During the opening ceremony of the 2022 Smart City Summit amp Expo co-organized by the National Development Council, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taipei City Government, Taoyuan City Government, Kaohsiung City Government, and Taipei Computer Association on March 22, 2022, founder and president of Touch Cloud Cheng-Hsun Li went on stage to receive the "2022 Smart City Innovation Application Award_Smart Security Award" This award is hard-won because after five years of hard work, Touch Cloud brought its core technology of AI image analysis back to Taiwan after gaining popularity in overseas markets, becoming an important smart city solutions provider "Since the company was established, we have positioned ourselves to make AI products that are stable, easy to use, and truly needed by the market" The company's positioning is very clear, this step took Touch Cloud five years It was not until the beginning of 2020 that Touch Cloud launched its first intrusion detection product In less than two years, Touch Cloud has now launched seven products, with each product receiving excellent reviews from the market Specializing in the field of smart cities, Touch Cloud successfully entered the Asian market Founded in February 2016, Touch Cloud originally focused on AOI defect detection However, the definition of defects is different for every customer As a result, applications in this field are mostly project development and could not be commercialized The company later directed its efforts to AI Application Box, a product that integrates software and hardware, and focused on smart cities, including transportation, industrial safety, and security related markets In view of the high acceptance and price advantage of AI in overseas markets, Cheng-Hsun Li targeted the overseas market in the early stages of the company's development, and has produced many successful results in several major countries, including Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand Among them, Touch Cloud successfully entered the Hong Kong market with its debut in the Hong Kong International Airport project In 2018, Hong Kong International Airport planned to monitor ships around airline oil storage platforms to prevent ships from colliding with the oil storage platform However, the oil storage platform is located in the middle of the sea and lacks electricity and Internet connection, so it could only set up a camera on shore 3 km away from the platform In addition to the long distance and poor line of sight, monitoring was also affected by weather conditions, such as clouds and fog, and was ineffective Touch Cloud customized an AI algorithm specifically for the project, and continuously collected image data for model training It took half a year of discussions with the customer and system corrections to finally achieve an accuracy rate of 98, successfully completing the goal Touch Cloud won the 2022 Smart City Innovation Application Award_Smart Security Award Minister of Economic Affairs Mei-Hua Wang on the left, Touch Cloud founder and president Cheng-Hsun Li on the right Touch Cloud products have three advantages that provide customers with a better AI user experience 1 Plug and play 2 Provides flexible services, in addition to standard products, customized services meet customers' needs for quick launch and reliable problem solving 3 High adaptability and ability to achieve extremely high recognition accuracy in different environments Cheng-Hsun Li believes that the design of AI products should be as simple as using a "home appliance" and have a clear purpose Therefore, Touch Cloud built an AI Application Box to design products from the perspective of scene applications, focusing on image analysis related to "people" and "vehicles" At present, a total of seven products have been developed, including KekkAI personnel intrusion detection, card swiping and tailgating detection, KekkAI-H construction site safety detection, Abaci-P people flow and head count, Abaci-V traffic flow and vehicle count, Greygoose personnel intrusion detection and people flow, GotchA cross-camera person tracking search, and AISense license plate recognition Cross-camera tracking product GotchA won the Smart City Innovation Application Award GotchA is the product that won the Smart City Innovation Application Award This cross-camera tracking product is unique in the market Its system uses AI technology to search and track people by analyzing their features at the time Users can use image search to search for the path of a specific person in multiple cameras they can also use multiple appearance features to find suitable target groups Using GotchA, you can actively search for lost people, understand the shopping behavior of VIP customers in the mall, and even manage the footprints of visitors in the building For example, it is not uncommon for children to get lost in hypermarkets GotchA can access footage from the entrance camera for an image search, and compare the walking path of the child to quickly find the missing child Using GotchA in shopping malls and amusement parks, where people come and go, to find lost people It not only significantly reduces the time spent by 90, but also transforms the traditional approach of the service counter making an announcement to the lost person into an active search based on image analysis, thereby improving service levels and accuracy Touch Cloud's excellent AI image analysis technology is favored by large enterprises Cheng-Hsun Li said that his experience abroad has taught him to help customers find AI usage scenarios For example, a T-Bar large advertising billboard operator in Thailand wants to attract business, and advertisers want to understand the flow of people to evaluate advertising effectiveness The T-Bar company has more than 1,000 cameras and can determine the type of vehicle from the images and then calculate the number of people, which can be converted to advertising effectiveness After Touch Cloud used the data for training, it can even identify special vehicle types in various countries For example, the nbsp"pickup truck" is a special vehicle type in Thailand Model training is carried out through Open Data, scenario data, and Touch Cloud's self-built database, and can accurately identify traffic flow and vehicle type, which is used to estimate the number of people reached by the advertisement Rapid business development after returning to the Taiwan market from overseas Touch Cloud currently accounts for 70 of the overseas market, with customers in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines In the future, it will also develop into other Asian markets, such as Vietnam In addition to the Asian market, Touch Cloud has not forgotten to serve Taiwanese customers, and began to actively recruit partners to jointly develop the Taiwan market in June 2021 So far, the number of customers has quickly accumulated to more than a hundred Touch Cloud's excellent AI image analysis technology is favored by many companies, and most investors are strategic partners, working together to create synergies and allow Touch Cloud's technology to be quickly applied Cheng-Hsun Li said that it often takes more than five years for an AI startup to get its operations on track, and it takes at least three years to cultivate good AI talents Results are gradually emerging thanks to the considerable flexibility and space given by strategic investors to the company Touch Cloud products are already being put into practical use in major Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, and Japan, and are expected to enter more Asian countries within two years, driving more advanced image analysis applications The company hopes to complete representative cases in Asian markets every year, and move towards an IPO as a company featuring AI products

"After the COVID-19 pandemic, even though we could not expand business overseas, the pandemic increased demand for AI automated optical inspection AOI and drove another wave of rapid growth in performance," said Jesse Chen, Founder and President of Spingence Technology The company started early in AOI and accumulated a wealth of experience, resulting in performance in 2021 growing multiple times compared with the previous year Spingence Technology's AI technology has great potential, and its fundraising plan successfully attracted strategic investors, such as the leading industrial computer company Founded at the end of 2015, Spingence Technology started out as a developer of automation software to help customers lower the barrier to automation In just two years from 2017 to 2018, AI technology quickly took off At that time, Jesse Chen observed that product defect detection caused headaches for companies in the process of automating manufacturing The traditional method of manual visual inspection was time-consuming and laborious Moreover, human error easily occurred and AI deployment could not be customized, resulting in high investment costs for enterprises Seizing the AOI market, successful application of AI optical defect detection "The gap in AOI is defect detection Since defects cannot be clearly defined, conforming products were often labeled as non-conforming products to meet the customer demand of not releasing defective products As a result, the overkill rate is often very high, which not only increases the cost of the manufacturing plant, but also lead to a waste of resources" In addition, there is strong demand for process automation due to the shortage of labor in the production line, which created a rare business opportunity for Jesse Chen AI optical defect detection has become the focus of Spingence Technology's AI applications After accumulating nearly 8 years of experience in production line automation, Spingence Technology target customers in three major industries, namely passive components, connectors, and semiconductors, and established a huge database for the production line product defect data it collected Since Spingence Technology started early, it enjoys the advantages of a first mover and continues to optimize database data Its wealth of experience enables it to quickly determine customer needs and propose solutions Spingence Technology uses image recognition and deep learning technologies to develop AOI algorithms, and developed AI defect detection solutions with an accuracy greater than 99 In terms of specific benefits, the overkill rate in the semiconductor industry can be significantly reduced from an average of 5-8 to less than 3, and the overkill rate of passive components can also be reduced from 5 to 12, which can save customers nearly NT300 million in expenses This not only reduces the waste of human resources, but also makes Spingence Technology a good helper for customers' sustainable intelligent manufacturing The outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019 has changed the way people live and work around the world During the pandemic, demand on automation in the manufacturing industry significantly increased due to the need to avoid frequent contact between people Spingence Technology has a good reputation in the industry, so business kept coming in and doubled the number of customers and revenue The secret to winning Follow the footsteps of customers and always think more than customers In addition to Taiwan, Spingence Technology has also extended its reach to markets such as China and Vietnam, where Taiwanese businessmen gather The team in China is expected to increase from 3-4 people to 10 people, and Vietnam also hopes to have a team of 5 people to provide closer services to customers "Spingence Technology always follows the footsteps of its customers We are wherever our customers are" Jesse Chen went on to say that although the pandemic has brought another wave of demand for AI automatic detection, due to the impact of border controls, it was hard to go on business trips Meanwhile, overseas markets on-site personnel to provide nearby services, including consultation and diagnosis, AI implementation, and calibration, all of which require dedicated personnel Spingence's automation software development platform integrates modularized visual inspection, motion control, IO control, and AI analysis functions Coupled with the AI training software "AINavi", one heat sink inspection machine can complete multiple inspections and continue to train the AI deep learning model, which will further lower the miss rate of the machine and improve its inspection quality The integration of AINavi and automation is already sufficient to meet most functional requirements of customers, and then a small number of customized services are provided for different industries and customer needs This allows the company to quickly provide solutions needed by different customers Popular among strategic investors, the company has attracted investments from industrial computer companies and venture capital Spingence Technology has made a mark in the field of AIAOI inspection in the manufacturing industry, and has gain the favor of strategic investors In 2019, a leading industrial computer company made a strategic investment in Spingence Technology and integrated the AINavi deep learning visual inspection tool with the company's complete hardware platform The cooperation between the two parties provides more complete service solutions to customers, creating an example of win-win through "big large company leading small start-up" In February 2022, Spingence Technology reported another good news in its fundraising and received an investment from venture capital, all of its original major shareholders also increased their investment, and nbspSpingence Technology successfully completed the Pre-A round of funding The company will continue to expand its business in the short term, and establish a foothold in China and Vietnam In the future, it plans to build expert systems for passive components, connectors, and semiconductor industries, deepening its domain knowledge and data analysis to create greater value for customers Spingence Technology prides itself as a management consulting company for the manufacturing industry, that is, it provides customers with the most appropriate and valuable consulting services through consulting services, diagnosis, introduction, system launch, personnel training, model optimization, and AI model management

One rainy Thursday afternoon near Taipei Arena, the Taipei Experience Center of RelaJet was fully booked with appointments from people with hearing loss eager to try hearing aids made with a voice separation engine For the hearing impaired, having affordable, lightweight, and effective noise-reducing hearing aids is truly a blessing 'We hope to help users in need to hear the world's wonders again' This empathetic expectation by RelaJet's founder and CEO Po-Ju Chen, who is also hearing impaired, illustrates his understanding of the needs of the hearing impaired He hopes that RelaJet's unique voice amplification hearing aid technology will benefit many more people Affordable hearing aids benefit many with hearing loss Founded in 2018 by Po-Ju Chen and his brother Yu-Ren Chen, RelaJet developed a multi-voice separation engine paired with Qualcomm's Bluetooth audio platform, drastically reducing the price of imported hearing aids, typically costing 80,000-100,000 NT dollars, to just under 10,000 NT dollars They aim to develop affordable goods with excellent noise-cancelling capabilities that wirelessly connect to smartphones In its first two years, the company primarily developed the multi-voice separation engine, which significantly improved the noise reduction quality Once equipped with Qualcomm Bluetooth earphone chips, the audio processing time is drastically short, at about 7 milliseconds to enhance main voice projection and reduce ambient noise, less than half the time required by traditional medical standard of 16 milliseconds for hearing aids, nearly 'zero-delay' 洞見未來科技推出平價助輔聽器，大大嘉惠聽損者 Yu-Ren Chen explains that the primary use of Qualcomm chips for edge computing, along with a streamlined algorithm, achieves extremely low latency and better noise reduction The hearing aids can cover 18 channels, whereas traditional hearing aids cover 4-48 channels In the future, RelaJet will progressively increase the number of channels According to statistics, there are 470 million people globally with hearing disabilities, with a 30 average device use rate in developed countries, with the highest in Western countries Taiwan has nearly 15 million people with disabling hearing loss, of which the middle-aged and elderly make up 30, yet the device use rate is only about 10, which is quite low Yu-Ren Chen further analyzes that the low device usage rate is due to two reasons firstly, the high average selling price of international big brands ranges from 80,000 to 200,000 NT dollars with a three-year usability period, which deters many due to the high cost and maintenance Secondly, in noisy environments, the noise is also amplified which does not necessarily ensure clarity for the users, and the sound parameters can't be adjusted in real-time, making it inconvenient to frequently visit stores for tuning Thirdly, most models cannot connect to smartphones, making it inconvenient for the hearing impaired to take phone calls Utilizing Qualcomm Bluetooth chips for rapid product development In light of this, Po-Ju Chen, formerly a semiconductor engineer at MediaTek, leads the technical development, while Yu-Ren Chen, with a legal background, manages the operations Their seamless collaboration, along with their team employing AI algorithms and chip integration, learns from thousands of hours of audio files in databases through neural networks and deep learning technologies to develop low-latency, high-noise-reduction voice amplification technologies for hearing aids In 2019, this sound processing technology was integrated into Qualcomm Bluetooth chips, winning first place in the Qualcomm Taiwan Startup Competition and becoming a partner in Qualcomm's Global Expansion Program, significantly boosting product development pace In 2021, they launched their own Otoadd series of hearingenhancement products in Taiwan, which received both market favor and positive reviews from many with hearing loss Based on different consumer needs, various product designs are available According to Yu-Ren Chen, the Otoadd wireless earphones with hearing enhancement functions, model N1, are entry-level neckband style priced at 9,500 NT per pair Users can wear the hearing aid while taking calls, and control noise reduction strength and volume through a mobile app They plan to develop accessories in the future tailored to the needs of older adults Besides being available for trials at experience centers in Taipei and Kaohsiung, this hearing aid is also sold through PChome, Taiwan Mobile's myfone, and Elder Age networks, among other channels Another model intended for individuals with mild to severe hearing loss is the Classic R hearing aid, which received the Japanese Good Design Award in 2021 Since its market debut last year, it has attracted those with congenital hearing loss, with users noting improved clarity in noisy environments and appreciating the convenience of Bluetooth connectivity for calls and watching videos This product is anticipated to be exported to international markets in the latter half of this year Additionally, a hearing aid product combining Bluetooth functionality, set to launch in June this year, is sized like typical Bluetooth earphones, targeting visually conscious consumers with hearing loss Its small size and attractive wireless earphone design allow for phone calls, and if approved by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, eligible users can apply for government subsidies RelaJet to expand into overseas markets, using the USA as a beachhead An interesting question arises due to the pandemic everyone must wear masks which impedes lip-reading How does this affect those with hearing loss Yu-Ren Chen indicates that this situation highlights RelaJet's advantages As each person with hearing loss has different levels of hearing ability, hearing aids can only augment to an appropriate volume, assisting users to hear about 60-70 content, with the remainder relying on lip reading and gestures During the pandemic, as everyone wears masks, masks also muffle sounds, but RelaJet's voice separation engine can correct and strengthen the separation, making it easier for those with hearing loss to recognize voices Besides the Taiwan market, RelaJet's next stage will be expanding into overseas markets, expecting to obtain ISO 13485 medical device quality management system certification and US medical device approval in 2022 They plan to enter the US market, either under their own brand or through OEM arrangements Apart from the Taiwan market, RelaJet will also enter the US market in the next phase for hearing aids「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only Translation date：2024-05-19」