and coverage.

This exciting solution brings consumers a different experience from traditional vehicles. For example, consumers in North America often purchase telecom services when buying a new car. Using 5G & Wi-Fi 7 as an access point (AP), this technology can connect in-vehicle information and allow Wi-Fi sharing in the car via wireless network. At the same time, a more comprehensive in-car infotainment system features the possibility of casting the video being watched on the smartphone onto the cockpit screen through CarPlay/Android auto/multi-screen display technology via Wi-Fi. Also, on some charging piles for Software-Defined Vehicles (already in implementation in North America), Wi-Fi APs are available to meet the needs of IoT, allowing vehicles to become residential APs.

Smart Living in Various Aspects to Spark a Safer, More Convenient Future

Realtek also introduced its new fifth generation Ameba E series, which gives smart devices the ability to perceive, interact, and decide, reshaping the definition of "intelligence, interaction, and connection." The Ameba E series solutions cover aspects from personal wearables to Smart Home, screen monitoring, voice assistants, etc., which is basically centered around people's daily life needs. The new product Ameba E (Wi-Fi 6 Solution) has three main specs: Ameba Lite (entry-level model), Ameba Lite+ (mainly developed for smart voice recognition), and Ameba Smart (the first dual-band device that supports Linux OS).

The Ameba E series integrates three major technologies, including Wi-Fi sensing, smart voice recognition, and Wi-Fi audio. By using algorithms to detect signal disturbances, it can detect whether there are human activities in the space. This function brings more possibilities for environmental sensing and monitoring of IoT devices. For example, it can be applied for products such as baby cam, gas burner monitoring, record-keeping of sleep quality (toilet visits), etc. Other practical applications include connecting air conditioners, reminder to turn off lights/gas. Users can also set a "safe mode" to send a notification when someone breaks in their house.

In addition, Realtek has also cooperated with third-party partners to develop algorithms to achieve a more seamless smart connection between home appliances and smart wearables. In the future, Realtek will invest more resources in sensor fusion IoT. With this technology, smart home appliances can be converted into multi-functional smart devices offering multiple settings for specific times or scenes, supporting the latest technologies including smart voice, dual core, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and Matter. The solutions are an easy and effective upgrade to smart home systems, with voice control functions to improve convenience and user experience.

Diverse Applications of AIoT Smart Network, Domestic IC-AI Modules to Enter Global Market

Last but not least, Mr. Lai, Senior Product Manager of PixArt Imaging, shared how the company has focused on the development of imaging IC that integrates light source lens and PPG (photoplethysmography) Sensors in recent years. Its core CMOS imaging sensing technology is paired with the AIoT smart networking process to perform the series of "data capture, processing, analysis, learning, decision-making, and action." For example, its Rolling Shutter is mainly used in security cameras, smart doorbells, and smart door locks. Its ultra-low-power design only requires half of the electricity consumption for other similar products, and it also has high-resolution and pre-recording functions to meet other application needs. Global Shutter Image Sensor, another outstanding product of PixArt, is mainly used for the decoding and identification of fast-moving imaging products, such as drones, electric vehicles, machine vision, machine decoding, educational scanning translator pens, eye tracking for VR equipment, face tracking for automotive driver safety, etc.

Its smart motion detection technology compares two frames of the image and executes the computing program on the device instead of on the cloud, achieving lower latency, instant response, and reduced power consumption. As for its human-machine interface technology Sensor Fusion, it features expanded functions like thermal imaging and radar detection. Through fusion technology, it can achieve two- or even three-in-one sensing and enhance the application functions of end products.

With major semiconductor manufacturers like MediaTek, Realtek, and PixArt Imaging in the AIoT ecosystem, industrial synergy has been accumulated through the interaction and cooperation of the entire industry chain, benefiting SMEs through the implementation of joint projects. With all these inspiring examples, the IoT Service Hub of III aspires to continuously build a more solid AIoT ecosystem and stimulates further developments. With chips featuring top specs manufactured by prestigious IC design companies, developers and makers in Taiwan will strive to keep expanding their functions with innovative modules, so as to realize more creative IoT applications in the future.