As the world's biggest tech show kicks off in Las Vegas, Taiwan-made advanced chips are of course center stage. But some smaller companies and research groups are also showing their innovations, including those working on a smart mirror for healthcare, autonomous lawnmowing robots and an AI badminton trainer.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00What if you woke up in the morning and a mirror could tell you if you were having a heart attack?
00:06What if instead of going out and mowing the lawn, an army of robots could do it for you?
00:12What if you could use artificial intelligence to help you become a better athlete?
00:18Some innovators from Taiwan are looking to answer these questions with new product launches at the world's largest tech trade fair,
00:26the Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, in Las Vegas.
00:30Taiwan may best be known for its chips that are fueling the AI explosions.
00:36But some smaller companies and research groups here are also going to this year's CES
00:41to show how they're using AI technologies in practical ways that can be seen in everyday life.
00:47One of those exhibitors is FaceHeart, a medical AI company that is releasing its first major piece of hardware,
00:53a smart mirror. Using a hidden camera and proprietary AI software,
00:57a scan of your face can pick up several of your cardiac vital signs.
01:01It's one example of what the company says will be the expanding use of household devices for medical care.
01:07This is actually pretty exciting because when people are thinking of hypertension,
01:14they are thinking of diabetes, they have to buy a lot of expensive medical devices.
01:20But what if it can be all done by your smartphones? It can all be done by your TV.
01:25Then people can reduce the cost to reach health services and they can have better control of their chronic disease.
01:35Operation is simple. Enter some personal information and stand still for 45 seconds.
01:41All right, Doc, give it to me straight. How long have I got to live?
01:46Aside from vital signs, FaceHeart says their mirror can detect potentially life-threatening conditions
01:52like atrial fibrillation, also known as AFib, and heart failure with over 90% accuracy.
01:58AI may be able to monitor your heart in your bathroom, but who's monitoring the lawn out in your yard?
02:07It could be these autonomous lawnmower robots from URS Robot.
02:11Using a combination of cameras, sensors and AI software, the company says their new model,
02:17making its debut at CES, can be used to cut large areas of grass easily and safely.
02:23This product is major design for the commercial landscaping company.
02:28So like commercial property, school, golf course or some park.
02:37The system uses a digital marker to draw the cutting area, which can then be refined or changed on a smartphone app.
02:44Set your cut height and up to 10 robots can be dispatched to dispatch your grass.
02:50The robot can detect objects in its path and avoid them.
02:54Or if smaller objects such as rocks or hands get underneath it, it can instantly stop the motor.
03:01So will these grass slicers put gardeners out of business?
03:05We are here to help you have a better life, easy life, easy job.
03:10You don't worry about they take the mowing job from you.
03:15You can do some other more valuable tasks, like you can trim the bushes or you can make the flowerbed.
03:23Boring things, you just let the robotic mower to take care.
03:27Now you've got your green, but what about your swing?
03:32Well, when it comes to badminton, at least Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute, or ITRI, is working on that.
03:39It's debuting a new AI badminton trainer at CES.
03:43The device uses miniaturized cameras and a specially designed chip package to analyze players' movements,
03:50giving detailed data to those who need the extra edge.
03:53I think there's a lot of use cases for this.
03:55There's just a lot of things that to the naked eye, as a human, you can't really get exact details for.
04:01So, for example, shuttle speed, right?
04:04We can kind of tell that we're hitting it hard or fast, but we'll never be able to know exactly that miles per hour that we're getting.
04:10I'm now able to know exactly which combination of strings and racket tensions might perhaps generate the fastest smash for me.
04:17Professional athletes like Xu say it's only a matter of time before this kind of training tech comes to other sports as well.
04:24So whether it's your heart, your yard, or your game,
04:28Taiwan's innovators at CES are trying to show that their innovations are a cut above the rest.
04:36Luffy Lee and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus.