Taiwan firms win gold at Edison Awards

2015-04-28

A pair of Taiwan firms recently bagged gold at the prestigious U.S.-based Edison Awards, highlighting the nation’s growing international reputation as a hub for Asia-Pacific innovation.

New Taipei City-based Uneo Inc. claimed top honors in the material science technology section for the multisized e-skin sensing material used in hair-thin pressure sensors. Originally developed by Hsinchu County-based Industrial Technology Research Institute, the material measures real-time pressure change between 3 grams and 3,000 kilograms.

According to the awards, the material boasts 10 times longer lifetime and sensitivity, enabling the development of consumer devices with new modes of user-machine interaction in a cloud environment.

Uneo Vice President Johnson Hou said the sensor is employed in a broad range of consumer electronics produced by global heavyweights such as Adobe Systems Inc., Dell Inc. and Lenovo Group Ltd.

“We are expanding partnership to tap the fields of big data, cloud computing and the Internet of Things,” he said, adding that new applications on the horizon include automobiles, medical devices, sports and wearable devices.

This is not the first time for the material to win an international accolade. In 2010 it picked up a prize at The Wall Street Journal 2010 Technology Innovation Awards.

Changhua County-based Jun Fu Clean Energy Co. Ltd. finished at the head of the field in the power generation energy and sustainability section for its road-based electricity generating system. Using generator plates embedded in road surfaces, the system transforms kinetic energy created by cars passing over the plates into electricity. The power can be stored in batteries and used to illuminate street lights.

The system also earned gold earlier in the month at the Moscow International Salon of Inventions and Innovation Technologies. Inspired by the accomplishments of namesake inventor Thomas Edison, the awards recognize excellence in new product and service development, as well as marketing, human-centered design and innovation.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=229720&CtNode=413)