The annual event highlights the importance of innovation — and government’s support of innovation — in transforming and promoting Taiwan’s economic development

COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2017, one of the largest ICT trade exhibitions in the world, opened on Tuesday, with Taiwan Vice President Chen Chien-jen lauding it during the opening ceremony for spotlighting the latest trends and technological developments in the industry.
According to the government-sponsored trade promotion group Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), COMPUTEX this year features a total of 1,600 exhibitors from 26 countries operating 5,010 booths. Each exhibitor promises to showcase something unique and innovative in one of five realms: AI & Robotics, IoT Applications, Innovations & Startups, Business Solutions, and Gaming & VR. In addition, to inform visitors of the latest trends, organizers have “carefully planned for a number of events during COMPUTEX, including a forum series, new product launches, startup competitions and one-on-one procurement match-making meetings,” TAITRA Chairman James C.F. Huang said.
With its rebranding in 2016, COMPUTEX now focuses on the mission of “building global ecosystems,” as it continues to step up its game with new exhibitors, such as Tesla and Dell, as well as new partners, such as the National Palace Museum.
These value-added components of the largest ICT trade show in Asia-Pacific is why Huang called it the country’s “most important exhibit of the year.”
The numbers too reflect the significance of COMPUTEX both domestically and internationally.

Government Support for Innovation Needed

Also in attendance at the opening of the 2017 COMPUTEX was Minister of Economic Affairs Lee Chih-kung and many other distinguished guests, who highlighted the importance of innovation and government support of innovation in transforming and promoting Taiwan’s economic development.
“Innovation has led to the creation of new industries and new job opportunities as a result of these new industries,” TCA Chairman T. H. Hung said. He added that to that end, he hoped “government regulations could keep up with the pace of ICT advancements” — a sentiment that both Vice President Chen and Minister Lee reiterated.
Chen pointed to government initiatives in all five fields that make up the themes of this year’s COMPUTEX to underscore the current efforts being made to create the right infrastructure and develop the talent needed for the changing ecosystem and economy.
In conclusion, Lee urged all ministries to work today to push forth regulations that would make more innovations possible tomorrow.

Five-Day Rundown

Starting from the first day of COMPUTEX, there will be live competitions, featured exhibits and forums running simultaneously to give visitors the most comprehensive and immersive ICT experience.
COMPUTEX 2017 features an esports competition (Zotac CUP MASTERS), a modding challenge (CyberMods) and an overclocking contest.
Furthermore, InnoVEX, a featured exhibit for startups and accelerators, makes a triumphant return to COMPUTEX after its debut last year. InnoVEX has become a trademark platform in Asia for entrepreneurs and startup businesses, as Huang mentioned in his speech.
The other three featured exhibits are iStyle, SmarTEX and Gaming & VR. All exhibits will feature the latest in technology that can be applied in our daily lives.
Some of the biggest names in the industry, including officials from Hon Hai Precision (also known as Foxconn), ARM, Dell, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nvidia, NXP, Supermicro, Qualcomm, MediaTek, AdvanTech and Indiegogo, will give keynote addresses at forums taking place throughout the week to share insight into the current state of the industry and a glimpse into its fast-approaching future.

Award Winners Revealed

Following the reveal of 72 of the 77 winning products of this year’s COMPUTEX d&i awards, TAITRA announced the remaining five winning products during the opening ceremony.
These five products, each a receiver of the d&i gold award, come from Techman Robot Inc., Dell Inc., CRYORIG, Embrace Audio Lab Inc., and Trans Electric Co. Ltd.
Gunitech Corp.’s Floafy, a smart fishing float, received a unique honor in the form of the d&i rising star award, while Acer and Thermaltake Technology received the d&i distinguished contribution award for having received a d&i award every year in the prize’s 10-year history.
COMPUTEX bestowed another honor upon select companies in the form of the Best Choice Award. Recipients of the Best Choice Golden Award included Gigabyte, Asus, Flu, MSI, Ambedded, Supermicro, IDEEE Studio, Weeview, ECS, Aten, NVIDIA, Realtek, Etron, Gemtek, Amaryllo, XYZprinting, EMobile, NextDrive and ITRI.