The final of the 2018 National Microcomputer Application System Design Creation Competition, organized by the Department of Information Engineering of National Central University, with the purpose to encourage teachers and students to engage in micro-computer hardware design, cultivate their practical design and application capabilities, enhance students' interest in learning, improve the level of information education and information industry in Taiwan, and promote their participation in world design competitions. The competition includes several categories: Robots, Instrument and Automatic Control Group, Signal Processing and Communication Group, and Intelligent Life Application Group.

【Prof. Wan-Rong Chang (first from right) and members of the Electronic Science and Technology Laboratory, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology: Sheng-Lun Yeh, Li Su, Jun-Yi Chiu, and Kang-Wei Su. Their work "Fatigue Driving Warning System" won an excellent award in Intelligent Life Application Group.】

Zheng-Hao Chen, Zhi-Shuan Chang, Yue-Shun Yu, and Zong-Han Yang formed the team "Required Medicine for Helping Blind" under the direction of Prof. Wan-Rong Chang of the Electronic Science and Technology Network Laboratory, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology. They won third place in Robot, Instrument and Automatic Control Group with their work "Drug Identification Aids to the Visually-Impaired Supported by Cloud Platform." The system architecture of the identification aids is composed of intelligent spectacles, drug identification devices, and a cloud security management platform for visually people. When the visually impaired puts on the intelligent spectacles, the camera in the spectacles will capture the image of the drug. The image will then be transmitted to the drug identification device via USB to identify the type and quantity of the drug before a voice notify the user whether the drug is correct or not. The system employs AI depth learning technology to identify drugs at a successful recognition rate of more than 97%, which can effectively solve the problem of mistaking multiple drugs by the elderly with multiple chronic diseases.

【Zheng-Hao Chen, Zhi-Shuan Chang, Yue-Shun Yu, and Zong-Han Yang formed the team "Required Medicine for Helping Blind" under the direction of Prof. Wan-Rong Chang (third from left) of the Electronic Science and Technology Network Laboratory, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology. They won third place in Robot, Instrument and Automatic Control Group with their work "Drug Identification Aids to the Visually-Impaired Supported by Cloud Platform."】

Another award-winning work of the lab is the "Fatigue Driving Warning System," which was created by Sheng-Lun Yeh, Li Su, Jun-Yi Chiu, and Kang-Wei Su. They won an excellence award in Intelligent Life Application Group. The "Fatigue Driving Warning System" features sleepiness detection devices based on wearable intelligent spectacles, with which the team used the self-made 850nm infrared ray receiver to determine the eye opening situation and observe the frequency of blinking on the part of a driver. Through the system, the driver's fatigue and sleepiness can be detected immediately, and the driver is immediately alerted and waken up. At the same time, the information about the driver can be uploaded to a cloud management platform through low-cost, low-power consuming and high-quality SigFox transmission.

As shown by Director Wan-Rong of the AioT Smart Network Application Technology R&D Center, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, the two works are based on the cloud platform using SigFox wireless communication technology. The SigFox wireless communication technology operator in Taiwan—UNABI Network Co., Ltd.—has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Department of Electronic Engineering in 2017 to provide the teachers and students with free access to the company's base station for 5 years while developing their innovative networking works. It is highly hoped that the center can develop a variety of artificial intelligence combined with IoT applications through connection to the SigFox base station and SigFox cloud platform.