Taiwan Wins 7 Prestigious 2012 R&D 100 Awards
2012/11/20 | By Quincy LiangGovernment-backed institute trails only Oak Ridge National Lab of USA
Taiwan once again proves its technology innovation capability, in a contest among the world's leading R&D labs. The Taiwanese team sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) won seven of the 2012 R&D 100 Awards, given to the 100 most technologically-significant products introduced to market over the past year.
The overwhelming winner is Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), generally seen as the hotbed of technological invention and innovation in Taiwan, who claimed six top finishes at the R&D 100 Awards, this year celebrating its 50th anniversary as being the world's most coveted technology-innovation competitions, trailing only Oak Ridge National Laboratory of the U.S..
The government-backed ITRI's winning entries include: the Atmospheric Environment Plasma Coating Technology (Thin Film and Vacuum Technologies category); Clamp-on voltage and Current Meter Technology (Electronic Instrumentation); A9 LED Light Bulb Technology (Electrical Devices); LBP (lignin-based polymer) Technology (Materials Science); and Optical Microstructure-based Concentrator Photovoltaic Technology(Energy Technologies); and Thermoelectric Material and Module Technology (Materials Sciences).
Another Taiwanese winner, the Institute for Information Industry (III), won for its Metal-friendly RFID Technology for Metallic Objects (Communications).
Vote of Confidence
“These awards represent a vote of confidence in Taiwan governmental efforts to develop national competitiveness centered on technology and innovation, the major drivers of Taiwan's industrial development and economic growth,” claimed Deputy MOEA Minister Woody Duh, who said MOEA-sponsored research programs have yielded 1,505 patents at home and abroad in 2011, with 1,177 employed by the private sector for commercial applications. These projects have generated Taiwan private investment of NT$41.4 billion (US$1.39 billion), output of NT$70 billion (US$2.3 billion) and over 8,000 jobs nationwide.
Having begun participating in the R&D 100 Awards in 2008, Taiwan has won several awards yearly, including four in 2011 and the record seven in 2012.
The R&D 100 Awards have since 1963 honored many life-quality-enhancing technologies, many of which have not only changed lifestyles in the U.S., as the automated teller machine, but also that globally. Calling such innovations “household names” almost trivializes the enormous brainstorming, motivation and resources invested in their developments, for product as the fax machine, precursor to the scanner, enabled any individual with a phone line to transmit even complicated graphics in the pre-Net era, with other equally groundbreaking winners including the flashcube, halogen lamp, liquid crystal display, Kodak Photo CD, Nicoderm anti-smoking patch, Taxol anticancer drug, lab on a chip, and HDTV.
Taiwanese Winners in 2012 | ||
Primary Developer | 2012 R&D 100 Winning Technology (Category) | Co-developers/Contributors |
Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan | AE Plasma - Atmospheric environment plasma coating technology (Thin Film and Vacuum Technologies) |
|
Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan | AVA Clamp - Clamp-on voltage and current meter technology (Electronic Instrumentation) |
|
Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan | Light&Light - A19 LED Light Bulb Technology (Electrical Devices) |
|
Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan | Lignoxy - LBP, lignin-based polymer technology (Materials Science) |
|
Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan | Sidelighter –Optical microstructure-based concentrator photovoltaic technology(Energy Technologies) |
|
Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan | TEMM - Thermoelectric material and module technology (Materials Sciences) |
|
Institute for Information Industry (III), Taiwan | RFID-mf: Metal-friendly RFID technology for metallic objects (Communications) | 2D-Alliance Inc. |
Source: R&D 100 Awards | ||
ITRI's low-temperature (sub-150C) APP coating technology is eco-friendly for future green-manufacturing, meeting requirements of green technology in design, materials, and processes to conserve natural environment and resources, being applicable as transparent conductive oxide films (for displays, solar cells, touch panels etc.), IR-cut coatings (for energy-saving buildings), and many others.
The Sidelighter, optical microstructure-based concentrator photovoltaic technology, is a transparent panel which refracts sunlight to solar panels to generate more power than ordinarily produced, with its transparency also suitable as glazing and able to improve efficiency of traditional solar panels.
Greenhouse roofs employing the SideLighter provide not only power for greenhouse climate control system but also ambient lighting for growth of crops during the day. Furthermore, stored electricity can be utilized as growing light nocturnally, with surplus power able to be sold to grid. The new technology can potentially solve the energy and food crisis. Advantages of the new technology include enhancing conventional solar-powered greenhouse roof employing thin-film solar-cell technology disadvantaged by low photoelectric conversion efficiency (6%-8 %), low normal transmittance (10%-30 %), and low power generation. Improvements of the transparent roof using crystalline silicon solar cell include higher photoelectric conversion efficiency (14%-16%), higher normal transmittance (up to 90%), and higher power generation.
The LED A19-shaped light bulb can replace the ubiquitous 60W incandescent bulbs, also offering wider light distribution, higher luminous efficiency, better thermal management and superior performances over traditional incandescent bulbs and LED bulbs, achieved with high-efficiency flexible light modules for high luminous efficiency and high thermal conductive compound to solve cooling and reduce bulb weight.
Consuming less than 10W, weighing less than 100g, this LED bulb is suitable as bedside lamp, indoor lamp etc.
AVA Clamp is a clamp-on voltage and current meter that provides an easier way to measure power used by electronic devices, achieved by detecting the magnetic field around electrical wires without needing to connect directly to electric current.
Caption 1: The aePLASMA, atmospheric environment plasma coating technology developed by ITRI.
Caption 2: The application of the Light&Light, A19 LED light bulb.
Caption 3: The Sidelighter, optical microstructure-based concentrator photovoltaic technology.
Caption 4: The AVA Clamp, a clamp-on voltmeter and ammeter.