TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Industrial Technology Research Institute announced on Thursday five award winners for innovations in artificial intelligence, radio-frequency, and net-zero.
ITRI Executive Vice President Lee Tzong-Ming (李宗銘) said considerations include breakthroughs and added-value, per CNA. He remarked that the winners have demonstrated how research can be profitable.
Outstanding research awards were given for denitrification, GaN-on-Si chip optimization, and satellite frequency performance upgrade. Industry contribution awards were for scalable AI and motor-fan design.
In terms of industry contributions, an integrated AI solution is being used by 7-Eleven for its image recognition feature, speeding up check-outs at unmanned stores. It is also being used to generate tags that maximize visitor traffic, boosting order volumes to 19-25%.
Also, a specialized motor-fan is being used in air-conditioning units and data centers for lowering heat and power consumption. Conventional fan-motor parts rely on imported rare-earth materials and wear out quickly.
In terms of outstanding research, the denitrification system uses a non-toxic approach to process exhaust fumes under low temperatures. This safe, efficient method is already being used by the textile and semiconductor industries to reduce air pollution.
ITRI's proprietary GaN-on-Si technique uses the 8-inch wafer process to boost frequency for lower heat and power consumption. It also shrinks integrated chips, antennas, and cooling parts into compact modules, allowing them to fit inside smartphones for satellite communication.
The satellite communication circuitry design further reduces power consumption by 15%, with production costs just 10% of its competitors. Its memory capacity allows for transmissions three times greater than that of its global competitors, allowing Taiwan to achieve production self-reliance.
