COMPUTEX 2018, organized by TAITRA, Taiwan External Trade Development Council and TCA, Taipei Computer Association, concluded in great success today, as the five-day event attracted 42,284 international visitors from 168 countries, up almost 1% from last year. According to TRITRA, the top 10 countries or regions with the highest turnout, in order, are the USA, Japan, China, Hong Kong, S. Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, India, Philippines. COMPUTEX 2018 featured six themes, including “AI”, “5G”, “Blockchain”, “IoT”, “Innovations & Startups”, and “Gaming & VR”. Through a series of exhibitions, forums and procurement meetings, the event connected industry value chains by providing technology companies and startups the best platform for promotion and interaction. Moreover, InnoVEX attracted 17,687 visitors in a short 3-day period, an increase of over 18% from last year.
Key AIoT technologies realize the smart application roadmaps
As AI technology matures and IoT applications proliferate, two technologies converge and become the rapidly emerging AIoT, and COMPUTEX 2018 responded to this trend. In addition to servers designed for AI computing and big data storage, Gigabyte leveraged software resources of its partners and rolled out a hybrid cloud for AI and data analytics, carrying out the company’s AIoT (the artificial intelligence of things) roadmap into practice. Compal introduced an all-around solution that combines professional advanced design and cloud computing. The company also demonstrated various product lines for smart homes and smart healthcare, offering users a brand new sensory experience that is more personalized. VIVOTEK’s next-generation smart camera with image analysis capabilities and built-in deep learning algorithms can generate added value for the retail sectors, as it can accurately calculate the number of people and the length of time they stay in a shop.
At the COMPUTEX Forum, leading companies shared the latest trends and insights on AIoT as technology propels the global technology industry into a smarter future. Deepu Talla, Vice President and General Manager of Autonomous Machines at NVIDIA, said as AI is adopted in more scenarios, GPU is not just about speeding up supercomputers, but it can also be used in the development of AI to make big changes in the quantum computing market. In particular, NVIDIA sees great potential for GPU in the manufacturing market. Allan Yang, Chief Technology Officer at Advantech, said since the manufacturing sectors account for an average 30% of GDP in most countries, introducing IoT or AI into smart factories or other smart manufacturing scenarios will increase the world’s overall output value.
With a focus on the latest innovations, InnoVEX sets trends for startup technologies
Exciting visions of smart living were everywhere at InnoVEX this year, as one-third of the event’s 388 startup exhibitors from 21 countries demonstrated AI-related technologies or applications. And in response to the rise of “girl power”, the InnoVEX Forum added the theme of “women entrepreneurship” for the first time this year. Adriana Gascoigne, Founder & CEO of Girls in Tech— the world’s first non-profit organization that focuses on millennial women’s roles in technology and as business founders — spoke at the forum and shared her decade-long experience in the technology industry. She said gender diversity at the workplace can help teams or companies create better products and services. As only 25% of the workers in the U.S. technology industry are women, she hoped to introduce different resources to support women entrepreneurs in the technology industry, and at the same time increase diversity and possibilities for the industry.
To incubate unicorn companies of world-class caliber and the industry’s next new stars, COMPUTEX 2018 teamed up with private companies and the government to raise a prize pool of US$350,000 for the InnoVEX Pitch Contest. This year’s grand prize was awarded to Bioinspira.
“Since 1981, COMPUTEX has been an important platform of business matchmaking, brand awareness building and product marketing for companies in Taiwan and abroad. A top-choice for companies to launch epoch-making products, the event continues to lead industry trends as it seeks to build a broader global technology ecosystem. This year, 1,602 exhibitors from 30 countries showcase a total of 5,015 booths. When the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 2 is open next year, the scale of this event will be able to increase to accommodate more companies to show the world their best. It will bring more innovative momentum to COMPUTEX as we join companies around the world to demonstrate technology power to disrupt businesses and reinvent lifestyles,” said Ms. Leonor Lin, TAITRA Executive Vice President.