Tag: Smart City

Gogolook announced that it has officially joined Foxconn's ecosystem as a smart city partner. The two companies will focus on the "smart city" field. Gogolook will leverage its AI-powered anti-fraud technology and vast fraud intelligence database to assist Foxconn in promoting its AI-driven CityGPT platform, thereby completing a crucial "fraud prevention" component of the smart city strategy. This collaboration was revealed at the "2025 Foxconn Technology Day" (HHTD25) last week, where Gogolook CEO Chien-Fu Kuo was invited to speak on the topic of "From Smart Cities to Trusted Cities—A New Architecture for Urban Resilience Driven by AI." Foxconn is currently actively developing smart city solutions in Taiwan and overseas markets, using CityGPT as its core and incorporating city-level threat intelligence and trust verification. Gogolook's role is to provide protection solutions from the individual to the city level. In his speech, Kuo Chien-fu pointed out that the trust governance infrastructure in the AI ​​era comprises three key elements: "data traceability and integrity," "content authenticity verification," and "fraud and threat detection." To this end, Gogolook will provide applications such as "city threat intelligence," "city-level models," and "trust verification APIs," thereby aligning with the needs of Foxconn's CityGPT and Super APP. This means that in the future smart cities built by Foxconn, a complete anti-fraud cycle, from intelligent early warning and real-time notification to data integration, will be realized. Integrating Whoscall and Watchmen, the initiative will expand from Taiwan to Asia. Specifically, Gogolook's digital anti-fraud app, Whoscall, will be combined with enterprise anti-fraud services Watchmen and ScamAdviser to jointly address the fundamental municipal issue of "fraud prevention" for cities. The two parties plan to use local governments in Taiwan as the first demonstration site, and then gradually expand to overseas markets. Gogolook stated that it has already partnered with the local government, telecom operators, and financial institutions in Thailand to develop a solution, and will continue to expand this smart city anti-fraud application, which integrates the Foxconn ecosystem, to other Asian markets such as Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and IoT technologies, global digital transformation has entered a new phase of competition for smart environments and cross-domain talent. Cisco and Jintai Technology officially launched the "Asia Bay AIoT Ecosystem Development Base and R&D Center" in Kaohsiung, integrating local and international innovation capabilities to promote the implementation of smart harbor applications. With cybersecurity, AIoT, and data governance at its core, it aims to become a key base for Taiwan's transformation into a major smart industry hub in the Asia-Pacific region. ▲Cisco and Jintai Technology launch Asia Bay AIoT Ecosystem Development Base and R&D Center in Kaohsiung. This project focuses on three major innovation platforms: a smart data platform, an AI decision-making platform, and a global maintenance support system. It connects 25 technology partners and 21 local companies, initially launching 12 smart application verifications at Kaohsiung Port Pier 70, covering scenarios such as personnel safety, ESG carbon emission monitoring, and hazardous gas detection. Through AI image analysis and digital twin technology, it aims to create replicable and exportable smart harbor module solutions. Cisco's Global Chief Innovation Officer, Guy Diedrich, stated, "Taiwan has demonstrated strong capabilities in digital economic development, and Kaohsiung, as the starting point of a smart hub, will leverage its AIoT ecosystem to drive industrial innovation, digital transformation, and sustainable development, consolidating its strategic position in the Asia-Pacific smart industry." ▲Cisco currently provides numerous application technologies in the AIoT field, ensuring the safe and stable operation of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In addition to industrial implementation, the base has simultaneously launched a talent development program, aiming to train 5000 AIoT professionals within two years and assist 1500 technical personnel in obtaining Cisco international certifications. Furthermore, by combining local universities, vocational training institutions, and international curriculum resources, Kaohsiung will be promoted as a hub for smart industry and cybersecurity talent in the Asia-Pacific region. Future efforts will also include overseas visits and the introduction of international instructors to broaden the global perspective of local talent. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai pointed out, "This is a significant milestone for Kaohsiung as it transforms from an industrial city into a smart technology hub. Through collaboration with Cisco and Jintai Technology, the Kaohsiung Smart Harbor Project has gradually yielded results. In the future, we will continue to strengthen our strategic layout in AIoT, ecosystem, and talent to cultivate momentum for industrial upgrading." Jintai Technology Chairman Wu Hsing-ho emphasized, "The Asia Bay Base is not only a technology research and development site, but also the starting point for verifying, replicating, and promoting smart harbor solutions. We hope to export Kaohsiung's successful experience to other international ports and smart industry scenarios, allowing Taiwan's AIoT solutions to go global." ▲ Combining AIoT technology applications allows real-time display of container throughput data in the Kaohsiung Port area, facilitating management personnel to monitor and understand the port's container handling operations. Currently, this project has attracted over NT$100 million in investment. In the future, Kaohsiung will serve as a demonstration node to promote the expansion of modular AIoT applications to other industries and international markets, strengthening Taiwan's global competitiveness in digital transformation and smart industries. With the official launch of the Asia Bay AIoT Ecosystem Development Base and R&D Center, Cisco, Jintai Technology, and local industry partners will continue to deepen their cooperation, from smart harbors and smart manufacturing to cross-domain cybersecurity and sustainable applications, comprehensively promoting the innovative implementation of smart industries and driving the new development of Kaohsiung's smart city. In the future, this model will be replicated in more fields, with Splunk becoming an important application technology asset. In a post-event interview, Cisco Taiwan General Manager Lin Yue-tian stated that the Asia Bay AIoT Ecosystem Development Base and R&D Center project had been in discussions with the Kaohsiung City Government for three years, and had also communicated with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and other agencies. This initiative aims to bring Cisco's numerous end-to-end AIoT technologies to practical application scenarios, and has chosen Kaohsiung Port's Container Terminal 70 (Hongming Terminal) for actual industry verification. This will improve the operational management efficiency of traditional ports through wireless paging and personnel monitoring, and enhance personnel safety and port utilization efficiency. ▲In addition to establishing the Asia Bay AIoT Ecosystem Development Base and R&D Center, Cisco Taiwan General Manager Lin Yue-tian has also implemented practical technology applications at Kaohsiung Port. Lin stated that Cisco had previously worked on a similar case in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and plans to replicate the same model in more areas of Taiwan, applying Cisco technology to traditional manufacturing, semiconductors, assembly, smart transportation, and even smart healthcare. Regarding the acquisition of Splunk, a visualization data business company, last year, Lin explained that the related technologies will become Cisco's main application assets, thereby driving the growth of cybersecurity, digitalization, and artificial intelligence applications.

Toyota announced its "Woven City" smart city project at CES 2025, with the first phase scheduled to open this fall and house approximately 100 residents. The "Woven City" project, proposed at CES 2020, utilizes the former Higashi-Fuji plant site in Susono City, Shizuoka Prefecture, near Mount Fuji, covering approximately 5 square meters. The project aims to create a smart city incorporating Toyota's intelligent driving and robotics technologies, with construction commencing in 2021. The first phase of "Woven City" is now complete and has received Platinum certification, the highest level of green building certification in the United States. It is expected to open this fall and welcome approximately 100 residents. The road network within "Woven City" is divided into three types: those for autonomous vehicles, personal transportation, and pedestrian access. Robots and drones will also be incorporated to ensure resident safety and provide companionship and assistance. The logistics and freight system within the smart city operates underground and through automation. The city's basic electricity is generated from hydrogen fuel, and the city is also collaborating with companies such as ENEOS, NTT, and Rinnai to provide basic energy and communication services. Currently, approximately 100 residents are expected to move in, primarily Toyota employees and their families. However, 360 more residents, including creators and inventors, will be invited later. Upon completion of the second phase of construction, the number of residents is expected to increase to 2000.

Regarding smart city applications, Seagate shared its current data storage and management solutions application cases. It also announced the launch of the SkyHawk AI 20TB enterprise-grade hard drive, designed to meet the storage needs of smart cities, in the Taiwan market in April. Furthermore, it announced the launch of a consumer hard drive recycling program in Taiwan as part of its strategy to build sustainable cities. Jeff Fochtman, Senior Vice President of Business and Marketing at Seagate, stated that smart city applications will be accompanied by massive data storage needs, including data generated from thousands of surveillance cameras and millions of IoT devices. This data will form the foundation for applications such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics, and is essential for the stable operation of smart cities. Effectively storing, transmitting, and analyzing this data will be a significant challenge. Especially considering that autonomous vehicles and automated factories each generate up to 1 petabyte annually, and smart cities typically generate nearly 2 petabytes or more, proper data storage will be a crucial issue in the future. The previously proposed LYVE series storage solutions address different storage needs and usage modes, including distributed computing and cloud-based collaborative computing, through portable swappable storage designs and cloud storage platforms. The newly announced SkyHawk AI 20TB enterprise-class hard drive, as explained by Jeff Fochtman, is designed for network cameras with AI analytics capabilities and is suitable for edge security deployments. It supports up to 64 HD video streams and 32 AI computing streams, and can intelligently adjust presets and analysis results for greater accuracy. Furthermore, built with ImagePerfect AI firmware, this hard drive maintains zero frame drops, rapidly processes large amounts of image data, and effectively simplifies the workflow of public safety management agencies, thereby improving overall management efficiency. The SkyHawk AI 20TB also features SkyHawk Health Management, which analyzes the usage environment and conditions to provide preventative measures when necessary, proactively protecting the user's Video Imaging and Analytics (VIA) storage device. It delivers a workload capacity of up to 550TB per year, more than three times that of a standard VIA hard drive, and boasts a mean time to failure (MTBF) of up to 2 million hours, significantly improving data storage reliability without affecting operational performance. In addition to launching the new SkyHawk AI 20TB to support smart city storage operations, Seagate also explained its commitment to simplifying e-waste generation by launching a consumer hard drive recycling program in Taiwan. This program aims to reduce the environmental impact of e-waste through replacement and obsolescence, serving as part of its strategy to build sustainable cities. This will be achieved through its Autonomous Drive technology...

Kymco recently announced plans to integrate its Ionex 3.0 battery swapping station system with city streetlights. In the event of a sudden power outage, the swapping station's batteries can provide emergency power, keeping the streetlights lit. Kymco showcased this solution at the 2022 Smart City Expo, presenting it as part of its smart city application design. According to Kymco, the scale of its Ionex 3.0 battery swapping stations is gradually expanding throughout Taiwan. This integration with city streetlights aims to use the reverse power supply method of the batteries stored in the Ionex swapping stations to provide emergency power in the event of a power outage, ensuring that streetlights remain lit even during a power outage and guaranteeing road lighting needs. Similar to Gogoro's collaboration with FarEasTone, which integrates Gogoro Network's smart batteries with traffic signals to maintain their operation during a power outage, Kymco's reverse power supply application is initially focused on streetlights at intersections, but will later be used as an emergency power source for traffic signals. In addition, Kymco has also added solar panels to the top of the streetlights. In addition to replenishing the battery power through Taipower under normal circumstances, the solar panels can continue to convert electricity into power in the event of a sudden power outage and store it in the battery for use, thereby achieving the goal of using green energy.

Last year, Gogoro Network partnered with Shengming Technology to apply GoStation batteries to smart parking pillars, thus entering the smart city application market. At the 2022 Smart City Expo, Gogoro Network announced a collaboration with Far EasTone Telecommunications. The two companies will jointly build an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) system for smart traffic signals, with Far EasTone becoming a PBGN partner. The UPS system, developed through this collaboration, has been installed on Taipei streets for three months. Using Gogoro Network smart batteries as the power source for the smart traffic signals, it ensures that the signals can continue to operate normally even during earthquakes, typhoons, or sudden power outages caused by human factors, preventing disruptions to road safety, traffic congestion, and even endangering the lives and property of road users. Actual testing has shown that Gogoro Network's smart batteries can maintain uninterrupted traffic signal systems (UPS) for up to 3.5 hours. Currently, each intersection's UPS is equipped with two Gogoro Network smart batteries, connected to Far EasTone Telecom's UPS monitoring platform. This enables real-time monitoring and proactively sends warning messages in case of anomalies, allowing maintenance teams to detect problems early. If the power outage is longer, battery swapping can extend the UPS's operating time, preventing disruption to road safety during power outages. Gogoro Network tested its UPS at the intersection of Zhongxiao East Road Section 3 and Songshan Road in Taipei City at the end of last year. During the large-scale power outage by Taipower on March 3rd of this year, the system functioned effectively, maintaining traffic signal operation at the intersection. Gogoro Network plans to continue collaborating with Far EasTone Telecom to extend the battery-swappable UPS to more cities and counties, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of smart city infrastructure. ▲Operates via two sets of smart batteries▲Serves as an emergency power source in the event of a sudden power outage, and can even extend the power supply time through battery swapping if necessary▲The power supply status can be monitored through a network system.

Sidewalk Labs, a Google subsidiary founded in June 2015 with the goal of improving city efficiency, recently announced its dissolution, transferring its product and technology teams to the Google ecosystem. Daniel Doctoroff, who had served as CEO of Sidewalk Labs since its inception, will resign due to a family history of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), a disease he has been diagnosed with. He will dedicate more time to his family and to the Target ALS research organization he founded in 2010. At its inception, Sidewalk Labs proposed providing free, ad-supported Wi-Fi in New York City phone booths, along with services such as phone charging, free local calls, and touch-screen access to city information and public transportation. Further development included the Quayside smart city project in Toronto, Canada, in 2017, which incorporates autonomous vehicles, innovative waste recycling technologies, dedicated bike lanes, and new building designs, while using surveillance cameras to monitor air quality and urban activity in real time. However, the Quayside project later faced considerable controversy. Local residents worried about privacy breaches and refused to be "guinea pigs" for the experimental project. Even though the planned area was reduced from 800 acres (323 million square meters) to 12 acres (approximately 48,000 square meters), it was ultimately canceled in May of last year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, amidst significant opposition. With the CEO's departure and the company's preparation to merge into the Google ecosystem, the Sidewalk Labs team will be led by former Urban Products President Prem Ramaswami and Chief Technology Officer Craig Nevill-Manning. The parking management service Pebble, building power management service Mesa, real estate design tool Delve, and home power management service Affordable Electrification will all become Google products. As for Canopy Buildings, the automated factory originally planned to manufacture large wooden structures, it will be merged into Google's parent company, Alphabet.

Five French companies, including multinational IT services management company Atos, software systems service provider Dassault Systèmes, automotive company Renault Group, chipmaker STMicroelectronics, and electronic component manufacturer Thales Group, recently announced the formation of the "Software République," aiming to create a new open ecosystem for sustainable smart transportation. The alliance's purpose is to achieve synergistic benefits by pooling expertise from different fields. Partners will jointly develop and promote software and systems, providing cities, regions, businesses, and citizens with richer and more diverse sustainable transportation solutions. The proposed sustainable transportation solutions are expected to integrate technological resources from different industries and be built on an open architecture to facilitate future sustainable expansion. This will also help European industries gain a leading position and greater influence, and the alliance will open its doors to more members in the future, thereby promoting greater collaborative development. The Software Alliance will next discuss two key issues: "Plug and Charge" and "Optimizing Transportation Flows Across Regions." The former relates to the design of charging stations that allow different brands of electric vehicles to use interchangeably, enabling users to plug in and charge without any effort. The latter focuses on creating optimal transportation plans for different regions, providing better traffic flow, transportation comfort, and more efficient energy management models. It also aims to alleviate traffic congestion in various emergencies and facilitate better urban land planning. To promote innovation, the Software Alliance will also seek to establish an investment fund to invest in startups with high growth potential. Furthermore, it plans to create an incubation center to support the development of transportation technology startups. Through the incubation center, startups can access collaborative virtual development environments and seek mentorship through valuable networks. To launch this ecosystem for startups and universities, the Software Alliance partners plan to launch a data challenge to encourage the development of future transportation technologies such as electric, connected, and autonomous driving.

At its San Diego headquarters event, Qualcomm shared its current insights on 5G network technology development and its vision for 6G. They also demonstrated how 5G technology can improve urban traffic flow, increase production line efficiency, and even transform existing computing models. Qualcomm believes that many current 5G applications were already proposed during the development of 4G technology. These include applications like the Internet of Things (IoT), connected vehicles, smart industry, and smart cities. These were envisioned during the transition from 3G to 4G and are now being used as practical applications in the 5G era. Indeed, many current 5G connectivity applications were mentioned in the early stages of 4G network development. This is because with the significant increase in network bandwidth, many high-speed wireless network applications, such as the ability to download large amounts of data in a given number of seconds, are easily quantifiable and frequently used in the development of new network technologies. For example, when a factory production line uses 5G networks to establish connections between various devices, it achieves greater and more stable wireless application effects, reducing the impact of wired connections on workflow and the hassle of checking each connection individually when problems arise. Furthermore, the deployment scale can be flexibly adjusted according to the factory's production needs, simplifying overall maintenance and operation. Improved data transmission efficiency also leads to smoother production line operation and reduced power consumption during operation. Similarly, in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) applications that utilize mobile networks, vehicles with constant connectivity can "connect and communicate" with each other. They can also continuously obtain the latest road information through smart traffic signal devices with similar network capabilities, allowing drivers to anticipate road conditions ahead. Connected vehicles can even slow down or proactively avoid hazards. Additionally, it makes navigation planning more efficient, reducing overall travel time and thus reducing fuel and electricity consumption. Extending these applications to the entire urban environment, the integration of 5G network resources will further improve the efficiency of road traffic management, directing urban traffic to other idle roads as much as possible, thereby reducing traffic congestion during peak hours such as commuting and major events. On the other hand, continuous network connectivity can even enable real-time monitoring of accidents such as fires in the city, allowing the police and fire systems to operate more efficiently, rather than relying solely on reports from others. Through real-time monitoring of various data and information dissemination through digital dashboards, urban residents can also cooperate with real-time reporting systems to prepare for various natural disasters or climate change earlier. These applications could have met the needs during the 4G network development phase. Is the application of 5G networks simply to meet the needs of a larger number of connected devices and a larger data transmission volume? 5G networks are not just about increased transmission bandwidth; they also include many new technologies and applications. Many 5G network technologies are based on 4G network technologies. Indeed, many people's imagination of 5G networks is limited to another increase in network transmission bandwidth. However, the development of 5G networks is actually more about the application of new technologies and spectrum resources, as well as the more flexible usage characteristics that can be provided through software definition. This is not simply about increasing network transmission bandwidth, unlike the transitions from 2G to 3G and from 3G to 4G. For example, the unlicensed spectrum, which is considered a key application for 5G technology, allows the deployment of 5G networks to utilize publicly available frequency bands (such as the globally used 5GHz band), unused frequency bands in different countries and regions (such as the 6GHz band open for Wi-Fi transmission in the United States), and frequency bands designated for specific public uses (such as the 3.7GHz band approved for 5G network services in Germany). This allows for greater flexibility in adjusting the transmission bandwidth of 5G networks to meet different needs. Besides unlicensed spectrum, technologies including millimeter wave (mmWave), beamforming, and MIMO (Multi-input Multi-output) are all closely related to the development of 5G networks. Connectivity methods such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth also complement 5G technology. Even battery and energy technologies will be improved to extend the lifespan of connected devices. Therefore, as 5G technology continues to develop, many related technologies will also be updated. Applications such as smart manufacturing, smart cities, smart homes, and smart offices, and even more human-computer interaction and computing usage patterns in the future, are likely to undergo significant changes with the development of 5G technology, thereby driving greater market value growth.

Earlier, Toyota and Panasonic announced a collaboration, aiming to combine their respective technological strengths with mobile transportation and smart connectivity concepts to establish a joint venture focused on smart city development. Prior to this, Toyota had already announced a partnership with Panasonic to establish a new company manufacturing prismatic batteries for electric vehicles. This latest announcement of the joint venture, Prime Life Technologies, will further target smart city applications. Currently, Toyota and Panasonic each hold equal shares in Prime Life Technologies, with Mitsui & Co. planning to invest as well. The joint venture is expected to officially commence operations in January 2020. Panasonic believes that future home life will be closely integrated with IoT applications and connected to more mobile devices. Toyota has accumulated considerable experience and data in mobile vehicles over a long period. Combining the technological capabilities and data resources of both companies is expected to create a more scalable smart city application model, generating greater value for users' daily lives.