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【2024 Application Example】 [2023 Case Study] AI Steps into Philanthropy: Stylish Tech at Food Banks

Taiwan Food Bank Association(Hereinafter referred to as 'the Association')With the mission of providing food aid, poverty relief, reducing food waste, and building a hunger-free network, there are locations across Taiwan that gather donations from wholesalers, intermediaries, retailers, manufacturers, and even generous individuals. These sites also rescue food that would otherwise be discarded, properly allocate and distribute it to needy households, thus aiding local vulnerable families.55Food banks at various locations collect daily donations from wholesale stores, intermediaries, retailers, manufacturers, and even benevolent individuals from all over Taiwan. These places also rescue about-to-be-discarded edible materials, properly sort them, and distribute to needy households, assisting local vulnerable populations.

 

However, each location requires significant human and volunteer resources to manage daily operations using traditional methods of communication with non-profit organizations and donors. After receiving donations, these resources are then allocated to needy families or individuals. There is a potential issue of uneven distribution of resources due to a lack of digitalization and integrated information management in these processes.

 

 

Warehouse and Transportation Centers and Mini Food Banks Distributing Resources to the Disadvantaged

The location under validation by the Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association,(Hereinafter referred to as 'Kaohsiung Charity')

In109year6month24Officially inaugurated Taiwan's first 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' at a location measuring200square meters, enhancing the efficiency of food resource redistribution, proper storage, and management. So far, nearly two hundred tons of vegetables and fruits have been saved, serving over a hundred organizations and benefiting over5thousand vulnerable households, and continues to serve19mini food banks, with planned completion across multiple districts in Kaohsiung, distributing food resources to over10ten thousand vulnerable families.

Kaohsiung Charity 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' in the Dasha Community (Photo Source: Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association)
Kaohsiung Charity 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' in the Dasha Community (Photo Source: Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association)

 

Challenges in Labor and Food Resource Management

Facing the needs of a large number of economically disadvantaged families, the management of the 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' is particularly critical. During procurement, tasks such as sorting, purging, and bookkeeping must be performed, while during shipment, food resource needs suggested by social workers must be followed. These activities rely on manual judgment and accumulated experience. Many volunteers involved are elderly and have limited physical strength, making warehouse tasks physically demanding and recruitment challenging. If a large batch of food resources arrives, space and manpower are consumed in sorting and inventory management, raising concerns about the effective use of resources and turnover rate. This highlights the challenge of scaling up food bank services while lacking corresponding labor and material management systems.

At the same time, food bank resources come from various donations, thus they vary greatly in type, shelf life, standards, and quantity. Volunteers at mini food banks, mostly also elderly, must handle multiple responsibilities such as case services, food resource management,/resource allocation, and resource development. Sometimes they must also explain and accept immediate, large quantities of specific resources, such as adults receiving baby formula.

'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' Resource Inventory Relies Entirely on Manual Labor Mini Food Bank Volunteers Handle Multiple Responsibilities (Photo Source: Taiwan Food Bank Association)
'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' Resource Inventory Relies Entirely on Manual Labor Mini Food Bank Volunteers Handle Multiple Responsibilities (Photo Source: Taiwan Food Bank Association)

 

 

Reducing Scrap Resources60% Increasing Speed of Resource Transfer80%

To enhance resource management and ensure effective use of materials, and to address personnel shortages, this field validation case has introduced 'Food Bank Warehouse Resource CollectionAITo advance resource management, ensure effective use of resources, and solve manpower shortages, this validation site has implemented an 'Automated Early Warning Needs Assessment System' for the food bank's warehouse resource gathering. The first part involves building a classification model, setting up and collecting warehouse information at the site, andAItraining the model. Past site/warehouse information is collected and stored in a database, allowingAIfor preprocessing, classification, and other tasks. At the same time, depending on the dependency conditions of the types of goods as features, algorithms are introduced for computation and modeling, and the data collected is used for retraining, ultimately validating the field and organizing data for the five most common types of goods into training and test datasets as required. The second part involves constructing the classification model using AI techniques; further use of reinforcement learning constructs the management mechanism for the food bank's warehouse, perfecting the classification of donated goodsRNNTechnical construction of classification models; further use of reinforcement learning constructs food bank warehouse management mechanisms, making the classification of donated goods perfect(like white rice, instant drinks, noodles, instant noodles, and canned goods)can then be automatically assigned storage based on storage assignment principles.

AI Service System Process and Description (Source: Taiwan Food Bank Association)
AI Service System Process and Description (Source: Taiwan Food Bank Association)

 

AtAIUnder forecasts, it can optimize the speed of resource transfer and allocation, effectively and accurately match resource donations reducing the loss in the donation process, increase the accuracy of resource distribution, and improve the service rate(—the successful donation rate)—reducing the waste of resources due to incorrect items, and enabling instant monitoring of food resource stock, ensuring operators can respond quickly to needs, effectively providing resource assistance.

WithAIthe system's introduction and the establishment of data intelligence, it helps the operations of the warehouse and transportation center, allowing more time for the allocation of donated goods. The introduction aims to accelerate the digital service rollout for social welfare organizations, thoroughly addressing the needs of the overall vulnerable segments of society.

Using the system for resource allocation and dispatching (Photo Source: Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association)
Using the system for resource allocation and dispatching (Photo Source: Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association)
 

Following this field validation, it is possible to expand the system to other food bank service pointsAIThe system can also collaborate with more non-profit organizations, public welfare groups, and charitable organizations, expanding 'Food Bank Warehouse Resource CollectionAIAutomated Early Warning Demand Assessment System' application range such as medical supply distribution, helping more organizations manage and distribute more intelligently, reducing resource wastage, and enhancing social welfare.

「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only. Translation date:2024-12-12」

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這是一張圖片。 This is a picture.
[2023 Case Study] AI Steps into Philanthropy: Stylish Tech at Food Banks

Taiwan Food Bank AssociationHereinafter referred to as 'the Association'With the mission of providing food aid, poverty relief, reducing food waste, and building a hunger-free network, there are locations across Taiwan that gather donations from wholesalers, intermediaries, retailers, manufacturers, and even generous individuals These sites also rescue food that would otherwise be discarded, properly allocate and distribute it to needy households, thus aiding local vulnerable families55Food banks at various locations collect daily donations from wholesale stores, intermediaries, retailers, manufacturers, and even benevolent individuals from all over Taiwan These places also rescue about-to-be-discarded edible materials, properly sort them, and distribute to needy households, assisting local vulnerable populations However, each location requires significant human and volunteer resources to manage daily operations using traditional methods of communication with non-profit organizations and donors After receiving donations, these resources are then allocated to needy families or individuals There is a potential issue of uneven distribution of resources due to a lack of digitalization and integrated information management in these processes Warehouse and Transportation Centers and Mini Food Banks Distributing Resources to the Disadvantaged The location under validation by the Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association,Hereinafter referred to as 'Kaohsiung Charity' In109year6month24Officially inaugurated Taiwan's first 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' at a location measuring200square meters, enhancing the efficiency of food resource redistribution, proper storage, and management So far, nearly two hundred tons of vegetables and fruits have been saved, serving over a hundred organizations and benefiting over5thousand vulnerable households, and continues to serve19mini food banks, with planned completion across multiple districts in Kaohsiung, distributing food resources to over10ten thousand vulnerable families Kaohsiung Charity 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' in the Dasha Community Photo Source Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association Challenges in Labor and Food Resource Management Facing the needs of a large number of economically disadvantaged families, the management of the 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' is particularly critical During procurement, tasks such as sorting, purging, and bookkeeping must be performed, while during shipment, food resource needs suggested by social workers must be followed These activities rely on manual judgment and accumulated experience Many volunteers involved are elderly and have limited physical strength, making warehouse tasks physically demanding and recruitment challenging If a large batch of food resources arrives, space and manpower are consumed in sorting and inventory management, raising concerns about the effective use of resources and turnover rate This highlights the challenge of scaling up food bank services while lacking corresponding labor and material management systems At the same time, food bank resources come from various donations, thus they vary greatly in type, shelf life, standards, and quantity Volunteers at mini food banks, mostly also elderly, must handle multiple responsibilities such as case services, food resource management,resource allocation, and resource development Sometimes they must also explain and accept immediate, large quantities of specific resources, such as adults receiving baby formula 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' Resource Inventory Relies Entirely on Manual Labor Mini Food Bank Volunteers Handle Multiple Responsibilities Photo Source Taiwan Food Bank Association Reducing Scrap Resources60 Increasing Speed of Resource Transfer80 To enhance resource management and ensure effective use of materials, and to address personnel shortages, this field validation case has introduced 'Food Bank Warehouse Resource CollectionAITo advance resource management, ensure effective use of resources, and solve manpower shortages, this validation site has implemented an 'Automated Early Warning Needs Assessment System' for the food bank's warehouse resource gathering The first part involves building a classification model, setting up and collecting warehouse information at the site, andAItraining the model Past sitewarehouse information is collected and stored in a database, allowingAIfor preprocessing, classification, and other tasks At the same time, depending on the dependency conditions of the types of goods as features, algorithms are introduced for computation and modeling, and the data collected is used for retraining, ultimately validating the field and organizing data for the five most common types of goods into training and test datasets as required The second part involves constructing the classification model using AI techniques further use of reinforcement learning constructs the management mechanism for the food bank's warehouse, perfecting the classification of donated goodsRNNTechnical construction of classification models further use of reinforcement learning constructs food bank warehouse management mechanisms, making the classification of donated goods perfectlike white rice, instant drinks, noodles, instant noodles, and canned goodscan then be automatically assigned storage based on storage assignment principles AI Service System Process and Description Source Taiwan Food Bank Association AtAIUnder forecasts, it can optimize the speed of resource transfer and allocation, effectively and accurately match resource donations reducing the loss in the donation process, increase the accuracy of resource distribution, and improve the service rate—the successful donation rate—reducing the waste of resources due to incorrect items, and enabling instant monitoring of food resource stock, ensuring operators can respond quickly to needs, effectively providing resource assistance WithAIthe system's introduction and the establishment of data intelligence, it helps the operations of the warehouse and transportation center, allowing more time for the allocation of donated goods The introduction aims to accelerate the digital service rollout for social welfare organizations, thoroughly addressing the needs of the overall vulnerable segments of society Using the system for resource allocation and dispatching Photo Source Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association Following this field validation, it is possible to expand the system to other food bank service pointsAIThe system can also collaborate with more non-profit organizations, public welfare groups, and charitable organizations, expanding 'Food Bank Warehouse Resource CollectionAIAutomated Early Warning Demand Assessment System' application range such as medical supply distribution, helping more organizations manage and distribute more intelligently, reducing resource wastage, and enhancing social welfare 「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only Translation date:2024-12-12」

【導入案例】AI嘛會煮咖啡 無人烘豆機靠AI 精準設點與培養忠實客群
AI Can Make Coffee! Autonomous Coffee Roasters Relying on AI for Precise Location Setting and Cultivating Loyal Customers

Have you had your morning coffee yet Over the past decade, Taiwan has gradually formed a coffee drinking culture With the advancement of AI technology, autonomous coffee roasters can now rely on AI for precise location setting while also cultivating a loyal customer base Let's see how this is done According to the International Coffee Organization ICO, Taiwanese consume approximately 285 billion cups of coffee annually, with the coffee market in Taiwan estimated at 80 billion TWD, growing about 20 each year In recent years, the 'drinking coffee' culture in Taiwan has become synonymous with popularity, with coffee being the most frequently chosen daily beverage by 65 of the population Coffee enthusiasts, particularly the more avid ones, are willing to pay more for coffee beans that suit their tastes An increasing number of unmanned drink kiosks have also begun to appear in the Taiwanese beverage market Unmanned coffee beverage shops face difficulties in expanding quickly, primarily due 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persistently rising rent and personnel costs However, the initial assessment of store locations still requires hourly labor expenses for manual estimation of customer flow, leading to possible miscalculations of both on-site consumers and passerby traffic These inaccuracies may prevent precise real-time analysis of customer flow, or even misguided estimations of operational efficacy after a trial run, thus missing the optimal timing for loss-preventing location retraction Raysharp Electronics introduces autonomous coffee roasters equipped with AI-based people counting analysis and facial recognition Raysharp Electronics combines AI people counting analysis and facial recognition with the coffee trend known as 'black gold', addressing the preferences of numerous coffee connoisseurs in Taiwan who enjoy personally selecting coffee beans at bulk stores and frequenting high-quality grinding cafes or chain coffee shops A new concept for the first autonomous coffee roaster offering choices based on the origin, variety, and roasting methods of coffee beans has emerged AI coffee roasters enhance customer loyalty and materials management efficiency by 20 For the advanced development of autonomous coffee roasters, Raysharp Electronics engineers have equipped the AI NVIDIA development platform on the basis of TCNNFacenet Through AI, tens of thousands of images related to gender and age are used for sample training, allowing even first-time coffee roasting customers to be easily classified using unfamiliar face recognition This gains consumer trust, enhances willingness to use, and allows for recording purchase information and future product recommendations, leading to consumer purchase behavior analysis This information helps owners tailor future material preparation based on consumer preferences for different coffee beans, reducing raw material transportation and storage issues, and improving material management efficiency by 20 Moreover, by placing these autonomous coffee roasters in high-traffic areas, owners can use cameras to capture the crowd and assess whether the machine location has an adequate customer base, quickly analyzing whether to reposition the machines, and more easily targeting the best locations for middle and high-end coffee lovers The unmanned coffee roaster features a professional roasting mode interface, providing options based on the origin and variety of coffee beans, their roasting methods light, medium, deep, and related temperature, wind speed, and timing settings If improvement needs arise during the process, engineers can adjust firmware parameters and also assist in integration with the owner's ordering system Staff members briefly describe the operation of the autonomous coffee roaster 'Black Gold' penetrates deeper into coffee shops, science parks, and commercial buildings through AI This autonomous coffee roaster targets coffee connoisseurs and can be placed in middle to high-end coffee shops to roast more customized coffee beans than those available in bulk stores Upon completing a batch of coffee beans, it immediately provides them to professional technicians within the coffee shops for grinding and manual brewing The remaining roasted beans can also be taken home for brewing and enjoyment It also adds value to coffee shops by better understanding consumer preferences for coffee beans and launching more customer-attracting drink promotions and appropriate inventory management In addition to coffee shops, the autonomous coffee roaster can also utilize AI-based people counting analysis to precisely set up near scientific parks and commercial buildings, offering high-quality coffee beans for office brewing to internal employees with high coffee consumption needs Furthermore, implementing a physical membership system can initiate coffee bean purchase promotions or periodic payment incentives, thus attracting new clients and cultivating existing customer loyalty and retention The operation interface of the smart autonomous coffee roaster「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only Translation date:2024-05-19」

【導入案例】防患於未然 麗臺科技研發心臟衰竭AI辨識技術可及早發現病徵
Preventing Problems Before They Arise: Leadtek Research Develops AI Technology for Early Detection of Heart Failure Symptoms

With the increase in the elderly population, the incidence of various chronic diseases is rising daily Among these, heart failure is not only a silent killer it has a very long disease course with a high recurrence rate, leading to increased burden on healthcare personnel However, by using medically certified electrocardiography acoustics devices, coupled with AI predictive assessment of heart failure risk and remote care systems, diagnosis can be aided significantly, helping doctors make accurate diagnoses for subsequent patient medical care or referrals Heart failure has a lengthy course and medical expenditure is five times that of diabetes If you find yourself short of breath even with minimal movement, or if you wake up from sleep needing to sit up to feel comfortable, or if you have symptoms such as swollen lower limbs, anxiety, restlessness, fatigue, or a loss of appetite, be cautious These could be signs of heart failure According to statistics, there are about 60 million people with heart failure worldwide, with 5 million new cases every year In China, nearly 290 million people suffer from cardiovascular diseases, accounting for the second leading cause of death among urban residents around 12 million of these are heart failure patients, accounting for over 59 of cardiac-related deaths The disease course of heart failure is exceptionally long, and both its recurrence and rehospitalization rates are exceedingly high, resulting in medical costs that are twice that of hypertension and five times those of diabetes According to US research statistics, the 30-day mortality rates for patients with myocardial infarction and heart failure are respectively 166 and 111, and the rehospitalization rates within 30 days are 199 and 244 The symptoms of heart failure, because they are similar to those of other diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, have an 185 misdiagnosis rate, which poses a challenging problem for healthcare institutions 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based on the electrocardiogram and phonocardiogram data 3 Prediction of heart failure recurrence risk For patients with heart failure, it reads their phonocardiogram and electrocardiogram data, assessing the risk prediction of heart failure recurrence Leadtek states that the application of heart failure AI recognition technology can assist doctors in making more efficient and accurate diagnoses, facilitating subsequent medical treatment or referrals for patients As an instance, in studies of heart failure patients discharged from Taipei Veterans General Hospital, using the EMAT Electromechanical Activation Time index and SDI Systolic Dysfunction Index calculated by the synchronized electrocardiography-acoustic device as treatment guidelines resulted in a higher survival rate compared to those treated based on traditional symptoms This research has also been published in the authoritative international cardiology journal JACC, receiving recognition in the international market System manufacturers can apply heart failure AI recognition technology for other value-added applications Leadtek states that cooperating system manufacturers can choose to build their own heart failure AI risk prediction engine, uploading their system's electrocardiogram and phonocardiogram data to Leadtek's heart failure AI risk prediction engine, which then returns risk prediction values for integration by system manufacturers cooperating manufacturers as a value-added application input Not just for clinical use, the heart failure AI risk prediction engine can also be extended for use at home or in the workplace Additionally, this system can be extended to other applications, including One, hospital outpatient screening Doctors can use the electrocardiogram and phonocardiogram recorder along with the heart failure AI risk prediction model to conduct a 10-second rapid test in outpatient and emergency departments to assess a patient's cardiac history and heart failure risk Two, discharge risk assessment Doctors can use the electrocardiogram and phonocardiogram recorder along with the heart failure AI risk prediction model to assess the heart failure risk during a patient's hospital stay The test data can serve as a pre-discharge risk assessment and prognostic indicator Three, continuous home care Patients can use the electrocardiogram and phonocardiogram recorder, wearable electrocardiogram recorder, and transmit through a home transmission box gateway to measure electrocardiogram and phonocardiogram signals at home and upload them to the amor health cloud platform for heart failure AI risk prediction analysis Patients can manage their health autonomously via an APP, reviewing historical physiological trends disease management nurses can manage member health through the health management backend Web Four, home rehabilitation training Patients can wear a health bracelet to monitor activity, fatigue, circulation, and sleep, autonomously managing their health through the mobile APP and observing the risk of heart failure, engaging in exercise and rehabilitation training to aid in swift recovery The heart failure AI recognition technology system can also be extended to employee home care applications Additionally, in factories or offices, this system can also achieve employee health management goals, with applications including One, workplace safety units Provide employees with wearable electrocardiogram recorders before they start work duties Two, physiological monitoring for business executors While executing business duties or training, employees wear wearable electrocardiogram recorders for fatigue warnings, signaling whether physiological conditions allow continued execution of tasks Task segments can use data transmission boxes or apps to upload physiological monitoring information to the health management platform, assessing the heart failure risk for operations staff, with test data serving as an indicator for enterprise resource human units and public safety Three, workplace physiological monitoring center care The workplace physiological monitoring center can inspect and record employees' historicalphysiological trends through the health cloud platform Four, workplace nursing units Nursing units receiving instructions from the physiological monitoring center can provide health management advice based on employees' physiological trends nursing centers can manage employee health through the health management backend Web Five, employees can wear health bracelets to monitor activity, fatigue, circulation, and sleep, autonomously managing their health and observing the risk of heart failure through the mobile APP, engaging in exercise and rehabilitation training to aid in rapid recovery Workplace application of heart failure cloud care and big data center diagram「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only Translation date:2024-05-19」