Taiwan wins 16 honors at Edison Awards for tech innovations

台灣在愛迪生獎（Edison Awards）之獎項中獲頒16項殊榮

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan secured 16 honors at this year’s Edison Awards for innovations in AI technology, medical devices, and materials made from recycled waste, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Economics Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said Taiwan’s performance this year ranks among the world’s top. He added that many of the award-winning technologies have been applied in products, highlighting Taiwan’s shift from manufacturing toward research and development, per CNA.

Institutes under the ministry won 12 honors at this year’s Edison Awards, the ministry said. Last year, the institutes secured 14 awards, mainly for AI-related technologies.

A Composite Regenerated Ligament developed by the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the Taiwan Textile Research Institute won a gold medal. It was noted for being more durable than most artificial ligaments.

The two institutes also applied a collagen coating to the ligament surface to improve integration with bone cells and promote tissue repair.

ITRI has also developed a gold medal-winning road paving material. It is made from recycled waste asphalt and can reduce sand and gravel extraction by 4.85 million tonnes annually.

In addition, ITRI’s AI-powered machine fault diagnosis system won a gold medal. The system helps reduce the impact of equipment failures in semiconductor manufacturing and has helped an industry operator avoid losses of about NT$150 million (US$4.8 million).

The Taiwan Textile Research Institute’s melt-blown shoe material also won an award for cutting the traditional production process to six minutes. Its single-material design also makes shoes easier to recycle. The technology has been transferred to Mizuno.