National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) successfully hosted the 2026 Global Consortium for Innovation and Engineering in Medicine (GCIEM) Global Summit. This international academic exchange highlighted that the cross-disciplinary integration of medicine and engineering has entered a stage of systematic development. Dr. Albert C. Yang, Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Director of the Center for Digital Medicine and Smart Healthcare at NYCU, pointed out that Taiwan is progressively stepping outside traditional medical education frameworks to cultivate interdisciplinary talent bridging engineering and healthcare. The summit served as a crucial opportunity to showcase the results of these long-term investments to a global audience.ASUS showcased its smart healthcare strategic layoutroadmap at the summit. Joe Hsieh, Chief Operating Officer of ASUS, stated that in addition to its talent pool, Taiwan possesses key foundational advantages such as comprehensive medical data, industry agility, and system integration capabilities. While these factors have accelerated the real-world deployment of related applications, ASUS remains committed to further elevating Taiwan's global visibility through ongoing industry-academia collaborations and continuous international platform connections.GCIEM Strengthens International Ties; ASUS Showcases Smart Healthcare SolutionsThe inception of GCIEM traces back to post-pandemic international exchanges. In 2022, an NYCU delegation visited the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and observed that certain academic and research institutions had already integrated engineering into medical education. This catalyzed the joint efforts to establish GCIEM and its annual summit mechanism. Following the inaugural summit in the U.S., Taiwan was selected to host the second edition. Dr. Yang believes that hosting the summit in Taiwan allowed the international community to witness Taiwan’s departure from traditional medical education, systematically demonstrating its achievements in med-tech integration while strengthening global ties.As a global leader in smart healthcare, ASUS participated in GCIEM 2026. At the summit, the company aimed not only to demonstrate its technical expertise but also to validate Taiwan's integration capabilities in engineering medicine. Joe Hsieh noted that ASUS has long been strategically positioned in medical applications. Its technological focus has evolved from early physiological data collection via the ASUS VivoWatch smart health watch and medical imaging utilizing the ASUS Handheld Ultrasound, to advanced AI applications. Progressing from sensor technology and medical image processing to model-driven AI, ASUS is now advancing toward No-Code AI platforms and Agentic AI, showcasing the evolution of medical technology from assistive tools to intelligent decision-making systems.NYCU and ASUS have collaborated extensively in recent years to integrate smart healthcare systems. A prime example is the clinical application of the ASUS VivoWatch smart health watch, which collects physiological signals to assess risks related to sleep, stress, and sleep apnea. Additionally, the introduction of Ambient AI-powered voice recognition technology has significantly enhanced clinical documentation efficiency and optimized medical workflows. Reflecting on these collaborative experiences, Dr. Yang asserted that Taiwan’s smart healthcare capabilities, in terms of both clinical techniques and medical quality, are on par with those of other advanced nations. He believes that international platforms like GCIEM will continue to expand Taiwan's global visibility, systematically presenting its achievements and advantages in the smart healthcare sector.NYCU Highlights Physician-Engineer Program to Deepen MedTech IntegrationDr. Yang further pointed out that the integration of medicine and engineering has progressed from the application layer to the talent cultivation system. To address this, NYCU has implemented a six-year Physician-Engineer Program within its Department of Medicine. The program equips medical students with a solid foundation in electrical engineering and computer science, fostering the cross-disciplinary expertise needed to drive medical innovation and bolster Taiwan's talent advantage in both fields. Joe Hsieh added that beyond talent, Taiwan possesses critical competitive advantages, including comprehensive medical data, industry speed, and exceptional system integration capabilities. [1] Joe Hsieh stated that in addition to talent, Taiwan possesses key competitive advantages such as data, speed, and system integration capabilities.He noted that Taiwan's highly concentrated industrial supply chain enables rapid technical integration and product deployment, while its long-accumulated data provides ideal conditions for AI model training.[2] Regarding medical data, Taiwan's long-accumulated data foundation provides optimal conditions for AI applications. Furthermore, the high concentration of Taiwan’s industrial supply chain enables rapid technical integration and product deployment, ensuring extraordinary industrial responsiveness. In terms of system integration, the capability to transform systems into total solutions remains a core advantage of Taiwan's MedTech ecosystem.Addressing collaborations with academic and research institutions, Joe Hsieh pointed out that as AI enters a phase of high specialization, healthcare is a field with significant barriers to entry. This requires deep, tripartite collaboration between enterprises, academia, and medical institutions to effectively bridge technology with clinical needs. He stated that Taiwan's unique geographical and industrial concentration accelerates the verification and deployment of medical research findings. ASUS has currently deployed hundreds of engineers to develop medical AI, utilizing industry-academia-research collaborations to streamline the path to bringing efficient and high-impact results to real-world clinical applications.AI Enters Clinical Decision-Making; Trust Remains the Key to Healthcare SystemsJoe Hsieh further noted that AI's role in the medical field is rapidly transforming. Medical AI has progressed from the early AI 1.0, which focused on image recognition, to AI 2.0, capable of integrating multimodal data. Moving forward, it will transition into Agentic AI featuring task execution and proactive collaboration capabilities, gradually entering the core of medical workflows.Dr. Yang emphasized that AI's clinical positioning is not to replace physicians, but rather to serve as a support system for preliminary screening and alerts. In areas such as image interpretation, endoscopy, and critical care decision-making, AI assists in improving efficiency and reducing the risk of human omission.As AI evolves from assisting in interpretation to participating in workflows, the depth of its application increases. However, the high requirements for accuracy and accountability in healthcare make trust a critical factor for adoption. Joe Hsieh pointed out that due to the inherent uncertainty in AI judgments, reliability must be enhanced through foundational computing power, trustworthy models, and multi-model cross-validation mechanisms.The question of whether Taiwan can transition from a technology adopter to a standard-setter against the backdrop of rapid medical AI development has become a key focus for both the medical and tech industries. Dr. Yang mentioned that standards are not formed through a top-down approach; instead, they emerge from applications recognized by frontline medical staff. These practical experiences are gradually refined and accumulated, eventually transforming into followable guidelines. Joe Hsieh added that the core of standardization lies in verifiability. Establishing consistent workflows through multi-model cross-validation to drive the standardization of decision-making mechanisms will be an essential foundation for developing medical Agentic AI. Throughout this process, Sovereign AI serves as the critical foundation for ensuring data and model autonomy. By leveraging its existing advantages in medical data to build sovereign models and application ecosystems, Taiwan has the opportunity to secure a stronger voice and greater strategic influence in the global development of medical AI.Refocusing on the Patient-Physician Relationship in the Era of AI WorkflowsRegarding the future development of smart healthcare in Taiwan, Dr. Yang suggested starting by enhancing patient-physician interactions. He cited the concept of a "computerless clinic," powered by Ambient Clinical Intelligence (ACI), as a prime example. In this scenario, wearable sensors and Ambient AI systems collect and analyze patient physiological data in real time, while automatically generating electronic health records (EHRs), ordering tests, and entering data into backend systems. This innovation ultimately frees the consultation process from the distractions of manual computer operations.Joe Hsieh concurred, adding from the perspective of real-world deployment that multiple Agentic AI systems featuring voice recognition, image analysis, and sensory capabilities could operate synergistically in the future. This collaborative approach establishes a digital assistant architecture with a clear division of labor. Combined with wearable devices and smart glasses, technology can be integrated seamlessly and invisibly into medical workflows to provide real-time information. This ultimately allows physicians to focus entirely on clinical judgments and patient interactions, thereby elevating overall efficiency and quality of care.Dr. Yang concluded by pointing out that hosting GCIEM 2026 has allowed Taiwan to transition its role in med-tech integration from a mere participant to an active practitioner. As AI advances from a supportive tool to decision-making and execution, the competitive focus within the healthcare industry is shifting from singular technical capabilities to system integration and the establishment of trust mechanisms. The collaboration between ASUS and NYCU demonstrates the pathway from talent cultivation and data accumulation to real-world deployment, gradually forming a replicable and scalable development trajectory. With cross-disciplinary capabilities serving as a solid foundation, Taiwan is poised not only to participate in this smart healthcare transformation but also to define its future direction.

iCatch Technology announced that its 360-degree vision-based obstacle avoidance system has been successfully integrated into Avilon Intelligence's drone platform. Through four camera modules, multi-view image perception, real-time AI vision processing, and flight-control coordination, the system enhances autonomous flight safety, stability, and intelligence in complex environments.Compared with traditional single-direction or partial obstacle avoidance architectures, iCatch Technology's 360-degree vision-based obstacle avoidance system uses four camera modules to build a more comprehensive surrounding perception capability. This allows drones to simultaneously understand environmental information from multiple directions, including front, rear, left, and right, effectively reducing collision risks while improving flight stability and mission success rates.The integration between iCatch Technology and Avilon Intelligence demonstrates the practical application value of the 360-degree vision-based obstacle avoidance system on a real drone platform. By combining the 360-degree module system, image input, real-time computing, and flight-control coordination, drones can move beyond simply "seeing the environment" toward "understanding the environment and actively avoiding obstacles," making intelligent flight a truly deployable system capability.Weber Hsu, General Manager of iCatch Technology, stated: "360-degree vision-based obstacle avoidance is not only an upgrade in obstacle avoidance capability, but also an important foundation for drone platforms moving toward advanced autonomy. Through a comprehensive visual perception architecture and modular integration capability, we aim to help customers shorten development cycles, lower integration barriers, and enable more drone platforms to complete integration faster and truly take flight."Dafeng Huang, Chief Technology Officer of Avilon Intelligence, stated: "Our collaboration with iCatch Technology is not merely the adoption of a single module, but an important milestone in integrating visual perception capabilities with drone platforms. Based on Avilon Intelligence's existing autonomous flight controller and Visual SLAM architecture, the system further combines iCatch Technology's panoramic imaging and depth perception capabilities. In indoor environments without GPS, it can improve positioning accuracy and obstacle avoidance response. In outdoor scenarios where GPS signals are interfered with or obstructed, real-time image capture and environmental recognition can also support navigation decisions, further enhancing flight stability and mission reliability. This provides more resilient technical support for drone applications in highly complex environments."Through this successful integration with Avilon Intelligence's drone platform, iCatch Technology once again demonstrates its technical strengths in AI vision SoCs, image sensing integration, and drone application system development. Looking ahead, iCatch Technology will continue to promote a modular sales model, helping drone manufacturers avoid the complex process of redeveloping hardware. From assembly and integration to deployment, the solution enables products to take flight faster and business opportunities to be realized sooner. iCatch Technology will also continue working with partners to promote safer, smarter, and more practical drone solutions, redefining the core value of next-generation intelligent flight. 

The human hand is an engineering marvel. With up to 27 degrees of freedom, it can perform tasks ranging from heavy lifting to the delicate threading of a needle. Replicating this dexterity in a machine has long been considered the "Holy Grail" of robotics. At the upcoming COMPUTEX 2026, one Canadian startup is set to demonstrate that this goal is finally within reach. Sarcomere Dynamics, founded in 2021, is bridging the gap between mechanical rigidity and human-like finesse by combining sophisticated hardware with what industry experts call "Embodied  AI" where software intelligence is translated into high-performance, real-world  interaction. CEO Harpal Mandaher, a 32-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, discussed the company's journey from a student project to a pioneer in the next generation of robotics. From a Son's Vision to Industrial RealityThe story of Sarcomere Dynamics is a family affair. The company was founded by Harpal's son, Avtar, the current CTO, while he was studying at the University of British Columbia. Initially, the mission was deeply personal: to create an affordable, highly functional prosthetic hand for upper-limb amputees. "The first prototype was sophisticated, with 11 degrees of freedom," Harpal explains. "But it was  too complex for a patient to control easily. However, we noticed immediate interest from industrial players who saw the potential for this hand to automate assembly, sorting, and pick-and-place tasks". Seeing the opportunity to impact both the medical and industrial sectors, Harpal and his wife, Nancy - also a military veteran and retired professional nurse - joined as initial investors and co-founders. Solving the Weight-to-Power PuzzleMost robotic grippers today are simple "pinchers" designed for specific repeating tasks in controlled settings, but not suitable for complex manipulation of objects of different sizes, shapes, textures, or weights. For these high-mix tasks, the human hand is ideal. To create a hand that truly replicates human capabilities, Sarcomere had to overcome significant mechanical hurdles. "Ideally, for every movement, you need a motor," says Harpal. "Juggling 27 motors leads to massive problems such as heat, weight, interference, and movement control".  Their solution, the Artus robotic hand, is a masterclass in compact engineering: 1. Form Factor: the size of an average human male's hand (it is actually modelled off the CTO's hand). 2. Lightweight: Weighing only 1.1 kg to 1.4 kg, the Artus hand can be used on smaller, more cost-effective robotic arms without exhausting their payload capacity. 3. Durability: Rated for millions of cycles in industrial applications. Key structural components are reinforced with aircraft-grade aluminum to handle payloads up to 20 kg. The Move to Embodied  AI and "Artificial Skin"Dexterity is nothing without a sense of touch. Sarcomere is currently working with technology partners like Nanosen (Germany) to integrate a layer of "artificial skin" over the hand. This thin sensor layer allows the robot to feel grip force and detect proximity, adding a critical layer of safety. "If someone touches the back of the robot arm, the machine will know," Harpal notes. "It can pause or react, just as a human would". This technology is paving the way for Teleoperation in hazardous environments. By wearing a haptic glove, a technician in a safe zone can control the robotic hand naturally and intuitively from a distance. Inside the glove are tiny inflating bubbles to provide tactile feedback (sense of touch), allowing the operator to "feel" what the robot is touching - a gamechanger for nuclear decommissioning, bomb disposal, or handling hazardous chemicals. Why Taiwan?As Sarcomere Dynamics eyes global scale, Taiwan sits at the center of their roadmap. Their presence in Taipei for COMPUTEX underscores the island's growing role as the indispensable foundation for the next generation of robotics. Harpal is focused on three key goals, including securing supply chain resilience, exploring the potential to outsource manufacturing and assembly to Taiwan's world-class OEM ecosystem, as well as to find "embodied  AI" experts and local robotic arm manufacturers to create integrated, plug-and-play systems."We haven't lost sight of why this started," Harpal says. "As we harden the technology for industrial use, we're continuing prosthetics development in parallel, so the same advances in dexterity, sensing, and control translate into a more capable and more affordable prosthetic hand.  "