ITRI TODAY Fall issue 2018

ITRI’s Tech Showcase Shines at IFA 2018

ITRI exhibited in conjunction with its spinoffs ELECLEAN Co. Ltd. and Taiwan Biophotonic Co. (tBPC) at IFA 2018 at Messe Berlin from August 31st to September 5th. IFA is the largest tradeshow for consumer electronics and home appliances in Europe, and this year the event hosted over 1,800 exhibitors and attracted over 245,000 visitors from more than 100 countries.

ITRI showcased smart living-related technologies at IFA NEXT, a global innovation hub for researchers, industry professionals, and startups to exchange ideas. The exhibits included Intelligent Vision System for Companion Robots, Pesticide Residue Detection Technology and the product HALO, Intelligent UV Direct Drinking Water Sterilizer, Genki Bot, ELECLEAN Disinfectant Spray, and tBPC’s Wrist Pulse Oximeter oCare™ Pro 100.

Mr. Dirk Koslowski, IFA’s Global Brand Manager, was impressed by ITRI’s tech innovations and remarked that IFA can bring together the best of the best in terms of technology, media, and potential consumers and clients, showcasing and highlighting what ITRI and Taiwanese industry stand for.

“As a locomotive for Taiwan’s industrial innovation and transformation, ITRI works actively to stay in step with global trends. IFA, providing insights to such trends in consumer electronics, presents itself as a stage for world leading companies and institutions to showcase their innovations. This is the reason ITRI decides to participate this year,” said Dr. Fang-Chu Chen, ITRI’s Representative of Western Europe Office. “Aside from ITRI’s technologies, we also invite our spinoffs, who turn the technologies into products, to jointly exhibit and highlight ITRI’s capabilities of commercializing the results of technical research. By participating in IFA, ITRI hopes to demonstrate our determination to link with the international community,” she added.

To improve food safety, ITRI introduced its Pesticide Residue Detection Technology in Europe for the first time. This technology, a CES 2018 Innovation Awards Honoree, features micro optical spectrum detection and dynamic degradative algorithm. It provides a solution to household detection of pesticide residues when washing vegetables and fruits. The detector displays different light signals to notify users when pesticide residues fall within a safe range during the cleansing process.

ITRI also showcased the world’s first Intelligent UV Direct Drinking Water Sterilizer, which disinfects household drinking water by killing 99.9% of bacteria such as E.coli. The sterilizer is about one-third smaller than traditional UV sterilizing systems and features an instant switch-on/off function. The UVC LEDs on the sterilizer are activated automatically only when the water flow is detected, which cuts power usage by over 50%. This technology is ideal for use in direct drinking water supply and smart home applications. It can be integrated with water filter systems and is capable of connecting with IoT networks to manage the safety of direct drinking water.

ITRI’s Intelligent Vision System (IVS) for Companion Robots, which attracted enormous excitement at CES early this year, was again a focus of attention. At IFA 2018, the IVS robot was able to play chess with visitors and hand out gifts. With its 3D vision recognition and deep learning abilities, the IVS robot perceives objects based on their size, shape, color, and location, and learns from experience. The electric grippers used in the robot are developed by HIWIN Technologies Corp. Incorporating with ITRI’s IVS system, the grippers allow the robot to grip and move objects while avoiding collisions.

Other Highlight Technologies Exhibited

Genki Bot, a non-invasive sleep-aid system, learns and optimizes the sleep environment for individual users. Through the interaction between the device and users, the AI algorithms enable Genki Bot to recommend the best environmental parameters, such as songs, sounds, and lighting. It can also measure temperature and humidity and detect CO, making it a multi-functional household device for smart healthcare.

ELECLEAN Disinfectant Spray uses nano-catalysis electrochemical technology to produce a disinfectant within 15 minutes. Without the addition of harmful preservatives, the device can effectively destroy viruses and bacteria by an oxidizing method.

tBPC’s Wrist Pulse Oximeter oCare™ Pro 100 is the world’s first and only pulse oximeter that measures pulse rate and blood oxygen saturation directly at the wrist. It eliminates the need for fingertip probes, and thus provides a non-invasive, simple, and reliable way to check and record physiological signs.