ASU SkySong hosted an important meeting where a Statement of Collaboration was signed by Arizona State University President Michael Crow and Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute’s (ITRI) Chairman Ching-Yen Tsay. The agreement begins a collaborative relationship between ASU Skysong and ITRI, whose research interests and work in the areas of renewable energy, bio design, health care, climate change and intelligent information and communication technologies align strategically with the research of ASU. The goal of ASU’s collaboration with ITRI is to increase shared knowledge by propelling research in their joint interest areas, thereby increasing the commercialization of technologies from each institution.
“ASU is excited by the chance to partner with ITRI to advance meaningful, leading edge research in multiple areas in which society needs rapid innovation,” said ASU President Crow. “This agreement creates new discovery and commercialization opportunities that build on the shared strengths of our respective knowledge enterprises, and represents a promising chapter in ASU’s ongoing commitment to global engagement.”
ITRI is a nonprofit research and development organization engaged in applied research and technical services. Founded in 1973, ITRI has played a vital role in transforming Taiwan’s economy from a labor-intensive industry to a high-tech industry. ITRI focuses on six areas, including information and communications; electronics and optoelectronics; material, chemical and nanotechnology; medical device and biomedical; mechanical and systems engineering, and green energy and environment. ITRI has aggressively researched and developed countless next-generation technologies, including WIMAX wireless broadband, solar cells, radio frequency identification, light electric vehicles, flexible displays, 3-D integrated circuits and tele-care technologies.
“With ASU and ITRI both agreeing on institution-to-institution collaboration,” said Chairman Tsay, “ITRI hopes that both parties will work together and leverage each other’s core competence and regional advantages to advance innovative research, entrepreneurship and commercialization. We enjoyed our visit to ASU, and hope that President Crow can visit ITRI and Taiwan in the near future to further build up the collaboration framework and initiate the first projects that were discussed on our recent visit.”
Iveda Solutions Inc., Mesa, Ariz., is an additional strategic partner for this collaboration, working with ASU SkySong and ITRI in the area of cloud computing and services. With a subsidiary in Taiwan (MEGAsys), Iveda has a working understanding of research in Arizona and in Taiwan. Iveda is heavily focused on developing innovations in cloud computing and real world applications for bringing cloud computing down to earth. The company develops and markets enterprise-class video hosting, real-time remote surveillance and global video positioning and mapping services.
“If we don’t continue to innovate for real-world applications, the buzz around cloud-based video surveillance technology will remain just that,” said David Ly, president and CEO of Iveda Solutions. “Our alliance with ASU and ITRI will inspire academic direction towards cloud-technology innovations to bring to market products and services that will have a positive impact in communities around the world. This collaboration will help turn technology possibilities into beneficial tools for making our communities safer, more secure and more efficient.”
