Taiwan claimed six top-spot finishes at the latest R&D 100 Awards, building on its history of excellence at the prestigious competition widely recognized by the global high-tech sectors as the Oscars of Invention.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the winning entries are all government-sponsored research projects spanning energy, information and communications technologies, mechanical devices, smart fabrics and software development.
“State-backed research programs play a vital role in the development of advanced technologies and key technical know-how for Taiwan, with every New Taiwan dollar of government sponsorship spurring NT$3.70 (US$0.02) in private sector investment,” said Fu Wei-hsiang, director-general of the MOEA’s Department of Industrial Technology.
Five of the six award-winning technologies were developed by the state-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu County. ITRI tied with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory for the most awards at this year’s event.
Founded in 1973, ITRI is a nonprofit organization for applied technology research. It has garnered 27 R&D 100 Awards since debuting in the global competition in 2008.
“These projects once again demonstrate to the world that ITRI’s innovations address industrial needs and present critical solutions to global challenges,” ITRI President Liu Jong-min said.
Tim Studt, a committee member of the prestigious awards, commended ITRI for its strong technology base that can develop products quickly adaptable for commercial production.
One of the ITRI’s winning projects is iSmartweaR. Jointly developed with the New Taipei City-based Eclat Textile Co., the smart fabric integrates nanosecond pulse near-field sensing technology with washable conductive materials, enabling textile products to track vital signs.
Equally impressive is the Ultrafast Rechargeable Aluminum Battery, the first commercially viable aluminum battery. Developed by researchers from ITRI and Stanford University, the battery can fully charge in just one minute and lasts for more than 10,000 cycles, maintaining 98-percent efficiency throughout its life.
The Taipei City-based Institute for Information Industry was also recognized for its Smart Glass Guidance System. Using an infrared code-marking system for users’ interactive retrieval of information, the technology was first demonstrated in a museum for visitor guidance, but is equally useful in many other applications.
First presented in 1963 and organized by U.S.-based R&D Magazine, this year’s award recipients also include Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Los Amos National Laboratory and the NASA Langley Research Center. (SFC-E)
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