New robotics R&D center opens in Tainan to boost supply chain

台南新建機器人創新與研發中心，協助供應鏈發展

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Economic Affairs said Tuesday that it has opened a new robotics R&D center at the Industrial Technology Research Institute branch in Tainan’s Liujia District, aiming to strengthen Taiwan’s robotics sector, CNA reported.

The facility is the second robotics R&D center established in Tainan, following the opening of a robotics research center in April at the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City in Guiren District. The Guiren center focuses on AI integration, talent development, and robot testing and validation.

The new center will support robotics applications across industries and integrate Nvidia’s robot simulation platform to help the food service and manufacturing sectors adopt robotics technologies. At the opening event, ITRI also showcased robotics applications in health care, logistics, food service, and inspection operations.

At the event, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said AI and robotics technologies have strong potential to address challenges including an aging population, declining birth rates, and labor shortages. She added that the government aims to develop Tainan into a key robotics hub to support R&D, technology verification, and mass production.

Deputy Economics Minister Ho Chin-tsang (何晉滄) said the center will also support robot system integration, sensing, key component development, and real-world testing. He said the two robotics centers in Tainan are expected to help Taiwan’s robotics sector reach an output value of NT$50 billion (US$1.5 billion) by 2030.

The ministry said the Liujia center is also equipped with high-performance computing facilities that support faster training and development of robotics for real-world applications.

Tainan Deputy Mayor Chao Ching-hui (趙卿惠) said the city government plans to establish a 53-hectare robotics manufacturing base at the Liouying Technology Industrial Park. She added that the environmental impact assessment has been submitted to the Cabinet for review, and construction is expected to begin next year if approved.

The base is also expected to include drones, precision machinery, and metal product manufacturing, with operations projected to start in 2033, Chao said. She added that the project could benefit from rising drone manufacturing demand driven by the Asia UAV AI Innovation Application R&D Center in Chiayi.

President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Taiwan has strong potential to develop robotics, citing its semiconductor strengths as a key advantage. He said chip manufacturing supports robot processors, while precision machinery contributes to mechanical systems, and electronic components enhance data transmission in robots.