'Europe Meets Taiwan' Forum at 2012 Automechanika Focused on Telematics and EVs

On the second day of 2012 Automechanika Frankfurt, which was held in Germany on September 11-16, Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) held an “Europe Meets Taiwan” forum designed to give quality ICT (information and communications technology) products access to world markets by establishing a platform for exchange between Taiwan's world-class ICT industry and Europe's global-leading automotive industry.

The forum hoped to create opportunities for cooperation between Taiwan's ICT and auto-parts industries, and Europe's automotive industry. It was organized around two hot topics in today's vehicle industry: electric vehicles (EVs) and telematics.

Experts and company representatives from Taiwan and Germany were brought together at the forum to share their insights on the latest trends in the development of automotive electronics in the two countries. Speakers at the event included Chou Tsong-Bao, secretary general of the Taiwan Telematics Industry Association (TTIA); Tseng Guo-Hua, vice president of the Photic Electronics Co.; Robert Tsai, deputy director of ITRI's Information and Communications Research Laboratories; and Frank Tsai, director of ITRI's Emerging Smart Technology Institute.

German speakers included experts from RWTH Aachen University; Kurt Sigl, president of the German Federal Association for eMobility (BEM); and Konrad Weßner, CEO of Puls Marktforschung. Network of Automotive Excellence (NoAE) CEO Herbert Kopplinger served as moderator for a round table meeting arranged to promote long-term substantive cooperation between Taiwan and Europe.

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During his presentation, ITRI's Robert Tsai noted that "EVs and telematics are currently the focus of innovative development for the automotive industry. Taiwan and Europe have been actively researching and developing related technologies, so it is hoped that our advantages in this industry can be combined together through this exchange to create a winning situation for both sides."

In his talk Frank Tsai, also from ITRI, said, "Under the technical direction of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, several research institutes in Taiwan, including ITRI, the Institute for Information Industry (III), and the Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC), have jointly created a Taiwan-European exchange platform to foster closer exchanges between the automotive industries in European Union (EU) countries and Taiwan's telematics industry."

NoAE CEO Kopplinger expressed the hope that there would be more reciprocal visits between Taiwan and Europe so that substantive cooperation opportunities could be grasped and big rewards reaped. In addition, he commented, Taiwan's ICT industry occupies a key position in the world and acts as a major trading hub in Asia. "Being an important bridge to China,” he pointed out, “Taiwan definitely is an ideal partner for Europe to join hands with on development of the next generation of smart vehicles."

Kopplinger also proposed a clear roadmap for future exchange between Taiwan and Europe: first contact at the forum during 2012 Automechanika Frankfurt; second exchange during the 2013 Taipei Int'l Auto Parts & Accessories Show (Taipei AMPA) and EV Taiwan (Taiwan Int'l Electric Vehicle Show) in mid-April, 2013; and third and further exchanges at the 6th NoAE annual conference in Düsseldorf on Apr. 17-18, 2013.

During the forum, the German experts introduced the latest electric car developments in their country and talked about how Internet applications will spur further vehicle integration in the future. The speakers from Taiwan addressed topics such as innovative vehicle application and service development strategies, as well as mobile security for inter-vehicle communications.

Forum participants were particularly interested in trends of development in next-generation advanced vehicles, and the role that Taiwan can play in pursuing those trends.

As ITRI representatives noted, the island's dynamic ICT industry can serve as a potent weapon in the development of advanced vehicle communications testing and vehicle electronics, and the complementary enhancement of individual strengths can be achieved by combining the advantages of Taiwan's ICT industry with Germany's powerful EV system technology.