With the growing momentum of Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, and deep learning in artificial intelligence, alongside challenges such as declining birth rates and a shortage of skilled industrial talent, accelerating full-scale automation and smart transformation has become a pressing concern for industry, policymakers, and academia. CYUT’s College of Informatics took early initiative by establishing the Automation To Intelligence Smart Industrial Technology R&D Center (A2I) in 2018. The center has since played a pivotal role in advancing industrial automation, with over NT$50 million in industry-academia projects to date.

President Tao-Ming Cheng highlighted that CYUT has been ranked in the Times Higher Education global computer science rankings for seven consecutive years, remaining the only private technological university in Taiwan on the list. Several faculty members are also listed among the world’s top 2% of scientists. Under faculty guidance, students engage in cutting-edge R&D and collaborate with industry in AI image recognition, digital multimedia, and intelligent commerce.

The A2I Center focuses on real-world solutions to industry. Its flagship iSensor platform combines AI and Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) technologies, enabling no-code system integration into production lines. With its “POC = Inline” capability, iSensor significantly shortens development time and reduces cost. Integrated with ASUS’s AISVision technology, it supports object detection, classification, segmentation, and anomaly detection.

Led by Professor Hsien-Chou Liao, the A2I Center partners with Upmost and other third-party hardware providers to co-develop scalable, cost-effective smart systems. These efforts help industries transition from automation to intelligence, while advancing talent development and achieving a win-win for academia and industry.