3rd July 2023, Kathmandu
Discovery Channel, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan), presents Taiwan Revealed: Smart Machinery, an innovation-oriented show which will premiere in Southeast Asia on Discovery Channel on July 5, 2023, at 7:35 pm, and Discovery Asia on July 6, 2023, at 9:00 pm.
The show brings us Taiwanese innovators and entrepreneurs who make manufacturing more resilient by turning production facilities into smart machinery and adding value to their services. While the manufacturing industry is known to supply most of contemporary life’s wants and needs, the century-old production model has faced unprecedented challenges in the last decades due to labor shortages, supply chain disruption, climate change, and geopolitical tensions.
“While the world was engulfed by the pandemic, the Taiwanese manufacturing industry rose to the challenge by championing high-tech capabilities, hard work, and resilience. This show highlights just how the industry grew from strength to strength,” said Cindy Ma, VP & Head of Commercial Taiwan, Warner Bros. Discovery. “We are honored to share this transformation story with an audience of millions of viewers in Asia.”
Some of the most interesting case studies are:
Cobots by Techman Robot. Many industries use traditional robotic arms, which require large spaces and pose potential hazards. Techman Robot, a robotics manufacturer from Northern Taiwan, revolutionized and equipped these robotic arms with eyes, transforming them into collaborative robots, or “cobots.” By developing a built-in vision system and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, robotic arms can work with humans, position and pick up objects, and achieve precision in production processes.
Within four years of its launch, Techman Robot soared to become the world’s second-largest collaborative robot manufacturer, with as many as 80% to 90% of semiconductor manufacturers in Taiwan as part of its clientele. The company is actively developing AI-enabled cobots that can recognize scratches and even pizza flavors that are difficult to judge by the human eye, allowing them to undergo self-inspection and quality control before shipping—and defining the limitless applications of the next generation of cobots.
Powertrains by Fukuta. Once a manual labor hub, Fukuta Electric and Machinery underwent a full-fledged digital transformation and evolved into a smart manufacturing powerhouse and Taiwan’s largest e-vehicle motor factory. It continues to develop and mass-produce game-changing electric motors, including a seven-in-one powertrain that combines an engine, a gearbox, a differential, and a generator. At the heart of the powertrain is the electric motor that produces motion from a rotor rotating inside a stationary stator, and the company incorporates smart manufacturing to ensure the accuracy and quality of each product. The accelerated efficiency has increased the daily production from 20 powertrains to 90 powertrains, and their aim now is to produce one unit across the 22 workstations every seven minutes.
Smart Factory by Victor Taichung. Taiwan ranks fifth in the world in machine tool exports, partly thanks to one of Taiwan’s leading manufacturers, Victor Taichung Machinery Works Inc. (VT). VT is developing a super smart factory that uses automated guided vehicles and machinery to optimize workflow to accommodate the increasing demand for high-precision machine tools for today’s products.
Thermal expansion and contraction caused by temperature differences have always been a pain point in machine tool processing, resulting in machining errors. VT has established a temperature laboratory and combined AI technology to enhance production accuracy to develop the world’s most significant temperature compensation technology for a temperature range of 15℃ to 35℃. This allows the product to adapt to global temperatures and be exported to various regions.
Smart Machinery presents a fascinating story of how Taiwan exerted intelligence, innovation, and collaboration to rise above the many challenges. Its strides in applying intelligent machinery to crucial sectors contribute to humanity’s and the planet’s sustainability, driving positive change for the future.
