Initializing Satellite & Vehicle-Carried ITC Development

TAIPEI, TAIWAN--(Marketwire - Mar 26, 2012) - Department of Industrial Technology (DoIT) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) kicked off the "2012 Prototyping Topic of Galileo Pro" competition last Friday (23^rd Mar.) in Taipei, Taiwan. The event not only challenges the imagination and creativity, but also the prototyping capability of the participants. Enrollment for the event begins on the 1st of April and lasts through midnight of the 30th of June (Central European Time). The champion of the event will be awarded with a prize of 10,000 Euro and the round-trip air ticket to Europe for award ceremony. Official website for the event� http://galileo.itri.org.tw/english/index.aspx

ITRI successfully persuaded European Union last year to include "Prototyping" in the competition, so as to cut short the time frame for a creative concept to become a prototype. The theme of the 2012 competition will focus on "Connected Vehicle." All entries should be in compliance with the Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments/Dedicated Short Range Communications (WAVE/DSRC) specifications and current global positioning technology in order to provide useful applications. Last year ITRI's "Geo-coupon" was awarded the champion of the GNSS Living lab Prize. It's a coupon-generating application making use of the GPS function of a smart phone to download coupons of local stores.

Dr. Chou Sheng-lin, Deputy Director of Information and Communications Research Laboratories of ITRI points out, Taiwan is noted for its strong information and communications technologies and related R&D capabilities. "Vehicle-carried IT and communications technologies" is an arena integrating electronics, communications, GPS, and traffic control technologies, and such an integration will produce many innovative operation and business models. "'2012 Prototyping Topic of Galileo Pro' will foster an innovative, cross-technology development platform, enabling Taiwan's industries to become a front-runner in international trends and making Taiwan an ideal starting point to enter the world market for vehicle-carried IT and communications products," says Dr. Chou.

According to DoIT, the vehicle-carried IT and communications industry is a development focus of the government, which set its eyes on industries with the potential to integrate innovative products, technologies, and services. Because vehicle-carried IT and communications applications have the potential to integrate innovative technologies and services, it is the best choice for value-added development. DoIT hopes the competition will bring about more industrial innovation, forging international ties as well as broadening the vision and business opportunities.

ITRI's WAVE/DSRC technology can transmit signals within a distance of one kilometer. A vehicle equipped with ITRI's WAVE/DSRC device can process and relay the signals within 0.02 seconds; it can interact with another roadside vehicle, traffic control systems, or even pedestrians. When the vehicle is moving with a relative speed of 200 km/h, the data communication still works effectively so as to improve traffic safety for the drivers and pedestrians. The system can be integrated with roadside parking and electronic payment systems, making it easier finding parking space and paying parking fee.

About ITRI (http://www.itri.org.tw)
Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is Taiwan's largest and one of the world's leading high-tech R&D institutions. Founded in 1973, ITRI has nurtured more than 70 CEOs, 171 innovative companies, and accumulated more than 16,000 patents. ITRI has offices in the United States, Japan, Russia and Germany in an effort to extend its R&D scope and promote opportunities for international cooperation.