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【2021 Application Example】 Fongyu Uses AI Knowledge-based Fish Farming to Effectively Increase Aquatic Production by 10%

Fisheries is an important industry in an island economy. However, the fish farming industry has faced severe challenges in recent years, including climate change, labor shortage, and rising costs. In particular, nearly 110,000 workers in agriculture will retire due to old age over the next 10 years. For this reason, the need for aquaculture to move towards smart farming is becoming increasingly urgent.

Founded in 2014, Fongyu Corp. Ltd. has developed a unique eco-friendly farming model based on its own fish farming. It uses AI knowledge-based fish farming to effectively increase aquatic product production by 10%, and reduced labor cost by 15%.

The word "Fongyu" has a profound meaning. "Fong" represents good mountains and "Yu" represents good water, and is the hope that companies will allow Taiwan to always have good mountains and good water.It is also a homophone for "having a full figure," expressing the hope that products will give consumers a full and healthy body and mind. The founder of the company, Liu Chien-Shen, has been through the difficult entrepreneurial journey of becoming an apprentice in fish farming, raising funds, renting fish farms, establishing a fish farming company, building a brand, and expanding sales.

Labor shortage and aging workers are hidden worries in the fish farming industry

Currently, fish farms in Taiwan are still mainly traditional fish farms, and farming techniques are still passed down through word-of-mouth. In addition, the labor shortage and average age of workers exceeding 60 years old has made it impossible to effectively stably improve productivity and yield. This farming method makes it difficult to prevent and control diseases, and greatly increases the possibility of excessive use of drugs, environmental pollution, and water quality and ecological damage, creating a vicious cycle that lowers the quality of fish farming.

In addition, 65.1% of workers in Taiwan's fish farming industry are inadequately skilled. With limited support from IoT sensors, traditional fish farmers still mainly rely on their own experience and knowledge for water quality management, feeding, and disease detection. Fish farming management relies heavily on the ability of individual fishermen. Once experienced workers retire, the industry will not only face the issue of succession, but also the difficult of stably supplying a certain amount of harvest that meets quality standards. This may cause a dilemma for the entire industry from fish farming to sales.

In order to improve the pain point of inability to pass on experience in fish farming, and at the same time create a "digital" foundation for fish farming, the top priority must be to collect farming behavior data and develop AI services as an important starting point.

Fishery digital twin technology helps fishermen transition to smart farming

With the assistance of the Institute for Information Technology (III), Fongyu implemented the "fishery digital twin" technology to dynamically adjust the farming schedule. In other words, the fish farming schedule is adjusted according to the species, habits, and variables of the fish. The use of AI in fish farming not only effectively increase aquatic production by 10%, but also reduced labor cost by 15%.

In terms of specific methods, we first digitalized the fish ponds, feed, and decision-making behavior for each species, such as sea bass and Taiwan tilapia, and recorded the seasonal temperature changes from releasing seedlings to harvesting, all of which were digitalized, gradually recording the experience and methods of experienced workers into a rich database. Based on the recorded data, we analyzed the compound variables to find the best farming behavior and generate a dynamic farming schedule.

Recording each pond's farming master's data experience.

▲ The records for each pool provide data on workers' experience.

However, fish farming behavior generally relies on rules of thumb. Even experienced fish farmers cannot ensure that they will find the best solution. Therefore, new methods are proposed to solve this issue: That is, "to determine the best fish farming behavior by predicting the interaction with water quality and past data on feeding, and evaluating fish farming behavior based on water quality and fish farming," and provide fishermen with the most intuitive recommendations through daily schedules. To continue optimizing the dynamic fish farming calendar on a rolling basis, iterations of the model will be developed through the three-step cycle:

(1) Input the current fish farming calendar into the model;

(2) The model predicts the future environment;

(3) Shortcomings of the fish farming calendar are corrected based on the future environment to obtain a new version of the fish farming calendar.

In the process, the experience of aquaculture experts is used to establish the causal relationship between fish farming behavior and the environment. The establishment of a dynamic fish farming process and technology-based fish farming recommendation services provide a traceable and detailed fish farming process. It is one of the few technologies that can digitalize fish farming. Fishermen can quickly and easily record their daily behaviors to build knowledge without taking up too much time, but in the long run it can reduce labor cost by 15% and increase output and revenue by an average of 10%.

Smart fish farming has achieved outstanding results, reducing labor cost by 15% and increasing output by 10%

At the same time, the fish farming calendar can also be extended to different aquatic species, such as white shrimp, milkfish, clams, and Taiwan tilapia, to produce fish farming schedules for ponds with different specifications, and the harvested aquatic species can be traced according to different specifications, establishing vertically integrated services for safe food products. Fongyu's main products are divided into two categories. One is aquaculture modules, including fry, feed, materials and probiotics, production planning and processes, and monitoring, which can be sold separately or exported as modules.

Summit Fisheries' high-quality marine products consistently win awards. (Image: Summit Fisheries official website)

▲The high-quality aquatic products produced by Fongyu have repeatedly won awards. (Figure: Fongyu’s official website)

The other category is high-quality aquatic products, including seabass fillets, seabass balls, oil-free seabass balls, seabass dumplings, and seabass soup. The products have won various awards, including the top ten souvenirs in Pingtung in 2017, "Barramundi Fillet" won the 2017 Eatender of the Council of Agriculture (COA), "Oil-Free Barramundi Fillet" won the 2018 Eatender Gold Food Award of the COA, and "Dumplings of Barramundi" and "Barramundi Broth" won the 2019 Eatender of the COA. The consecutive awards represent that the "quality" of Fongyu’s aquatic products can be seen and eaten with peace of mind.

In addition, Fongyu has exclusive fingerlings that meet international needs, such as: Pure seawater cultured tilapia fingerlings and seawater Taiwan tilapia fingerlings from selective breeding (FY-01) are items that aquaculture companies in many countries are looking forward to. The company also has aquaculture modules, disease monitoring tools, and feeding materials designed in accordance with the environment, in order to provide customers with more stable income.

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【導入案例】化身大型AIOT科技遊樂場 海科館華麗轉身好吸睛
Transforming into a Large-Scale AIoT Technology Playground: The Spectacular Makeover of the National Museum of Marine Science & Technology

Taiwan is a maritime nation When you visit the Badozi Fishing Port or Tidal Park in Keelung, do you also explore the mysteries of the ocean world at the 48-hectare National Museum of Marine Science amp Technology To get more people closer to marine technology, Keelung's Marine Museum has introduced technological services, transforming the venue into a large technology playground that delights both children and adults, fully utilizing the 'learning through play' approach After a lengthy planning process, Northern Taiwan's largest marine science museum in Keelung opened in January 2014 The museum focuses on marine education and technology, boasting Taiwan's largest IMAX 3D ocean theater The unique themes and modern viewing facilities should make it a well-known landmark in Keelung However, the original exhibition planning was static and highly specialized, lacking sufficient interaction with the public Visitors who have attended the museum also reported that the exhibits were limited and quite boring, leading to poor overall consumer experience ratings The top three dissatisfactions with the museum were weak connections to surrounding attractions, unengaging display content, and lack of exhibit material According to statistics from the Marine Museum, the ratio of local to visiting guests is approximately 64, with most foreign visitors coming from the north transportation is primarily by car and bus common types of visits include family, parent-child, and friends and the stay duration is generally 1 to 2 hours Upon deeper investigation, the top three visitor complaints were weak linkages to surrounding attractions, unengaging display content, and insufficient number of exhibits The museum analyzed potential reasons, including some displays being too specialized, making it difficult for the public to understand, and a lack of interactive elements, making the exhibition boring and the visit hurriedly brief Analysis of visitor profiles revealed that since half of the museum's visitors are locals, and accessing the museum is not so easy for out-of-towners who must travel by car or public transport, the design of the venue and exhibitions must incorporate more interactivity and intrigue to encourage locals to return and extend the duration of visitors' stays while using technological services to highlight the museum's unique features Through a recommendation from the Information Software Association, part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Industrial Bureau AI team, the Marine Museum commissioned Jugu Technology to resolve the issue of uninspiring venue attractions Preliminary interviews by Jugu Technology revealed that many visitors were attracted by the architectural design of the museum, notices posted on nearby walls, flags, or events being held the most interesting feature for visitors was the 3D ocean theater, indicating that content presented through audio-video and physical scenic methods was more engaging Seven major AI technologies lead to a boost in regional tourism at the Marine Museum Through the introduction of technology services, Jugu Technology designed the 48-hectare site with seven major services AI voice tours, treasure hunt puzzle games, AI exhibit interactive revitalization, AI space exhibition interactive experience, AI crowd control, Face AI interactive experience, and AI voice customer service system By utilizing AIoT and cloud technology, they made the exhibition more interesting, not only solving the issue of boring static viewings for children but also doubling the learning efficiency and dramatically improving public perception of the Marine Museum, thus increasing visitor intent and boosting regional tourism The National Museum of Marine Science and Technology introduced seven major technological application services including AI voice guide Jugu Technology aimed to improve the space optimization of the Marine Museum, using the special exhibition of coastal birds in northern Taiwan as a prototype, integrating 'face', 'limb', 'crowd' as three main axes to enhance functionality and assist in improving the museum's application of AI Practically, the Marine Museum and Jugu Technology selected the on-site special exhibits to avoid any installation of water and electricity works or pipelines in active exhibits, thereby maintaining the quality of the viewing experience Instead, they selected exhibits that were not yet open to introduce a series of technological services tailored to the unique characteristics of the exhibits In the coastal bird special exhibition inside the Marine Museum, initial construction discussions with the curators utilized Bella X1 for a welcoming interactive introduction at the exhibition entrance This was followed by an AI-powered smart guide in both Chinese and English using X1 for narration, coupled with a fun treasure hunting stamp-collecting activity - APP X1, allowing visitors to participate in challenges Subsequently, bird species within the bird exhibition were brought to life interactively using X1, and AR scenarios X1 were introduced into the exhibition space to add elements of fun and entertainment Finally, Face AI was used to interactively test facial expressions and score smiles The gorgeously transformed Marine Museum will become the best travel destination for families with children ImageMarine Museum FB Page The AIoT services introduced by the Marine Museum could be extended to various exhibition-type museums and even static art galleries in the future, tailored to the unique characteristics of different venues They could also be promoted through government projects and related plans, aiding in rural revitalization, making visits more than just sightseeing in rural areas, and breaking free from stereotypes associated with different venues The applications of these services are broad「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only Translation date:2024-05-19」

【解決方案】連聯合國都買單 悠由數據應用運用農業數據搶攻全球商機
Even the United Nations is on board! Yoyo Data Application captures global business opportunities with agricultural data

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developed by Yoyo Data Application accurately predicts the production period, yield, and prices Firstly, due to Wu Junxiao's precise mastery over agricultural data, Yoyo Data Application's clients don't necessarily need sensors or other hardware devices 'Sensors are expensive and if you buy cheap devices, you just collect a lot of noise or flawed data, which is useless,' Wu explains He continues, 'Collecting data doesn't necessarily require sensors our data solutions can solve problems more directly and effectively' For instance, one of Yoyo Data Application's products, the Yoyo Money Report Agri-price Linebot, developed in collaboration with LINE in 2020, gathers data on origin, wholesale, and terminal prices spanning over 10 years, driven by Yoyo Data’s proprietary AI algorithms This enables the system to autonomously learn about agricultural product trading prices, using big data and AI to perform price prediction analysis, thereby helping buyers reduce transaction risks and 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crops Through effective dynamic data algorithms, it can accurately calculate when crops will flower and when they can be harvested, what the yield will be, and so forth For instance, the prediction accuracy of the broccoli production period is 0-4 days, with the flowering period predicted this year to be precisely 0 days, perfectly matching the actual flowering time in the field In these dynamic calculations, a 7-day range is considered reasonable, and the average error value of Yoyo Data's predictions typically ranges from 2-4 days, with most crop production period accuracies above 80 Through effective dynamic data algorithms, over 120 global crops can have their production periods and yields accurately estimated Using these effective dynamic data algorithms can set estimates for production quantities, helping adjust at the production end Yoyo Data Application's clientele primarily includes exporters of fruit crops like pineapples, bananas, guavas, mangos, pomelos, sugar apples, Taiwan's agricultural production is highly homogenized, often leading to a rush to plant the same crops and resulting in price crashes Yoyo Data Application helps clients differentiate their offerings Thus, Wu Junxiao positions his company as a boutique digital consultant, carefully selecting clients for quality over quantity He notes that Taiwanese agricultural clients focus on how to improve yield rates, even categorizing yield rates by quality, aiming for high-quality, specialized export markets whereas international clients prioritize maximizing per-unit yields, showing different operational approaches in domestic and international markets In addition to agricultural fruit, Yoyo Data Application has also extended its services to the fisheries sector, including species like milkfish, sea bass, and white shrimp, all using the same system to establish various parameters related to the growth of fish and shrimp, such as when to feed and when to harvest, and the anticipated yield, timing, and prices Yoyo Data Application harnesses the power of data to create miracles in smart agriculture In response to the company's rapid development, Yoyo Data Application introduced venture capital funds in 2021 to expand its staff and promote its business Wu Junxiao states that in response to the global trend towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050, he plans to help clients plant carbon in the soil, effectively retaining carbon in the land while also connecting clients to carbon trading platforms, creating environmental business opportunities together Wu Junxiao says that from the start of his entrepreneurial journey, he positioned the company as a global entity, thus continuous international collaborations are planned As a data company serving a global clientele and focused on climate technology and the green economy, this represents Wu’s expectations for himself and his company's long-term goals Yoyo Data Application founder and CEO Wu Junxiao「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only Translation date:2024-05-19」