The 2020 AI NOW Online Tech Forum Gathers Steam in the Contactless Econonmy

By Sudipto Ghosh On Sep 25, 2020

Echoing the voice of all tech innovators and government agencies, global leaders at Taiwan have pitched AI ML solutions for COVID-19 and the contactless economy.

Today, our lives are controlled by promising innovations to drive the contactless economy. The global economy has slowed down and shrunk significantly in the last six months due to lockdown protocols. The COVID-19 pandemic has been the single biggest catastrophe to have derailed the global scenario. While we were aware of mostly contactless payments and digital messaging solutions making it big in the Pre-COVID-19 days, today’s scenario is totally different. Now, every domestic and commercial entity is adapting to the contactless era — be it SaaS / software marketing, or egaming, or reimagining the future of manufacturing and automation. In the crowded contactless market, AI and Machine Learning technologies (AI ML) capabilities have become the biggest attraction for every investor and startup promoter.

One 17 September, The 2020 AI NOW Online Tech Forum premiered with six tech innovators pitching their solutions for COVID-19 and the contactless economy. Their AI solutions offer a vision of the new normal — a future where social distancing continues and technology is vital for facilitating social activities. They envision a world that’s powered by AI, automation, robotics, and digital commerce.The 2020 AI NOW Online Tech Forum is split into two episodes — the second episode premiering soon in the coming months. These online events are part of the AI NEXT program, which is organized by Taiwan’s Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs and executed by Taipei Computer Association — the organizer of world-leading technology trade show COMPUTEX.

During 2020 AI NOW Online Tech Forum EP1: AI in the Contactless Economy, directors and CEOs from six AI companies (ASUS, Accton, RIOS, eYs3D, iKala, and SLAMcore) present their AI innovations in manufacturing, retail, and mobility. The director of Taiwan’s IDB Information Technology Industries Division, Jiunn-Shiow Lin introduces the Taiwanese AI initiative and efforts to encourage more international technology companies, such as Amazon and Silicon Valley accelerator SparkLabs, to collaborate with AI companies in Taiwan.

First to pitch, Rick Peng (Director of ASUS AI Solution Business Unit) explains how AIoT can increase manufacturing inspection accuracy by 5%, followed by Colby Chou (BU Head of Accton IoT Center) with Accton’s Pallas solution for reducing factory manpower by 38%. Last up in manufacturing, Dr. Bernard Casse (CEO of RIOS) shares his success in leading the first team to achieve haptic intelligence in robotics.

Onto retail, Dr. Nicky Lu (Chairman & CEO of eYs3D Microelectronics and Etron Tech) champions AI-on-chip and his achievement in producing the world’s smallest DRAM semiconductors, followed by Sega Cheng (Co-founder & CEO of iKala) who presents his company’s human-centered AI solution for digital marketing and e-commerce. Lastly in mobility, Owen Nicholson (CEO of SLAMcore) shares his mission to democratize spatial AI technology for all kinds of machines with spatial awareness, and his firm belief that the impacts of COVID-19 would have been significantly reduced if robots were more widespread in today’s society.