ITRI is a not-for-profit R&D organization engaging 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 Overview
ITRI is a world-leading applied technology research institute with more than 6,000 outstanding employees. Its mission is to drive industrial development, create economic value, and enhance social well-being through technology R&D. Founded in 1973, it pioneered in IC development and started to nurture new tech ventures and deliver its R&D results to industries. ITRI has set up and incubated over 280 companies, including listed companies such as TSMC, UMC, Taiwan Mask Corp., Epistar Corp., Mirle Automation Corp., and Taiwan Biomaterial Co.
ITRI is dedicated to creating new value and identifying emerging demands for partners while facing global challenges and opportunities, such as urbanization, aging societies, new production and consumption patterns, climate change caused by global warming, and a post-COVID-19 era.
2030 Technology Strategy and Roadmap
To innovate a better future, ITRI has drawn up its 2030 Technology Strategy and Roadmap, in which it enhances the development of ICT enabling technologies and focuses on three application domains: Smart Living, Quality Health, and Sustainable Environment. The Institute strives to use technological innovation to shape new lifestyles, develop market-oriented solutions, and find uncontested spaces.
Smart Living
Digital transformation has become a driving force for global economic innovation. With the prevalence of IoT and AI, people are seeking a faster, easier, and smarter life with the introduction of intelligent devices/services and new business models. Therefore ITRI is developing personalized devices and services, autonomous mobility systems, and smart industries and services for the Smart Living domain. ITRI is also working on human-machine interaction, enhanced imaging and perception systems, autonomous decision-making and control, and smart business technologies and services.
Quality Health
As many countries are moving towards hyper-aged societies, demands for medical personnel and healthcare resources are increasing. New business opportunities in the emerging diagnosis and treatment market are also created through integrated solutions that include smart long-term care systems, personalized/precision medicine, and healthcare models. In the domain of Quality Health, ITRI leverages Taiwan’s strengths in ICT and medical care systems to develop smart medical and healthcare technologies. The R&D scope includes smart medical electronics, regenerative medicine, wearable devices, digital healthcare services, and many more.
Sustainable Environment
Due to the current climate change, greenhouse effects, and limited energy sources and resources, how to coexist with Mother Nature has become an important issue when developing new technologies. A sustainable environment can be maintained by creating a circular ecosystem, cutting down time and energy consuming production processes, and discovering green energy sources. ITRI is thereby enhancing the technology development in the circular economy, smart manufacturing, and green energy and environment fields by exploring high-value circular materials, smart manufacturing systems, and supply chain management to achieve ecological symbiosis.
ICT Enabling Technology
ICT enabling technology is the backbone supporting multiple applications in the 2030 Technology Strategy and Roadmap. As a result, ITRI turns to AI, semiconductor, communications, cybersecurity, and cloud technologies to foster technology breakthrough in the above three application domains. At the same time, ICT-enabling technology can ensure data privacy and information safety when combating cyber threats.
Services
ITRI is ceaselessly developing advanced technologies and strengthening interdisciplinary integration to respond the latest industry trends. Moreover, it offers comprehensive R&D collaboration and business consulting services, such as contract research, small-scale pilot production, process improvement, calibration and measuring, technology transfers, and IP value-added services. With its open labs and incubators to promote startups and entrepreneurship, ITRI is active to speed up technological development in industries and nurture emerging high-tech businesses.
ITRI is also applying technologies to improve social welfare. In addition to launching technology application and services, technology education promotion, and corporate volunteering programs, the Institute established a platform that can integrate researchers’ efforts to give back to society with their R&D results.
Collaboration
Aiming to connect the global innovative technology ecosystem network and link Taiwan with the world, ITRI set up branch locations in the U.S., Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, and Russia. By providing a global technology cooperation platform, ITRI is able to facilitate stronger and broader long-term partnerships and bilateral/multilateral collaborations among the international community.