Economic Daily News / Reported by Tsao Sung-ching
With funding from the Department of Industrial Technology under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), the Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC) successfully developed the first Level 3 autonomous electric bus in Taiwan. Integrating radar sensing and AI-based image recognition to achieve five major autonomous driving functions, such as lane centering, obstacle avoidance steering, lane changing, etc. Also, it can monitor the behaviors of the driver, like eye closure and gaze deviation.
(From left of the photo — ARTC R&D Manager Hsu Wen-hsien, ARTC Senior Specialist Hsu Yi-ping, Master Bus Chairman Wu Ting-fa, ARTC Associate Director Chen Chien-tsu, and ARTC Deputy Manager Yeh Chung-yu. / Photo provided by ITRI)
The MOEA held a press conference today (June 3), titled “Innovation Unites, Glory Worldwide — 2025 Edison Awards Winners”, announcing that Taiwan won 18 awards among 400 global innovations, achieving its best record ever and ranking second in the world in the total number of awards.
Known as the “Oscars of Innovation,” the Edison Awards are one of the world’s most prestigious honors for technological innovation. NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang also received the Lifetime Achievement Award this year, showing the importance of this recognition. Among the winners, a record-breaking 14 awards were earned by MOEA-affiliated research institutes, including ITRI, the Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC), the Taiwan Textile Research Institute (TTRI), the Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC), and the Ship and Ocean Industries R&D Center (SOIC). All awarded technologies were developed in collaboration with industry partners, such as Taiwan Mask Corporation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Chung Shing Bus Group, Taiwan Water Corporation, and Arc'teryx, showcasing the successful commercialization of research results.
Minister of Economic Affairs Chih-Hui Kuo stated that the Edison Awards are a crucial benchmark for global technological innovation, and Taiwan’s performance in the awards was outstanding this year. The 14 R&D projects supported by MOEA, captured 5 gold, 6 silver, and 3 bronze awards, with five different institutes earning recognition. It’s the best result in history. Among them, ITRI ranked second in the world in total awards, MIRDC ranked fifth, and TTRI also won a gold medal. Meanwhile, ARTC and SOIC won the awards for the first time, marking an important milestone. The minister of Economic Affairs expressed his satisfaction that R&D institutions supported by MOEA are now recognized internationally for their excellence.
The minister of MOEA emphasized that innovation must align with market needs and practical applications. Every technology awarded this year has already been adopted by industry partners, addressing real-world challenges, enhancing productivity, and creating value. Notably, almost all 14 award-winning projects integrate AI applications, reflecting MOEA’s success in driving AI adoption across industries. He further noted that innovation is the foundation for next-generation technologies, and the MOEA has been actively supporting the integration of AI for SMEs. The ministry has identified 10 key research facilities and testing environments nationwide, establishing over 50 AI pilot production lines across 16 industries using state-of-the-art equipment. These initiatives aim to train practical AI talent, accelerate the transfer of technology from R&D to commercialization, and enhance industrial competitiveness.
The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) won 3 gold, 3 silver, and 1 bronze awards. The gold-winning ‘Smart Aqua Leak Finder’ addresses the growing challenge of water scarcity. Traditional pipeline inspections are time-consuming and affected by environmental factors, making leaks difficult to detect and expensive to repair. Using AI-driven underground acoustic-vibration analysis, the system processes acoustic data in real time, enabling rapid and precise leak detection with 98% accuracy. In collaboration with Taiwan Water Corporation, it has already pinpointed 834 leak locations, saving 10.94 million tons of water annually. The system is suitable for historic cities in Europe, offering non-destructive leak detection beneath heritage sites and improving global water management efficiency.
In addition, hundreds of thousands of tons of LCD glass waste and over 100 billion tons of metal wastewater are generated each year globally. Traditional treatment methods, such as landfilling or low-level recycling, result in resource waste and environmental pollution. The award-winning "NaPoGlass" simultaneously addresses these two waste problems. Utilizing patented nanopore technology, it creates a high-efficiency metal ion capture material for metal wastewater treatment. The metal can be recycled without producing sludge, and water resources can be recycled, reducing water consumption by 50% to 90%. Compared to chemical coagulation and sedimentation methods, it can reduce carbon emissions by approximately 100 tons per 10,000 tons of water treated. It is currently being used in the semiconductor and electroplating industries, helping companies achieve green transformation.
Another gold medal, the ‘Breakthrough Multi-functional Thermo-responsive Hydrogel,’ is an innovative biomedical material with high biocompatibility and can be absorbed by the human body. It is liquid at low temperatures and it gels rapidly after injection, forming a stable protective layer that adheres to damaged tissue for up to 30 days, compared to conventional hydrogels for just one day. This significantly enhances medical performance and has entered clinical trials for herniated discs and degenerative arthritis. The technology is patented in Taiwan, the U.S., and Europe, and has led to the creation of the startup Expercy Medical, expanding into global dental and surgical markets, establishing a strong Taiwan-based global presence.
The Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC) earned 1 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze award. Its gold-winning “3D Magnetic Positioning ICH Surgical Navigation System” provides surgeons with multi-dimensional, GPS-like visualization during intracranial procedures. Integrating micro-magnetic sensors with a multi-functional endoscope, it enables real-time multimodal image fusion for precise and rapid access to hemorrhage sites, reducing the risk of repeated punctures and rebleeding. The system also reduces intraoperative radiation exposure by 80% and lowers the mortality rate from 25% to 5%. The technology is now being clinically developed with ClearMind Biomedical Inc and the Neurosurgery Department of Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, expected to enhance stroke treatment safety and success rates.
The Textile Research Institute (TTRI) won a gold medal for its ‘AI Self-learning Fabric Inspection System.’ Traditional fabric inspection relies on human visual checks, which are prone to fatigue and misjudgment. Combining AI algorithms with high-resolution optical imaging, the system performs high-speed defect detection and self-learning optimization, improving recognition accuracy across various fabric types. It can inspect up to 120 yards per minute, far exceeding traditional inspection speeds, with 95% detection accuracy. The technology has been adopted by Arc'teryx, a leading Canadian outdoor brand, and Evertex, a major Taiwanese functional fabric manufacturer, promoting smart textile inspection and enhancing the competitiveness of the textile industry in Taiwan.
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