Like many inventors, Howard Ho (何天華) finds that his best ideas evolve out of a desire to solve a small yet bothersome problem in the lives of those closest to him. His latest creation, an inflatable electronic drum kit, is a case in point. He conceived of the device after seeing the frustration his teenage son, a budding drummer, was experiencing as a result of being unable to practice the instrument at home. “Most parents want to give their children the best possible opportunities to explore their interests,” says Ho, an assistant professor in the Department of Information Management at Yuanpei University of Medical Technology in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu City. “That was certainly my motivation when I started brainstorming solutions to my son’s problem.”
Typically speaking, drumming is a far from ideal leisure activity for someone living in an apartment building in densely populated Taiwan. Acoustic drum kits are expensive and virtually certain to elicit noise complaints from neighboring residents, while even standard electronic sets can be difficult to transport and tend to take up a considerable amount of space. For these reasons, Ho’s 16-year-old son was previously only able to practice on weekends at a small neighborhood music school.
In April last year, the professor devised his innovative solution to this dilemma. Ho’s inflatable drum kit has a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) body, and drumheads and cymbal surfaces containing integrated circuits and pressure sensors. His creation is affordable, lightweight and can be inflated and deflated with relative ease. It also has volume controls and is practically silent when used with headphones.
Confident that he had developed a device with broad appeal, Ho sought patent protection for his invention in mainland China, Taiwan and the United States. However, having held nearly 300 patents over the years, licensing or selling 12 of them, he was also keenly aware of the challenges involved in transforming a clever idea into a viable product.
It happened that around this time Ho was contacted by a team from the Technology Transfer Center (TTC) under the government-supported Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Hsinchu. The center, which helps inventors commercialize their innovations, reached out to Ho to discuss his numerous patents, and became particularly interested in his latest creation. After evaluating the commercial potential of the inflatable drum kit, the team helped the professor obtain a government subsidy of NT$200,000 (US$6,450) to build a prototype. The center also recommended that he take part in the Taipei International Invention Show and Technomart (Taipei INST), an annual exhibition organized by the semi-official Taiwan External Trade Development Council.
The device attracted interest from several Taiwanese companies at Taipei INST in September last year, and within a few months Reliance International Corp., best known for producing drums under the brand name Dixon, and Inyuan Technology Inc., a Karaoke machine manufacturer, had formed a joint venture with Ho called MusicAir Technology Co. to commercialize his prototype. “I’m upbeat about the market potential of inflatable drum sets as they’re a convenient and economical solution for beginners,” the inventor says.
Ho has good reason to feel optimistic. The 8-piece inflatable drum set, which offers interactive tutorials through the use of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting effects, is competitively priced at US$199. He has also developed a toy version that retails for US$99. The professor won a gold medal when he presented the inflatable instruments earlier this year at the Paris International Concours Lépine, a renowned invention fair. His booth attracted large crowds and more than 10 media outlets during the event, which was held from April 29 to May 10.
Far from an exception, Ho is among a large number of Taiwanese inventors who have excelled at international exhibitions in recent decades. In order to harness the economic potential of these innovators and their creations, the government has developed programs that offer inventors expert advice on patent protection and commercialization as well as matchmaking and networking opportunities, subsidies, and technical support.
In 2003, for instance, the ITRI was commissioned by the Industrial Development Bureau under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to create an online platform—the Taiwan Technology Marketplace—where patent holders can post their inventions so that they can be viewed by enterprises seeking to develop new products. At present, approximately 10,000 patented innovations are listed on this website.
The government has also developed the Program for the Promotion of Invention Patent Industrialization. This initiative, which is being overseen by the MOEA and implemented between 2010 and 2015, helps individuals and academic institutions license or sell their inventions, while assisting small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) to source and acquire patents that can expedite their research and development (R&D). A number of Cabinet-level agencies, including the Council of Agriculture and the Ministry of Science and Technology, as well as academic and research institutes like the ITRI and the Cycling and Health Tech Industry R&D Center (CHC) in central Taiwan’s Taichung City, are participating in the project.
Under this industrialization program, the government funded the establishment of a patent consultation center at the TTC that proactively seeks to bridge the gaps between inventors, research institutions and private enterprises. “An important part of our mission is to contact award winners at invention shows and patent holders to discuss ways we can help them,” explains Vincent Yang (楊卿和), deputy director of the intellectual property consulting division at the TTC. “Basically, we advise creators on patent issues, the market potential of their inventions, and methods for achieving commercialization.”
When the center’s consultants identify innovations with commercial potential, they counsel the inventors on the best way to bring their concepts to market, whether that involves selling the patent, founding a startup, or reaching a licensing agreement with an established enterprise. The advisers can also help patent holders draw up business plans.
Benker Chen (陳英權), general manager of Taichung-based home exercise equipment manufacturer Chen Chan Fitness Technology Co., notes that his firm has benefited substantially from the TTC’s networking programs. Through the matchmaking service offered by the consultation center, Chen’s company has developed collaborative ties with the CHC and the Department of Multimedia Design at National Formosa University in Yunlin County, southern Taiwan. “The technological assistance we get from these institutions has significantly shortened the time it takes us to create new models with enhanced functions,” he says.
After reaching a licensing agreement with the CHC in 2010, Chen Chan used the R&D center’s patented technologies related to consoles and steering angle sensors to develop a new exercise machine called Game-Bike. “Users can connect this product to computers, game consoles, smartphones and tablets, allowing them to play games while they work out,” the general manager explains. The company is also working with National Formosa University to develop online gaming software for the exercise bicycle, which retails for NT$12,800 (US$415).
Since the release of Game-Bike, Chen says that several enterprises have expressed interest in investing in his company or becoming sales agents for the product. “A company’s core value lies in its ability to identify, protect and commercialize innovation,” he notes. “We’re grateful for the government’s efforts to help us establish collaborative programs with organizations in different sectors.”
Hu Shan Auto Parts Inc., a manufacturer of aftermarket door handles, locks and window regulators, has similarly profited from cross-sector partnerships and government assistance schemes. The company has established R&D ties with National Taipei University of Technology, and recently completed a collaborative project to develop smart key door handles using patented technologies created by Wang To-po (王多柏), a professor in the academic institution’s Department of Electronic Engineering. Hu Shan received government funding for this undertaking from a grant scheme designed to encourage firms to commercialize local innovations.
“Most SMEs in traditional manufacturing industries such as my company cannot afford to make large investments in electronic equipment and R&D,” says Chen Ying-chih (陳映志), general manager of Hu Shan. “By cooperating with local universities, we can not only use their laboratories and testing facilities, but also conclude licensing agreements that allow us to incorporate their patented technologies into our products.”
Wang and the firm spend around three years developing the smart key door handles. The devices, which are embedded with a patented sensor invented by the professor that uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, automatically lock and unlock vehicle doors by calculating the proximity of associated smart keys.
“RFID door handles will likely become standard on all cars within the next five years,” Hu Shan’s general manager believes. “Meanwhile, the average sales price per unit can be tenfold higher than standard handles.” Chen expects the smart key devices to bring in an additional NT$600 million (US$19.4 million) in annual revenue for his company.
Though there are many steps involved in taking an invention from prototype to product, the consultation programs and cooperative platforms established by the government are helping expedite this process for many innovators. “Few countries have made greater efforts than Taiwan to promote networking between academics, independent inventors and SMEs,” says Ho of Yuanpei University. “I hope other scholars and inventors can make use of these government resources to transform their creations into functional devices that can benefit people around the world.”
Write to Kelly Her at kher@mofa.gov.tw