2026-04-13

President Lai inaugurates robotics research facility in Tainan

President Lai Ching-te said that the establishment of the National Center for AI Robotics is critical to Taiwan’s development as a smart technological island at the NCAIR’s opening ceremony April 10 in Tainan City. Lai added that the government’s Ten Major AI Infrastructure Projects were designed to respond to the advent of the artificial intelligence era and to ensure Taiwan’s next generation competitiveness. He emphasized that three key technologies are in focus: quantum computing, robotics and silicon photonics. The president said the goals of the infrastructure projects include the creation and expansion of an AI startup ecosystem, the digital transition of small-, micro- and medium-sized businesses, and the incorporation of AI into daily life. He spoke of the center as a hub for research that leads to practical applications as well as academic progress, and emphasized the importance of increasing Taiwan’s capability to integrate robotic technology in fields as varied as catering, manufacturing, and long-term care. Lai said he expected the center to draw interdisciplinary talent, since AI robotics requires experts in ethics and law, computer science and electrical engineering, materials science and design, and many more. The president anticipated close collaboration between the center and institutes of higher learning to nurture the necessary skills in current and future students. As AI and AI-powered robots are integrated into more people’s lives, information security and privacy protection become even more vital, Lai said. He pledged that the government would continue to reinforce data governance and information resilience so that Taiwan-made robots will be received in global markets as a reliable and trustworthy technology.

2025-12-17

MOTC holds international forum on UAS

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications hosted the 2025 International Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Advanced Air Mobility Forum Dec. 16 in Taipei City, highlighting government commitment to the sector. The forum drew around 150 domestic academic, governmental and industrial participants. European and U.S. civil aviation agencies’ representatives and other experts shared UAS and AAM regulations, testing systems and international standards. Ho Shu-ping, MOTC Civil Aviation Administration director general, noted that the government has continued to adjust regulation and monitoring mechanisms to facilitate cross-domain cooperation and provide drones with airspace for tests that contribute to industry development. Lin Kuo-shian, MOTC administrative deputy minister, lauded CAA accomplishments in promoting UAS. He further stated that airport safety and monitoring mechanisms were vital to continued development of the sector. The forum focused on an overview of international UAS and AAM development and an introduction to international safety specifications. On the former, Caspar Wang, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration senior representative, gave a briefing on certification and policy while Marcel Visser, German Technical Inspection Association expert, introduced European UAS testing development and regulatory compliance, the ministry added. The MOTC said that the CAA is committed to forging an innovative and resilient drone industry supply chain through a robust testing system and international exchange.  

2025-08-27

Drone Industry Development Trends and Taiwan's Competitive Advantages and Current Situation

Source: Chiayi County Government In recent years, drones have rapidly expanded from conventional military to civilian and commercial use, encompassing smart agriculture, energy inspections, disaster response, logistics, and urban surveillance. As such, it has empowered automation and digital transition. Advancements in AI computing, flight control systems, sensor modules, and communications technology has driven the drone industry towards smartification, multi-mission capabilities, and domain specification. Grand View Research estimates that in 2024, the worldwide drone market was valued at approximately $73.06 billion and is expected to grow to $163.3 billion in 2030. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.3% and as major tech and aerospace companies worldwide are increasing investments in drone technology and applications drones are fasting becoming critical elements in worldwide industrial innovation. The Global Drone Industry The global drone industry has transitioned from technology verification to application propagation, aiming at achieving high efficiency, autonomous systems, and modular integration. Many countries have relaxed regulations and established airspace management frameworks to accelerate the development of the low-altitude economy. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is promoting the Unmanned Aerial System Traffic Management (UTM) system and supporting numerous field trials. Skydio, a US company specializing in autonomous navigation and AI sensor technology, has become an major technology partner for the US Department of Defense. Logistics giants such as Amazon, UPS, and DHL have also carried out drone delivery trials, which exhibit significant potential, particularly for deliveries to remote or inaccessible areas. In Europe, a French company, Parrot, excels in precision agriculture and image-based surveillance technologies; while a German company, Quantum-Systems, specializes in developing VTOL drones for military and civilian applications in mapping and border surveillance. The EU has also launched the "U-space" framework, which emphasizes low-altitude airspace sharing, mission coordination, and safety control measures – demonstrating that the low-altitude economy has become a regional strategic priority. Israeli company, Elbit Systems, and Aeronautics, are actively developing modular military drones with many demands from the international market. Japanese companies such as Sony's Aerosense and ANA Group are leveraging their technological prowess in aerospace manufacturing and component technology to develop industrial and logistics drones for urban low-altitude transportation. International Collaborations for Taiwan’s Supply Chain Taiwan has strong drone capabilities in core components for sensors, electronics control, and AI technologies and possesses the fundamentals to excel in the international drone supply chain. From 2023 onwards, the US government has actively pursued an initiative to established a drone supply chain network with technologies from countries other than China, dispatching multiple drone industry, technology, and business delegations to Taiwan for tech collaborations with US companies such as Skydio, Honeywell, and Teledyne. Potential collaboration encompasses imaging modules, flight control systems, and wireless transmission. And through industry networks such as the Taiwan Excellent Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance (TEDIBOA), Taiwan has established cooperative frameworks for agricultural surveillance and land monitoring with Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Poland. Taiwan has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japan UAS Industry Development Association (JUIDA) to promote bilateral industry integration and technological exchanges. Furthermore, the French company, Dassault Systèmes, has also established a presence in Taiwan, promoting its 3D design and digital twin platform technologies to support R&D and verification ventures. Such international collaborations not only demonstrate Taiwan's strengths in mid-to-high-end manufacturing, AI integration, and system module development, but also further expand its export channels and application domains – strengthening Taiwan's potential as a global hub. Taiwan’s Industry Development and Policy Implementation The key players in Taiwan's drone industry include benchmark companies such as Thunder Tiger Corp., Coretronic Intelligent Robotics Corp., Galaxy Software Services Corp., and Taiwan UAV, offering services in R&D, manufacturing, system integration, and application development. Many startups, such as Earthgen Tech, which specialize in drone development and services for agriculture and fishery conservation, are also actively involved in innovative applications and opportunities for market expansion. The semiconductor giant, TSMC, has deployed a drone system in Arizona, enabling aerial inspections, traffic monitoring, and disaster response. TSMC has also integrated AI visual recognition, thermal imaging, and edge computing technologies, facilitating participation from companies such as Marketech International Group, Fanxuan, Asia Opticals, Solomon Technology Corp, VisEra Technology, PARPRO, and Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp. – a move that has garnered international attention for Taiwan. In recent years, the Taiwan government has supported the deregulation of low-altitude airspace and associated drone management through policy initiatives, making way for actual flight testing with adequate regulatory support. Furthermore, to bolster infrastructure, the Asia UAV AI Innovation Application R&D Center was established in Chiayi, and a dedicated testing airspace at the Hengchun Airport in Pingtung is under planning. The testing airspace in Pingtung will also serve as an industrial cluster and application demonstration site. In addition, leading universities such as National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and National Formosa University are fostering industry talents by offering courses on AI integration of unmanned vehicles, which combine flight testing, avionics design, and data processing practices – paving the way to cultivate talents via collaboration between the drone industry and academia. Conclusion Drones have gradually cemented their presence in key domains such as smart manufacturing, urban management, and low-altitude logistics, as one of the vital driving forces for the future airspace economy. By leveraging strong component manufacturing, AI and communications integration, a flexible SME ecosystem, and diverse applications, Taiwan is rapidly accumulating technological prowess and international experience. With the growing global demand for trusted supply chains and diverse solutions, Taiwan is expected to gain a competitive edge in drone core modules, mission systems, and application integration – distinguishing itself as a hub for drone innovation, R&D, and application verification in the Asia-Pacific region.

2025-06-27

Development Trends of Humanoid Robots: Taiwan's Advantages and Current Status

Source: AI-generated image As global demographics shift and smart technologies continue to evolve, humanoid robots are rapidly transitioning from research labs to commercial applications. These human-like intelligent machines not only possess bipedal locomotion, multi-joint articulation, and human-machine interaction capabilities, but are also capable of performing complex tasks across diverse domains such as manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and public services—emerging as a key vehicle for next-generation automation technologies. According to Morgan Stanley, the humanoid robot market is projected to reach US$5 trillion by 2050, with more than 1 billion units deployed globally, reflecting the technology’s significant economic value in labor replacement and service enhancement. Currently, companies such as Figure AI, Tesla, and Boston Dynamics are actively developing humanoid robots, which has driven rapid growth across the global supply chain and garnered considerable attention from the investment community. Global Development Trends of Humanoid Robots In recent years, advancements in large AI models, mechatronics integration, and computing resources have accelerated the evolution of humanoid robots from prototype showcases to versatile work platforms, with application areas expanding to manufacturing, logistics, commercial services, and elderly care. According to estimates from TrendForce and Research and Markets, the global humanoid robot market will exceed US$2 billion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 154% from 2024 to 2027. By 2035, the market is expected to reach US$38 billion, underscoring its momentum. At present, global activity is mainly concentrated in the United States and Japan. In the U.S., companies such as Figure AI, Tesla, and Boston Dynamics are leading efforts to apply humanoid robots in manufacturing and service scenarios—Figure AI is set to begin enterprise testing in 2025, while Tesla plans to deploy Optimus on its own production lines the same year. Japan, leveraging its strengths in precision bionic design and affective interaction technologies, is focusing on medical care and entertainment applications. From a technical standpoint, modern humanoid robots are equipped with semantic AI comprehension, visual recognition, multi-degree-of-freedom actuation control, modular battery systems, lightweight high-strength materials, and multimodal sensing technologies. These integrated systems are enabling autonomous decision-making and intuitive human-robot interaction, greatly enhancing practicality and application potential. With ongoing advancements in AI and automation, humanoid robots are becoming a key area of focus in the global smart manufacturing and service sectors. International Collaborations and Academic Linkages: Taiwan Accelerates Alignment with Global Technologies Although Taiwan has yet to producing complete humanoid robots at scale, its related industries remain in the early development stage, with activity concentrated in the research and supply of key components, module systems, and AI technologies. Wishing to leverage Taiwan’s strength in supplying complete robotics components, international tech leaders have begun forming local partnerships. Representative cases include NVIDIA’s humanoid robot supply chain initiative – which involves collaboration with Taiwanese companies such as Hota, HIWIN, Solomon, and TBI Motion – and assessment of the potential to establish an assembly base in Taiwan. NVIDIA has also partnered with Foxconn in Kaohsiung to advance the development and testing of service-oriented humanoid robots. Additionally, Georgia Institute of Technology has joined with Tunghai University to establish an innovation platform that incorporates international R&D resources. These international collaborations not only highlight Taiwan’s technical strengths in mid-to-high-end manufacturing, AI applications, and systems integration, but also reflect the local industry's potential to participate in the global humanoid robotics ecosystem. At this stage, Taiwan holds four major competitive advantages in this sector: (1) a complete component supply chain encompassing core modules in mechanical, electronic, and sensing systems, supported by a highly localized and clustered industrial base; (2) strong integration capabilities in AI and semiconductors, with strengths in chip design and high-performance computing platforms that support AI inference and real-time sensing systems; (3) a flexible SME-driven manufacturing network with rapid prototyping and cross-domain integration capabilities that support fast iteration of new product types; and (4) expanding application validation environments that, coupled with policy-backed dual innovation platforms, foster technology deployment, industry-academia collaboration, and innovative pilot models. Building Application Fields to Accelerate Industry Validation and Adoption To strengthen the field application and industry validation of humanoid robotics technologies, Taiwan has in recent years actively promoted the establishment of two core platforms: the Shalun Smart Robotics Research Center in the south and the Lioujia Innovation and Application R&D Center. These platforms focus respectively on perceptual algorithms, AI control systems, cross-domain integration, and field validation. The overall initiative encompasses upgrades to core component technologies, development of intelligent control platforms, cybersecurity and modular standards, as well as the cultivation of advanced R&D and application talent. With over NT$10 billion in planned investment, these platforms aim to integrate the R&D capabilities of both the public and private sectors, accelerating the commercialization and deployment of humanoid robot technologies in long-term care, healthcare, logistics, and education—ultimately positioning Taiwan as a regional base for smart robotics validation and solution deployment in the Asia-Pacific. Conclusion Humanoid robots are moving from concept to practicality and are becoming a critical pillar of the next global automation revolution. While Taiwan has yet to enter the stage of full-scale assembly and production, it has already built a comprehensive industrial framework that spans key components, AI chips, sensing systems, and manufacturing integration. With a flexible supply chain and a fast-paced validation environment, Taiwan holds strong potential for international collaboration and is well positioned to become both a manufacturing hub and a demonstration site for humanoid robotics innovation in Asia.

2024-01-31

Forward-looking Trends in Collaborative Drone Applications

Introduction Industrial applications for drones have garnered increasing market attention, as a wide range of drone solutions have gained market acceptance and are driving rapid market growth of drone service sales. Simultaneously, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted countries and companies alike to accelerate R&D in drone technology, spurring a new phase of growth for the global drone market. In spite of this new surge, some drone companies are already searching for the next wave of growth. Turning towards multi-machine collaboration and cross-UMV cooperation, companies hope to augment individual service units and leverage the advantages of unmanned vehicles to offer a wider array of application services. I.    Collaborative Drone Applications UAV technology and applications have developed rapidly over the past decade, attracting the attention of many industries. When war broke out in Ukraine, many countries and enterprises ramped up R&D investments in drones. Trends in drone technology have also shifted, moving from single-drone operations to multi-drone or cross-vehicle collaborative applications. The next wave of drone technology is projected to be in drone swarms, collaborations with unmanned vehicles on land, or with unmanned vessels at sea. Collaborative drones have diverse applications, allowing companies to provide cross-space service solutions. This in turn will also drive opportunities for unmanned vehicles. As such, the next wave of growth is also predicted for drones, unmanned vehicles, and unmanned surface or underwater vessels. II.  Collaborative Drone Patents Patent application trends often reveal the direction of technological development and shifts in market demand. A patent search was conducted using keywords such as “drone swarm” or “drone collaboration with other unmanned vehicles.” Patents related to drone-to-drone collaboration outnumbered all other collaborations, showing a strong interest in developing collaborative models between drones. The second highest number of patents were filed for drones and ground-based unmanned vehicles. Currently, there are very few patent applications for collaborations between drones and unmanned surface or underwater vessels, which may be due to a high technical threshold or uncertain potential for commercial development. The following is a case study of an industrial patent application from Amazon Technologies. Amazon Technologies Amazon Technologies is a technology research organization owned by Amazon, and its patented technology focuses on the collaboration of drone swarms and ground-based unmanned vehicles, with applications primarily in logistics. For more details, please refer to the patent titled "Cooperative autonomous aerial and ground vehicles for item delivery" obtained by Amazon Technologies in December 2019. A brief summary is given below: Patent no.: US10514690B1 Patent Abstract: The use of two or more autonomous vehicles, working in cooperation, to deliver an item between a source location and a destination location. For example, an autonomous ground-based vehicle may transport an item from a source location to a transfer location and an autonomous aerial vehicle will transport the item from the transfer location to the destination location. The transfer location may be at any location along a navigation path between the source location and the destination location. III. Existing Industrial Applications Collaborative drone applications are finding industrial uses in airports, aircraft inspection, agriculture, wind turbine inspection, bridge inspection, and urban construction sites. The following is a brief overview of current industrial applications. (I)  Airport and Aircraft Inspection In general, drones are prohibited from flying in or above airports. However, drones can be used to assist in airport and aircraft inspection. Airport runway and aircraft exterior inspections are traditionally assessed by the human eye, which carry inherent risks due to factors like visual acuity, time constraints, and the mental state of the inspecting personnel. In such instances, the use of drones equipped with precision optics can address shortcomings associated with human inspections. Figure: Tevel uses cooperation between drones and agricultural machinery to harvest fruit Source: Tevel Technologies Korean Air began testing drones for aircraft exterior inspections in December 2021. Four drones were used to inspect different sections of the fuselage to reduce inspection times and increase accuracy. In the event of a drone failure, the system will automatically redirect the other drones to complete the inspection. Inspections that would originally take 10 hours via traditional methods can be shortened to 4 hours, saving 60% of man hours and improving aircraft scheduling flexibility. (II) Agriculture Traditional fruit harvesting is extremely labor intensive, which must take into account rest times and working hours. Some startups are therefore exploring the use of drones for fruit harvesting. Tevel Technologies, an Israeli startup, combines drones with unmanned agricultural machinery by employing AI technology to identify the maturation of fruit and then dispatch drones for harvesting. This innovative approach is currently applicable to the harvesting of apples, plums, pears, and various other fruits. (III) Wind Turbine Inspection In order to carry out inspections without stopping the wind turbine, drone need real-time kinematic (RTK) precision positioning, and wind turbine blades must be marked to allow the drone to identify the relative position of the blades and itself. High-resolution cameras and infrared thermography sensors are needed to detect damage up to 0.5 inches deep in the blades. Wind energy companies can use drones to identify locations of damages, and then evaluate whether it is necessary to shut down for further inspection. If so, they can shut down the turbines and have human personnel access the blades to look for potential damage/defects/scars and repair them. IV. Conclusion Collaborative drone applications integrate the functions and advantages of different types of unmanned vehicles, providing more diverse service solutions. There are many opportunities and challenges for the innovative development of collaborative technologies and services. Hardware development will be expanded to include unmanned vehicles, unmanned ships or unmanned underwater vessels, which can build upon Taiwan’s existing supply chains. Software on the other hand, includes multi-drone control system interfaces, unmanned vehicle control technology, AI application technology, and information security management. Taiwanese manufacturers are advised to accelerate strategic positioning and collaborative applications in pivotal technologies and patents, which will better position them to benefit from the upcoming surge of growth opportunities in the drone industry.