CogX, first held in 2017, has become a globally renowned international exhibition. This year’s event took place from September 12 to 14 in London, exploring challenges humanity will face in the next ten years in the exponential era. The event featured over 500 global experts, including Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, who delivered speeches. The discussions covered various topics related to technological developments, including semiconductors, internet and AI security, clean energy, education, and industrial transformation. The three-day event was expected to attract over 90,000 attendees.

Showcasing Taiwan to the World

NARLabs presented two technological exhibits, including the Sloping Rolling Bearings (SRB) and horizontal vibration table developed by Taiwan National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering. The earthquake-resistant capabilities of SRB have been applied in numerous countries, validated through recent seismic events, saving billions in economic losses.

Additionally, Taiwan National Laboratory Animal Center, Taiwan Instrument Research Institute, and Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute jointly integrated several organs on chips developed through Taiwan’s technological advantages, including microfluidic devices, organ microenvironment simulations, and microelectromechanical biomedical chips. These innovations represent essential tools for translational biomedical research in the next generation, accelerating drug development and enabling precision medicine.

Director Chang explained that NARLabs, with a focus on “Innovative Technology, Safeguarding Taiwan,” showcased achievements in six major areas, combining efforts from seven national-level experimental research centers. “The exhibition aimed to demonstrate that NARLabs’ research and services not only assist Taiwanese academic and research units in creating local value but also contribute to global top-notch technological development.”

It also showcased NARLabs’ talent cultivation capabilities across academia, industry, and research, providing a reference for countries worldwide.

Prioritizing Talent Cultivation Propels Taiwan’s Semiconductor Industry to Global Leadership

Director Chang expressed that NARLabs’ participation in CogX aimed not only to share Taiwan’s experience in developing cutting-edge technology and cultivating talent but also to showcase Taiwan’s technological and soft power to the world.

“The goal was to attract international collaborations with academic and research institutions and collectively contribute to global sustainable development.”

The Semi Impact Summit, a focal point of CogX, took place on September 14, focusing on semiconductor-related topics. It provided an interactive platform for participants, including businesses, investors, policymakers, and innovation developers, to share knowledge and engage in in-depth discussions, driving global semiconductor industry development.

Several NARLabs researchers, including Director Chau-Lyan Chang from National Center for High-performance Computing, Deputy Director Ying-Zong Juang from Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute, Deputy Director Juin-Fu Chai from Taiwan National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, Director Mei-Yu Chang from International Affairs Office at NARLabs, and Associate Researcher Chih-Sheng Yu from Taiwan Instrument Research Institute, were invited as speakers. “Other speakers from Taiwan included Frank Huang, Chairman of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation.” Director Chang said.

The Semi Impact Summit covered various topics such as AI, net-zero, IoT, and organs on chips. Director Chang believes that as a tech island, Taiwan holds a unique position in global semiconductor industry investments and IC design. 

“Through talent cultivation programs developed by Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute, NARLabs is actively promoting Taiwan’s distinctive position in the world semiconductor industry.”

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For the first time, Taiwan’s National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) participated in CogX this year. In an interview with《The Icons》, Mei-Yu Chang, Director of the International Affairs Office at NARLabs, highlighted the institute’s exhibition of Taiwan’s achievements in six major areas: semiconductor development, AI chips, organ chips, cyber security, net zero, and semiconductor talent cultivation. This presentation demonstrated Taiwan’s soft and hard power, aiming to establish more collaboration channels with countries worldwide.

Innovative Technology, Safeguarding Taiwan

Director Mei-Yu Chang emphasized that NARLabs with its seven national-level research centers, showcased Taiwan’s achievements in six major domains under the theme “Innovative Technology, Safeguarding Taiwan.”

“This exhibition not only highlighted the value of the research and services provided by NARLabs for Taiwan’s academic and research institutions but also showcased Taiwan’s pursuit of cutting-edge technological development globally.” Moreover, it demonstrated the talent cultivation capabilities established by NARLabs through collaborations with industry, government, academia, and research sectors, providing valuable insights for countries worldwide.

The exhibition featured two groundbreaking physical exhibits: the Sloping Rolling Bearings (SRB) and Horizontal Vibration Table developed by Taiwan’s National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE), as Director Mei-Yu Chang explained, “SRB has been applied in many countries, saving billions of dollars in economic losses through recent earthquake validations.”  Additionally, Taiwan’s National Laboratory Animal Center (NLAC), Taiwan Instrument Research Institute (TIRI), and Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI) jointly integrated several organ chips developed through Taiwan’s technological advantages, including microfluidic devices, organ microenvironment simulations, and microelectromechanical biomedical chips. These innovations represent essential tools for translational biomedical research in the next generation, accelerating drug development and enabling precision medicine.

Director Mei-Yu Chang introduced the recent proposal by Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Commission (NSTC) involving eight forward-looking technology platforms,

“including Advanced Semiconductors and Quantum Technology, AI, Space Technology, Cybersecurity, Precision Health, Net Zero Technology, Defense Technology, and Humanities & Social Sciences. The aim is to integrate academic and research resources and bridge them to industry and society. NARLabs, in line with NSTC policies, has established multiple platforms for implementing these technologies and participated in CogX Festival, a forward-looking technology exhibition held in London. This engagement allowed nations across the globe to witness Taiwan’s technological development direction.”

Several Experts Showcased Taiwan’s Semiconductor Research Achievements Collaboratively

During CogX’s Semi Impact Summit on September 14, several researchers from NARLabs were invited as keynote speakers, including Director General Chau-Lyan Chang from National Center for High-performance Computing (NCHC), Deputy Director General Ying-Zong Juang, from TSRI, Deputy Director General Juin-Fu Chai from NCREE, Associate Researcher Chih-Sheng Yu from Taiwan Instrument Research Institute, and Director Mei-Yu Chang from the International Affairs Office at NARLabs. Through this event, they shared Taiwan’s experiences and advancements in both technology and forward-looking research, aiming to attract international industry, academia, and research institutions to collaborate further with NARLabs on multinational projects, addressing topics related to AI, net zero, IoT, and organ chips.

Director General Chau-Lyan Chang from NCHC delivered a speech on “Chips for Many Things : from LLM to Edge AI,” highlighting the importance of human intelligence and innovation driving the powerful capabilities of chips, from Edge AI to Large Language Models (LLM) necessary for Generative AI.

Deputy Director General Ying-Zong Juang, from TSRI  discussed the “The IC Design Challenges in the New Era,” emphasizing  that with the evolution of AI, computational environments have outpaced past computer generations. To address these demands, generated AI, HPC, and quantum computing into a hybrid computational environment is essential. 

Deputy Director General Juin-Fu Chai from NCREE presented “AI EEWS & Structural Safety Monitoring System,” explaining how AI-based earthquake warning systems, coupled with post-earthquake structural safety monitoring, can effectively reduce disaster and financial losses, especially in high-tech industries using high-precision instruments.

Associate Researcher Chih-Sheng Yu from TIRI presented “Introduction to the capabilities of  TIRI on semiconductors & opto-electro-mechanical systems and how to create an ecosystem of new alternative methods (NAMs) in Taiwan,” introducing the advanced vacuum technology’s crucial role in advanced semiconductor processes, high-tech optical components for Taiwan’s self-made satellite Formosat-5, an  accelerator platform facilitating the introduction of medical instruments to the market, and an alternative animal testing platform developed in collaboration with NLAC and TSRI.

Representing NLAC,  Associate Professor Yu-Hsiang Hsu from the Institute of Applied Mechanics, National Taiwan University presented “The 3Rs of Precision Medicine,” highlighting the establishment of a cardiac cell model on a chip combined with piezoelectric elements, which can be applied in drug screening.

Director Mei-Yu Chang from International Affairs Office of NARLabs delivered a presentation on “Exploring the Taiwan Model: What Brings the Uniqueness of Taiwan Semiconductor Development?” As a technological island, Taiwan holds the world’s top position in semiconductor industry investments and IC design. NARLabs as a platform linking academia, research, and industry, especially through the talent cultivation programs developed by TSRI, further promotes Taiwan’s distinctive position in the global semiconductor industry.

The Semi Impact Summit, focusing on semiconductor-related topics, provided participants with an interactive platform to share and discuss the latest advancements, challenges, opportunities, and even the geopolitical impacts. The goal was to bring together businesses, investors, policymakers, and innovators, fostering knowledge sharing and in-depth discussions to drive the global semiconductor industry’s development. In addition to researchers from NARLabs, other speakers from Taiwan included Frank Huang, Chairman of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation.

NARLabs’ participation in the CogX Festival aimed not only to share Taiwan’s experiences in developing cutting-edge technology and nurturing talents with the world but also to attract international industry, academia, and research institutions for more cross-border collaborations. The ultimate objective was to work together towards promoting human’s sustainable development.

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From the AI Hardware Capital to a Leader in Sustainable Development, Taiwan’s Semiconductor Industry Holds Global Influence 

 “Taiwan, as the global capital of AI hardware, possesses a unique and robust supply chain integration capability,” mentioned Dr. Huang. He pointed out that Nvidia chose to collaborate with Taiwanese companies such as TSMC（Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.）, Quanta, and Wistron due to this advantage. He firmly believes that no other country can challenge Taiwan’s leading position in this regard.

Dr. Huang further discussed the emerging direction in the AI field – portable AI chips. “While Nvidia’s AI chips have shown outstanding performance in data information AI, there is still significant room for development due to their high cost and limitations in AI functionality. Taiwan is actively developing and maintaining a leading position in this field,” he noted. He highlighted that portable AI chips can be applied in various areas, including IoT devices, edge computing, autonomous vehicles, smart manufacturing, where the demand for low-power and high-performance chips is increasing.

Regarding the development strategy of the semiconductor supply chain, Dr. Huang believes that the integration of memory chips and logic chips will become increasingly important.

“The rapid development of AI computing will drive the semiconductor industry towards heterogeneous integration and packaging, high bandwidth, and low power consumption. 3D IC packaging technology, System-on-Chip design, and Multi-Chip Modules will be crucial directions for the future semiconductor industry. Additionally, new-generation memory technologies such as DDR5 and GDDR6, along with new low-power semiconductor manufacturing technologies, will be key to the future development of AI hardware.”

In the face of global concerns about sustainable development, Dr. Huang stated that although Taiwan only provides suggestions as a participating organization in ESG matters, it is indeed a part of this field. He emphasized that substantial progress in this area requires innovative ideas.

Regarding Taiwan’s strategy of restructuring the global semiconductor supply chain and establishing foundries worldwide, Dr. Huang believes this is a necessary choice due to concerns about Taiwan’s geopolitical risks.

“Although the process might be challenging due to different regulations in different countries, Taiwan must adapt to local regulations and environments. However, it will ultimately succeed,” he said.

Dr. Huang also shared his thoughts on the potential future development between Taiwan and Europe: “Although Taiwan is just a small island, its influence in the semiconductor industry has been recognized by countries worldwide. With the intensifying political conflicts between China and Taiwan, global attention on Taiwan has correspondingly increased.”

“Regardless of who wins in Taiwan’s elections, Taiwan should continue to advance high technology and promote its development. Only when Taiwan can lead the high-tech industry will other countries pay attention to Taiwan.” Dr. Huang emphasized.

Dr. Frank Huang: Innovation is the Key to Taiwan’s Semiconductor Industry’s Continuous Leadership

In this era of rapid technological advancement, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry not only highlights its crucial position in the global supply chain but also demonstrates its leading advantage in driving innovation and development in AI hardware. Dr. Huang’s insights reveal Taiwan’s profound strength and future potential in the semiconductor and AI fields.

Faced with the changes and challenges in global politics and economics, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry’s strategic adjustments and technological innovation will be the key to its continued leadership.

Through continuous technological research and development, active international cooperation, and a deep understanding of sustainable development, Taiwan will continue to solidify its leading position in the global semiconductor industry. It will usher in a new chapter in the era of AI, painting a broader future blueprint for global technological development.

Dr. Frank Huang, founder and CEO of PSMC, also the founder of UMAX Computer Corporation. He has served as the chairman of the Taipei Computer Association and possesses profound insights and experience in the semiconductor and AI hardware industry.

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From Hardware to ESG: How Taiwan Aligns with the International AI Landscape

Zhang delved into the three aspects of ESG:

“From an environmental perspective, reducing the size and energy consumption of AI chips could have a positive impact on the environment. On the social front, the need to align AI technological advancements with human values, a key theme at CogX. Regarding governance, the exemplary data management practices of the UK biobank, a large-scale biological database collecting health data and samples from 500,000 UK residents, supporting various biomedical research initiatives.”

When discussing SDGs, Zhang emphasized a comprehensive approach: “integrating SDGs into research and development programs naturally yielding positive effects.”  He advocated for a high-level and holistic perspective, extending the focus from short-term to long-term solutions.

Addressing challenges in Taiwan’s AI industry, Zhang noted that while Taiwan had matured in certain areas such as biomedicine and security monitoring, there was still a significant gap in AI system development compared to leading nations. He stressed the importance of investing resources in developing higher-level AI and mentioned the potential impact of high-level AIs like AlphaGo. AlphaGo, developed by DeepMind, is an AI program designed for playing the board game Go, achieving a level surpassing top human Go players through techniques like deep learning and Monte Carlo tree search.

On the talent front, Zhang pointed out the talent shortage faced by Taiwan’s AI industry. “Due to the immense demand in the semiconductor industry, many graduates in AI fields chose to join companies like TSMC（Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd）.” He emphasized the importance of providing an international environment to attract foreign talent.

Finally, when discussing the possibility of becoming regulators in the ESG domain,  Zhang believed it to be an excellent direction. However, for success, a globally credible institution and a set of standards were necessary. 

“Platforms such as GitHub in addressing coding issues and suggested a similar platform for ESG matters. These professional insights provided a framework to understand the various concepts and points.” From the CogX experience to the challenges and opportunities in Taiwan’s AI industry, Zhang’s insights revealed Taiwan’s position in global AI development and possible future pathways.

Dr. Chau-Lyan Zhang: ESG Requires a Credible Global Institution and a Set of Standards

Zhang’s presentation at the CogX Festival revealed his profound insights into Taiwan’s prospects and challenges in the global AI landscape. He emphasized Taiwan’s hardware manufacturing advantages while highlighting the need to overcome challenges such as geopolitical issues when collaborating with powerhouse countries in software and biomedicine like the UK. 

Zhang delved into the three aspects of ESG and stressed the importance of integrating SDGs into research and development programs. He also pointed out the gap in Taiwan’s AI industry at the system level compared to leading nations and the talent shortage issue faced by the industry. 

Finally, he discussed the possibility and challenges of becoming regulators in the ESG domain, emphasizing the need for a credible global institution and a set of standards and suggesting platforms for reference in problem-solving. Zhang’s insights provided a valuable perspective, helping us understand Taiwan’s current status and possible future directions in the AI field.

Interviewee Introduction:

Dr. Chau-Lyan Zhang, currently the Director of the NCHC, possesses extensive academic and practical experience in information technology and artificial intelligence. With a deep background in the field, he actively promotes international cooperation and exchanges under his leadership at the NCHC, one of Taiwan’s major research institutions focused on high-performance computing research and applications.

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NARLabs Initiates Taiwan-UK Technology Collaboration through AI and Chip Manufacturing

Chai emphasized the importance of raising NARLabs’ profile through this exhibition.  “Prior to this event, many people might not have been familiar with NARLabs. Hence, this exhibition provided an opportunity not only to showcase their research highlights in AI and chip manufacturing but also to increase their visibility.” He mentioned that although not all research highlights were exhibited, they hoped to attract more collaborative opportunities through promotional materials.

“On the topic of global collaboration, through collaborating with top universities, they could bring different research centers together and jointly advance their studies within the framework of the NARLabs.” Chai stressed the importance of physical exhibits in the showcase, noting that tangible exhibits during CogX days could capture more attention as they piqued curiosity and visually conveyed the intended message.

Regarding Taiwan’s vision for the UK and the world, Chai believed that earthquake-related topics were relatively novel for them due to fewer earthquakes in the UK. 

“If they found these topics pertinent upon their return, they could proactively contact NARLabs and apply their services in the UK.”

When discussing ESG and SDGs, Chai emphasized the importance of disaster prevention. “Especially in the sustainable operation of semiconductor processing machines, preventing earthquake damage to chips and machines is crucial for reducing economic losses and environmental pollution.” The concept of “first-time-right” production he mentioned, ensuring the quality of each chip in the production process to maximize overall efficiency, served as an example of sustainable development.

Finally, Chai noted that Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, particularly TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd), had begun considering integrating advanced seismic technologies into new factories and processing equipment, hoping to reduce seismic damage.

“Although Taiwan started relatively late in this aspect, they aimed to incorporate research findings directly into process equipment systems through research and development, ultimately reaching their goals faster than other countries.”

Dr. Juin-Fu Chai: Showcasing NARLabs’ Achievements in AI and Chip Manufacturing to Attract More Collaborative Opportunities

In an interview with 《The Icons》, Chai delved into NARLabs’ performance and future objectives at the CogX, he also shared insights on how technological research and international collaboration could enhance Taiwan’s global influence in the field of technology. 

NARLabs, as a national research institution covering multiple technological domains, showcased its extensive research activities through various national-level laboratories, with a focus on artificial AI and chip manufacturing. Chai emphasized the importance of raising NARLabs’ profile through this exhibition and hoped to attract more collaborative opportunities by showcasing their research highlights in AI and chip manufacturing, demonstrating NARLabs’ research capabilities and achievements to a wider audience. 

Interviewee Introduction

Dr. Juin-Fu Chai, Deputy Director of NARLabs, currently holds a faculty position in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at National Taiwan University and is a significant member of the National Center for Earthquake on Engineering Research. His research encompasses various areas, including basin effects, seismic wave scattering theory and experimental analysis, fault rupture mechanisms, near-fault seismic characteristics, and ground motion for seismic design. His expertise and research have a broad impact in earthquake engineering and related fields, and he actively participates in numerous domestic and international research projects and collaborations.

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