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Mar 13
AW 2026: a reality check for the fully autonomous era
Global headlines may proclaim a fully autonomous era, but AW 2026 told a different story. The show made clear that robots are not yet fully autonomous — a fact obscured by modern robotics coverage. The industry is heading in the right direction, but independent operation remains out of reach. A surprising number of robots were teleoperated via controllers. Those left unsupervised often struggled with basic environmental navigation.
Recent years have seen the dawn of a new era in warfare as militaries incorporate AI technologies into their operations. With countries seeking to gain the military edge, companies like EdgeRunner AI argue that they are the next frontier in warfare, creating products better suited for battle than LLMs such as Anthropic's Claude.
The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on March 11 launched investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 against 16 major trade partners, including China, the European Union, South Korea, Japan, India, and Taiwan. Taiwan's government said the move was anticipated after the recent Supreme Court of the US ruling that struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), prompting Washington to seek alternative legal mechanisms to maintain its tariff framework.
James C. Liao, president of Academia Sinica — Taiwan's foremost government-funded research institution and the country's equivalent of a national academy of sciences — has a sobering message for an era captivated by artificial intelligence: neither human experience nor computational power can accurately forecast the future.
Flytech surpassed NT$5 billion (approx. US$160 million) in 2025 revenue while improving margins, and plans to pivot from a hardware supplier toward a solutions and services provider to pursue sustained profit margin growth.
Generative AI is rapidly reshaping the global computing industry, driving demand for advanced processors and accelerating China's push for domestic AI chips. Among the emerging players, Hygon Information Technology has become one of the most closely watched, combining rapid revenue growth with a key role in China's effort to build an independent AI computing infrastructure.
APMIC announced it completed a US$7 million Series A financing round led primarily by Pasadena-based private equity fund AIPO, with participation from companies including Trend Micro.
ByteDance, the Chinese technology company best known as the owner of TikTok, is seeking to secure large amounts of advanced artificial intelligence computing power outside China, underscoring the growing geopolitical tensions surrounding the global AI chip supply chain.
The Smart City Summit & Expo and Net Zero City Expo will open next week across Taipei and Kaohsiung, maintaining a dual-city format for 2026 and expanding its focus from net zero and sustainable energy to AI-driven end-user applications.
On March 12, 2026, the US Trade Representative launched investigations covering 60 economies under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 to determine whether each economy's acts, policies, and practices — related to a failure to impose and effectively enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor — are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce.
ASIC vendor MicroIP showcased its AIVO visual algorithm technology, CATS chip solutions, and numerous EDA tools from affiliate Arculus at Embedded World 2026. The company highlighted a drone controller enhanced by AIVO to improve flight control efficiency, notably emphasizing that the entire product is made in Taiwan, offering a market advantage.
Acerpure has introduced a new range of air conditioners in New Delhi as it moves to deepen its presence in India's home appliance sector, riding rising demand driven by soaring summer temperatures and growing household air conditioner penetration.