ITRI's R&D expertise of robotics will be in the international limelight at the 2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), the world's largest robotics conference. ICRA is considered the source of many groundbreaking technologies for robotics, self-driving vehicles, and artificial intelligence. At ICRA, top researchers around the globe annually discuss the latest innovations in robotics and automation. Dr. Jwu-Sheng Hu, ITRI's Vice President and General Director of the Mechanical and Mechatronics Systems Research Laboratories, has been invited to serve as one of the Industrial Forum Chairs in ICRA 2017 committee. ITRI's Motion Intelligence Orchestration( MIO) industrial robotics controller and PC-based motion control card EPCIO will also be on display at ICRA 2017. 

Dr. I-Ming Chen of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University and General Chair of this year's ICRA, stated that according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), Japan, Korea, and China are the leading markets for industrial robotics, with the Asia Pacific industrial robotics industry contributing to over 50% of overall market revenue. This points to the importance of the Asia Pacific in the global robotics industry and is why ICRA 2017 took place in Singapore, he said. ITRI's Dr. Hu, who is also a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at National Chiao Tung University, will serve as an Industrial Forum Chair at ICRA 2017 committee. Dr. Hu's background in both academic and research communities will be conducive to forging cooperation with the industrial sector. 

Dr. Hu remarked that interest among international venture capitals in robotics startups is greater than ever due to the increasing maturity of robotics applications. Consequently, a number of startups will unveil their latest technologies and applications at this year's ICRA. At the same time, Dr. Hu pointed out that the pace of research papers being turned into industrial applications is also picking up. ITRI, he said, has long been committed to promoting the commercialization of groundbreaking technology, and it will be on the lookout at this year's conference for the latest international trends in robotics and collaboration opportunities. 

Dr. Nelson Yen-Chung Chang, Manager in ITRI's Mechanical and Systems Research Laboratories, was invited to share R&D achievements at the Industry Forum on May 31. He would introduce the ITRI-developed MIO industrial robotics controller, which has enhanced dynamics control and improved trajectory precision, boosting robotic arm precision by a factor of 10. This will be conducive to precision assembly automation in the aerospace and timepiece industries and will help Taiwan companies seize upon global business opportunities associated with Industry 4.0. 

The IEEE has held ICRA for over 30 years, dating back to 1985. Each year, ICRA brings together experts from the world's leading research institutions and industrial representatives to discuss the latest robotics technologies. Research related to self-driving vehicles and artificial intelligence was among the groundbreaking technology first discussed at the conference. Renowned international companies such as ABB, KIKA, JD, drone manufacturer DJI, Korean educational robot manufacturer ROBOTIS, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries have participated in the event over the years as sponsors.