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【2020 Application Example】 AI Fights Pandemic: 6 Times Efficiency Increase in Wuhan Pneumonia Quarantine

Combatting the epidemic is like fighting a fire. With the increasing influx of returning residents, the pressure of Wuhan virus quarantine is mounting, consuming more time. Shortening quarantine times will positively benefit disease prevention efforts. At a hospital in Southern Taiwan, the 'Smart Medical Clinical Decision Support System' has helped reduce the time taken for high-risk patients from entry at the quarantine station to clinical decisions by doctors. It originally took about 2 and a half hours, but now it's down to less than 30 minutes, increasing the quarantine efficiency by 5 to 6 times and significantly reducing the risk of cross-infection between medical personnel and patients, as well as the manpower needed for quarantine.

As waves of overseas students densely return to Taiwan, not only the Central Epidemic Command Center, but also various medical institutions are tightening up, closely monitoring every quarantined individual. There are also concerns about the potential infection risks to colleagues, which is exhausting. At this point, employing AI technology to enhance quarantine efficiency is indeed a great blessing for the medical units and the health of the nation.

AI-Assisted Medicine Multiplies, Becoming a Hero in Pandemic Control

To combat the severe pandemic of novel coronavirus, the hospital has integrated various smart medical techs and developed the 'Smart Medical Clinical Decision Support System', raising quarantine efficiency by 5 to 6 times. It has shortened the time taken for high-risk patients from entering the quarantine station to doctors making clinical decisions from 2 and a half hours to less than 30 minutes, effectively reducing the risk of cross-infections.

The 'Smart Medical Clinical Decision Support System' implemented by the hospital includes three components: front-end automation of medical records, AI-assisted interpretation of chest X-rays for diagnosing pneumonia, and continuous updates of clinical decisions based on the latest epidemic data provided by the health department. This significantly enhances the hospital's response and decision-making ability in quarantine and epidemic prevention, and greatly benefits Taiwan's anti-epidemic efforts through the multiplicative effect of AI-assisted medicine.

National Cheng Kung University collaborates with the hospital, using smart medical technology to enhance quarantine efficiency (Photo source: Official website)

▲ National Cheng Kung University collaborates with the hospital, using smart medical technology to enhance quarantine efficiency (Photo source: Official website)

In the aspect of medical record automation, existing medical institutions often use traditional paper or verbal reporting, which potentially increases the risk of contact infections among medical staff and patients. The automated medical records system in this hospital allows patients to fill out their own medical history, including travel, occupation, contacts, and clustering, using tablet computers. These records are uploaded to the electronic medical record system, enabling immediate access by medical staff to make clinical decisions. Each tablet is disinfected with alcohol after every use, reducing the risk of cross-infection and enhancing the efficiency of the quarantine station.

The hospital's Wuhan pneumonia screening shows a sensitivity and accuracy of up to 80% and 90%, respectively.

The 'Chest X-Ray AI Interpretation for Pneumonia System Model' developed by the hospital's Department of Radiology, with active participation from Professor Yong-Nian Sun's team at the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Utilizing a tuberculosis X-ray AI auto-interpretation model developed by a previous AI biotech medical innovation research center project, it was adapted to the hospitals' pneumonia imaging data. The collaboration between the parties ensured rapid completion. Currently assisting in over 152 suspected Wuhan pneumonia screenings, sensitivities and accuracies of up to 80% and 90% have been achieved, respectively.

Moreover, for students conducting in-home quarantine at school dormitories, the university has adopted a smart monitoring approach with a 'Warm Heart Smart Bracelet' developed by a cross-disciplinary team, which continuously monitors quarantined individuals' body temperatures and heart rates as indicators for predicting symptoms. When a rise in body temperature is detected, individuals can proactively confirm abnormal symptoms via a smartphone app and be prompted to seek medical attention. Currently, bracelets are collected weekly and data is centrally uploaded to a cloud platform by the management staff for ongoing tracking, wholly enhancing the level of pandemic control internally and externally.

The cross-disciplinary team at the university uses 'Warm Heart Smart Bracelets' to implement home quarantine policies effectively (Photo source: Official website)

▲ The university's cross-disciplinary team uses 'Warm Heart Smart Bracelets' to implement home quarantine policies effectively (Photo source: Official website)

「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only. Translation date:2024-05-19」

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【解決方案】優式AI智能割草機器人 搶攻高爾夫藍海市場
USRROBOT's AI Lawn Mowing Robot Enters the Blue Ocean of Golf Market

An AI smart lawn mowing robot, resembling a vacuum robot, shuttles back and forth on the 30-hectare golf course lawn for weeding This robot, independently developed and designed by Taiwanese, is equipped with the world's first electronic fencing positioning technology which utilizes high-precision GPS integrated with cloud AI computation to determine the most efficient mowing paths, targeting the lucrative blue ocean market of golf courses This AI lawn mowing robot was developed by USRROBOT, a Taiwanese startup established in 2019 Chao-Cheng Chen, the president of USRROBOT, once served as the executive vice president of one of the top five ODM tech companies in Taiwan, and specializes in software and hardware integration When he served as the chairman of the Service Robot Alliance, he knew that the service robot industry was bound grow rapidly due to declining birth rates and the growingly severe labor shortage New demand - The horticulture market is large and the has rigid demand "To develop the core technology of service robots, we must find rigid demand Looking at European and American countries, there is a shortage of labor, but demand for horticulture has increased, and there has been a long-term shortage of 7-10 of horticultural workers" Under this strong "rigid demand," Chao-Cheng Chen established USRROBOT, and the company's first product is the AI lawn mowing robot In terms of overseas markets, the United States is the world's largest horticulture market, accounting for 30-40 of the global output value It is estimated that there are about 1 million horticulture workers, but they have been experiencing a labor shortage of 7-10 in recent years and have not been able to improve the situation The main reasons for labor shortage are Aging population and gardening is a labor-intensive job, so young people don't want to do it Unlike in Taiwan, European and American countries attach great importance to lawn maintenance and have expressly stipulated in the law that heavy fines will be imposed for failing to mow the lawn Therefore, the AI lawn mowing robot has considerable market development potential The introduction of AI multi-device collaborative mowing sensor technology is expected to reduce the burden of staff maintaining the golf course The AI lawn mowing robot developed by USRROBOT is currently in its second generation Domestic universities and well-known art museums are using the latest model M1, and it is also being used by some world-renowned high-tech companies and well-known universities in the United States The company is currently involved in negotiations for subsequent business cooperation USRROBOT stated that the professional RTK system currently used can reduce the original GPS positioning error from tens of meters to about 2 centimeters, allowing the robot to move accurately outdoors After setting the boundaries, it can be easily operated using the app New application - Implementation in golf courses solves the problem of labor aging and shortage Chao-Cheng Chen further explained that the National Land Surveying and Mapping Center is a RTK service provider RTK provides the error reference map of the positioning point USRROBOT can access the positioning error value of a specific position through 4G Internet access The AI algorithm of USRROBOT reduces the general 10-20 m error of GPS to 2 cm After positioning, USRROBOT then uses six-axis accelerator positioning, gyroscopes, and wheel differential sensing devices for software and hardware integration Only by matching the wheel's movement pattern and the terrain can accurate mowing path planning be achieved The AI lawn mowing robot, which is 62 cm wide, 84 cm long, 46 cm high, and weighs only 25 kg, can set the mowing boundaries in the cloud It can avoid pools and sand pits through settings, using AI algorithms to automatically calculate the optimal path It is able to mow approximately 150 ping of grass in one hour The battery can be used continuously for more than 6 hours The battery life is currently the highest in the world In addition to general gardening companies, with the assistance of the AI project team of the Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs, USRROBOT's AI lawn mowing robot has been applied to golf course lawn mowing A well-known golf course located in Taiping District, Taichung City currently has a staff of 5 people who are responsible for the lawn, planting maintenance, and other landscape maintenance of the entire 30-hectare course However, the average age of staff is as high as 55 years old, and the golf course has been unable to recruit new staff members for a long time In view of the aging staff and the shortage of manpower, the golf course hopes to mitigate the impact with AI technology, and is therefore using AI multi-device collaborative mowing sensor technology, in hopes of reducing the burden of staff maintaining the golf course New challenges - Expert systems are needed to overcome difficulties with different grass species "This AI lawn mowing robot has low noise, low pollution, low labor costs, and is waterproof and anti-theft In the lawn mowing process, it can identify and avoid obstacles through ultrasonic sensors while maintaining mowing quality, maintaining aesthetic and consistent grass length" Chao-Cheng Chen went on to say that the most important part about golf courses is that the grass pattern should be beautiful and free from diseases and pests Based on the site survey, golf courses are mainly divided into three major areas green, fairway and rough There is no problem using the current mowing robot to mow the rough area, and it can overcome slopes within 20 degreesThe short grass in the fairway area may only be two centimeters long, and the grass types are also different, so the cutterhead design needs to be modifiedAs for the grass in the green area, the grass must be mowed close to the ground and maintained in a consistent direction because it affects the putting speed Many factors will affect the green index, and this part requires more research and testing The AI lawn mowing robot can identify and avoid obstacles through ultrasonic sensors while maintaining mowing quality The AI smart lawn mowing robot has a built-in camera that can be used to detect the health condition of the lawn Chao-Cheng Chen said that in the future, an expert system will also be introduced for early determination of whether there are diseases, pests in the lawn or whether there is sufficient moisture, and provide lawn health data analysis to customers, so that they can take preventive and response measures sooner to reduce disaster losses Chao-Cheng Chen, who is also a good golfer himself, said that golf has developed well in Taiwan However, due to weather factors, such as rainy and humid climate and typhoons, Taiwan's golf courses have harder soil and more potholes compared with top tier golf courses overseas If AI lawn mowing robots are to be widely introduced into golf courses, there are still many difficulties that must be overcome However, Taiwan's difficult terrain creates a good testing ground Once Taiwan can overcome the many problems and successfully introduce the robot, it will be able to expand to overseas markets and seize new market opportunities in a blue ocean Chao-Cheng Chen, President of USRROBOT nbsp

這是一張圖片。 This is a picture.
Using Plant Growth Chambers as an Example - Standardizing Electronic Device Procedures Based on Imaging

In recent years, global climate change and environmental issues have become increasingly severe, causing major impacts on agricultural production Traditional agriculture heavily relies on weather conditions, facing challenges such as unstable crop quality, plummeting yields, and difficult pest control Particularly in Taiwan, agricultural biotech companies and farmers have suffered continuous losses, creating an urgent need for innovative solutions Meanwhile, Taiwan's plant factory industry faces many challenges high equipment and labor costs, an incomplete industrial chain diminishing international competitiveness, and a lack of cooperation among enterprises, all of which limit industry development Additionally, COVID-19the pandemic has highlighted the importance of remote monitoring and management Traditional manual inspections and data collection methods no longer meet the needs of modern agricultural production These issues collectively underline the urgent need for smart agricultural solutions, driving companies like Taiwan's HaiBoTe to develop innovative projects integrating IoT, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence technologies HaiBoTe Cloud Data Integration and Analysis Platform Facing these challenges, the agricultural sector urgently needs a system that can precisely control growth environments, improve resource efficiency, enable remote monitoring, and facilitate intelligent management Existing plant factory equipment often requires complete replacement, with poor compatibility with older equipment, and sensors and camera systems may require different interfaces, making them inconvenient to use Therefore, there is a need for a flexible solution that can integrate various equipment and technologies, providing real-time monitoring and data analysis, and automatically adjusting environmental parameters based on plant growth conditions This demand exists not only in Taiwan but is also a global trend in the development of smart agriculture By incorporating artificial intelligence, more scientific evaluation standards can be established, optimizing production processes, improving yield and quality, while reducing energy consumption and environmental impact Additionally, such smart solutions can attract more young people to participate in agricultural production, promoting industry upgrading and sustainable development Overall, the demand for smart agricultural solutions stems from the urgent requirements to address climate change, enhance production efficiency, reduce costs, and achieve precise management, and this is exactly the problem companies like Taiwan's HaiBoTe are striving to solve Taiwan's plant factory operators are facing a series of severe challenges, which are gradually eroding their competitiveness and survival space Firstly, the high cost of equipment and operations is their biggest burden Each electricity bill feels like a heavy blow, forcing them to balance between ensuring product quality and controlling costs Secondly, the unpredictability brought by climate change has become their nightmare Sudden extreme weather events can destroy their carefully nurtured crops in a short time, causing massive economic losses What's worse, they find themselves increasingly at a disadvantage in international market competition In contrast, large overseas plant factories, with their advanced automation technology and well-organized supply chains, can produce stable-quality agricultural products at lower costs, putting unprecedented pressure on Taiwan's operators On the technical level, they also face numerous challenges Compatibility issues between new and old equipment often put them in a bind, encountering various technical obstacles when trying to integrate different systems Lack of precise data analysis and forecasting capabilities also makes it difficult for them to make production decisions and accurately determine the best growth conditions for each crop Existing monitoring systems provide data that is often disorganized, difficult to interpret and apply Human resource challenges are also severe, with young people generally lacking interest in agricultural work, making it difficult for them to recruit employees with modern agricultural skills Even existing employees often feel exhausted from tedious manual operations and monitoring tasks These problems are intertwined, creating a complex dilemma that leaves plant factory operators confused and anxious They urgently need a comprehensive solution that can enhance factory operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve product competitiveness, helping them overcome difficulties and regain their footing in the fierce market competition In facing the various challenges of plant factory operators, Taiwan's HaiBoTe company has demonstrated exceptional technical innovation and a flexible customer-oriented development strategy They deeply understand that the solution must be able to seamlessly integrate existing equipment while providing highly intelligent management functions To this end, HaiBoTe's RD team adopted a modular design approach to develop a system that can be flexibly configuredIoTIoT system The core of this system is a smart control hub that can communicate with various sensors and actuators During development, HaiBoTe worked closely with customers, deeply understanding their specific needs and operational environments They even dispatched engineers onsite to observe the daily operations of the plant factories, ensuring that the developed system actually solves practical problems This in-depth cooperation not only helped HaiBoTe optimize their product design but also established a close relationship with customers, laying the foundation for subsequent continuous improvements HaiBoTe's innovation is not just reflected in hardware design but also in their developed intelligent software system This system integrates advanced machine learning algorithms, capable of precise forecasts and optimal control of plant growth conditions based on large amounts of historical data and real-time monitoring information To help customers overcome technical barriers, HaiBoTe designed an intuitive and easy-to-use user interface, which even non-technical operators can master easily Additionally, they provide comprehensive training and tech support services, ensuring customers can fully utilize all functions of the system When facing challenges, HaiBoTe's technical team can quickly identify problems through remote diagnostics and provide solutions In one incident, during a serious equipment failure emergency faced by a customer, HaiBoTe's engineers guided the customer through system remote access, successfully instructing them on repairs and avoiding potential massive losses This full-range service not only solves customers' immediate difficulties but also strengthens their confidence in intelligent management, driving the entire industry toward more efficient and sustainable development HaiBoTe's developed smart agriculture solution not only brought revolutionary changes to plant factories but also painted an encouraging picture for the future of the entire agricultural industry The excellence of this system is evident in several aspects firstly, it achieves precise control of the plant growth environment, significantly improving crop yield and quality stability Through advanced artificial intelligence algorithms, the system can forecast and adjust optimum growth conditions based on historical data and real-time monitoring information, ensuring each plant grows in the ideal environment Secondly, it significantly reduces energy consumption and operational costs, improving resource efficiency The intelligent management system optimizes water, electricity, and nutrient supply, reducing waste and lowering manpower costs Additionally, the system's modular design and strong compatibility allow it to seamlessly integrate various new and old equipment, providing a flexible solution for gradual upgrades of plant factories Most importantly, the system injects a sense of technology and modernity into agricultural production, helping to attract the younger generation to the field and injecting new vitality into the industry Looking ahead, HaiBoTe's smart agriculture system has broad application prospects and expansion potential In addition to plant factories, this system can also be applied to traditional greenhouse cultivation, urban agriculture, and even home gardening In the field of aquaculture, similar technology can be used to monitor and optimize the breeding environments for fish or shrimp In the food processing industry, similar intelligent monitoring and forecasting systems can be used to optimize production processes and enhance food safety Even in the pharmaceutical industry, this type of precise environmental management system could be applied to drug research and production processes To further promote this system, HaiBoTe could adopt a multifaceted strategy Firstly, they could collaborate with agricultural colleges and research institutions to establish demonstration bases, allowing more people to experience the benefits of smart agriculture firsthand Secondly, they could develop customized solutions tailored to different scales and types of agricultural production, expanding the applicability of their products Furthermore, they could raise awareness and acceptance of smart agriculture within the industry by hosting forums, online seminars, and sharing success stories Lastly, they could explore collaborations with government departments to integrate this system into policies supporting the modernization and sustainable development of agriculture, thereby promoting the widespread adoption of smart agriculture on a larger scale Through these efforts, HaiBoTe not only can expand its market share but also make a significant contribution to the sustainable development of global agriculture, truly realizing the vision of technology empowering agriculture 「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only Translation date:2024-12-09」

【導入案例】赫銳特科技VCSEL封裝元件瑕疵導入AOI檢測 提升產能效率20
HRT Technology Improves Production Efficiency by 20% Through AOI Detection of Defects in VCSEL Packaging

In 2017, the launch of the iPhone X made 3D sensor technology used in Face ID highly popular, which drove the development of VCSEL, a core component in the 3D sensor module In the detection of defects in incoming packaged VCSEL, the use of AI inference models can solve the industry's issue with low yield and improve reliability to 95 VCSEL technology currently can be used in many applications and various end consumer markets, including robots, mobile devices, surveillance, drones, and ARVR VCSELs are a good solution in applications that require high-speed modulation capabilities, such as cameras and biometrics VCSEL technology has a wide range ofnbsp applications, including in drones Pictured Zoyi Technology's Agricultural Drone VCSEL technology has a wide range of applications, AI technology assists in defect detection HRT Technology stated that the packaged VCSEL market is also facing strong price competition from competitors, and needs to further reduce costs and enhance product competitiveness One of the key problems is the replacement of glass lens with epoxy resin lens The production of traditional glass lenses has high yield, but the cost is higher than that of epoxy resin lenses Due to the cutting process of epoxy resin, the side wall of cutting lines can easily have rough edges, causing it to be oversized The release of stress caused by heat during the mounting process will directly cause the optical lens to break HRT Technology pointed out that the incoming inspection of VCSEL epoxy resin lenses is very important Under the constraints of packaging space, the space for fitting the package and optical lens is limited Moreover, the optical lenses will be confined to a metal frame If the dimensional tolerances are properly controlled, stress release due to heat during mounting can easily cause the optical lens to break, resulting in a yield loss of up to 10 in the VCSEL package reliability verification, resulting in an increase in production costs In order to solve the problems above, HRT Technology hopes to use AI to monitor the size and appearance defects of epoxy resin components in the VCSEL epoxy resin lens incoming stage, verifying whether their dimensions meet specifications, whether the cutting edges are smooth, and whether there are any defects in their appearance Since traditional incoming material inspection requires a rough visual inspection by humans to distinguish the quality The problem of image collection needs to be solved first to successfully collect image data Therefore, HRT Technology first developed an Automated Optical Inspection AOI device, which includes X, Y, Z three-axis motion, high-resolution cameras, and related control software to automatically record images After collecting the image data, opencv aligns the test image and a normal image to determine differences between the two images, and then pixel mapping is used to compare the pixel area to complete initial screening Manual labeling is carried out according to the image classification above, including samples that are normal, have defects in appearance, or have different shape characteristics, and then algorithm training and verification is carried out Residual neural network ResNet or other related algorithms are used for deep learning to identify the quality of lenses Implementation of AOI inspection improves production efficiency by 20 and above Comparing the differences before and after the implementation of AI image inspection, the incoming VCSEL lens inspection before implementation only involved manual inspection of the appearance The lens is packaged on the VCSEL package that has completed die bonding After passing the general light up test, the final reliability test high temperature reflow is performed Failed samples go into the rework process However, after the implementation of AOI inspection, it can screen defective lenses sooner and reduce the cost of subsequent materials input, it can also reduce the need for rework due to failure, improving yield to 95 and above in the reliability verification This is expected to help companies reduce production costs by 10 and increase production efficiency by 20 and above The difference before and after implementing AI image detection HRT Technology pointed out that this technology is an AI application developed based on tiny images It uses deep learning algorithms to identify defects in the images The trained network automatically classifies image data to predetermined categories Defect categories can be determined through reference images, so cumbersome programming is not required In the industrial machine vision environment, deep learning is mainly used for classification tasks in applications, such as inspection of industrial products or identification of parts In the future, with the development of IoT wearable devices and the trend of energy saving, the size of optoelectronic components will continue to shrink This technology can be applied to the detection of defects in the appearance of other tiny optoelectronic components in the future