When e27 met Steven Su, CEO of Ubestream, at the Taiwan Innotech Expo 2025 in Taipei, we encountered an unexpected challenge: language. Our editor’s limited Mandarin and Su’s limited English could have made for a difficult interview. Instead, it became the perfect demonstration of what Ubestream stands for.

As Su spoke into a microphone, the platform seamlessly translated our questions and his responses in real time. There was no setup, calibration, or need for specific hardware. Within seconds, communication barriers vanished. This was not just a demo; it was a moment that proved how AI innovation can make human interaction more effortless and inclusive.

Ubestream’s technology automatically detects and translates a speaker’s language, making multilingual conversations possible for anyone, anywhere. It is a glimpse into how AI can potentially reshape how people connect—and at Taiwan Innotech Expo 2025, it was just the beginning.

Another powerful example of AI innovation came from the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), one of Taiwan’s leading R&D organisations. The team is developing a vest that allows deaf individuals to experience live music through vibration.

Every beat, rhythm, and tone is translated into a series of tactile sensations ripple across the vest, allowing users to “feel” the music. During our conversation, Ko Hui Ching, Deputy Project Manager at ITRI, shared a video of a professional deaf dancer using the vest. Through the vest, the dancer sensed the melody and emotion of a song, translating them into choreography—a moving illustration of technology empowering artistic expression.

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ITRI’s goal is not commercial profit but to promote cultural inclusion. The institute aims to make these vests available at performance venues, enabling cultural institutions to provide them for deaf patrons. It is an example of AI and sensory technology coming together to expand access to the arts for everyone, not only those with hearing impairments.

AI for care safety

Other areas that exhibitors at the event look at are safety and caregiving. From concert halls to the driver’s seat, AI at the expo showed its versatility.

One of the exhibitors, Steadybeat, is enhancing safety in AI cockpits and unmanned vehicles. Its system fuses data from images, sound, and other sensors to reduce low-frequency noise and create a calmer driving environment.

The same technology can even extend beyond the road. SteadyBeat’s team highlighted how the platform can monitor structural health in bridges, tunnels, and pipelines or aid in UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) communication with ground control. Such cross-domain applications underline the flexibility of Taiwan’s AI innovation ecosystem—one that thinks well beyond a single use case.

Meanwhile, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University researchers are turning vehicles into intelligent co-pilots. Their AI-powered platform monitors a driver’s behaviour to detect risky activities such as drowsiness or phone use. The system issues alerts before danger strikes, demonstrating how machine learning can augment human awareness and prevent accidents before they happen.

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Another standout exhibit, Ant CareSpot, tackled one of society’s most pressing challenges: eldercare. Roughly the size of a small rice cooker, the device uses AI to monitor vital signs such as blood pressure and wellbeing without requiring the elderly to use any form of wearables.

But beyond health tracking, it can also serve as a conversation partner for elderly users, reducing isolation and fostering emotional connection. Each unit is deployed in care homes across Taiwan, assigned individually to residents. The blend of functionality and empathy makes Ant CareSpot a symbol of how AI innovation can address efficiency and humanity’s deeper needs.

A showcase of cross-domain collaboration

Held from October 16-18 at the Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1, the Taiwan Innotech Expo (TIE) is jointly organised by 11 government departments and implemented by TAITRA and ITRI. This year’s theme, “AI-Driven Cross-Domain Innovation: Empowering the Smart Future,” captures the spirit of an event where research institutes, startups, and public agencies come together to redefine what tech can achieve.

With 439 exhibitors from 19 countries and over 1,100 innovations, TIE 2025 offers a panoramic view of how Taiwan aims to lead in science and technology. Nearly 70 of this year’s invention entries integrate AI, from sensory vests and cockpit safety systems to conversational care devices.

 

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