Issue 2 2020

Acquisition International - Issue 2 2020 23 Dec19102 Taiwanese firm Winmate Inc, a pioneer in the rugged technology space, was recently awarded Innovative Global Rugged Mobile Technology Developer – 2019. We speak to Winmate’s CEO, Ken Lu about the firm and its cutting-edge technological advancements. Rugged and Reliable inmate Inc is a manufacturer of rugged technology, specifically for the transportation and logistics, marine and military, oil and gas and medical sectors. Founded in 1996 in Taipei, Taiwan, Winmate still operates from this location and houses its headquarters, research and development facility and production lines, despite the company now having offices worldwide. Initially starting out manufacturing industrial displays and touchscreens, Winmate Inc later expanded to digital signage, embedded panel PC, rugged tablets, and handheld devices. Today the company creates intelligent systems that advance the Internet of Everything (IOE) and communications throughout enterprise around the globe. Winmate not only supplies a very wide and deep range of standard products, but also provides professional services in customising products and project management to satisfy all customer requirements. Going into further detail, Ken tells us more about the firm’s unique offerings. “Winmate is leading edge computing with solutions that drive data- to-decision applications across industries. Our products include motherboards, blades, chassis, modules, gateways, systems, and end-to-end solutions based on industry standard form factors, as well as an extensive line of test & measurement products and smart touch computers, displays, and handhelds that support the global transition to always connected systems.” In maritime activities and naval forces, rapid, reliable and durable technology is mission critical. Winmate’s Marine series products feature industrial-grade design and undergo rigorous testing, going beyond military standard compliance, to ensure safety and performance. “Marine grade computers are becoming very important in marine application, including basic gauge reading displaying, automation control, and complex navigation,” embellishes Ken. “Although the requirements for different kinds of marine computing applications are very different, they all share one very important requirement: Reliability.” As regulatory requirements take precedence in the market, Winmate offers durable displays that can resist strong vibrations, cold and hot environments, and unstable power supply. Winmate’s products are IP65 rated, making them dust and water resistant. Determined to further enhance user experience with newer technologies, the firm has optimised its displays to meet demands for ambient readability by antireflective (AR), anti-glare (AG) coating, enhancing panel backlit, and reducing reflection. In addition, Winmate’s colour calibration process for electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) complies with international maritime organization (IMO) to render optimal performance. “Our systems also offer an elegant edge-to-edge design, as well as rugged construction, powerful performance, and flexible mounting options,” says Ken. “The flat design provides great protection and reduces the gap for possible accumulation of dust and liquid. True flat design also gives a slim and elegant appearance to the device.” W Recently, Winmate has partnered with Taiwan-based AlphaInfo to include its Artificial Intelligence (AI) software framework into the Box-IWAI - AlphaInfo specializes in the development and application of AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, data mining and cloud computing. Optimized by Intel’s OpenVINO toolkit, AlphaInfo’s AI-based LPR system is available to law enforcement pre-loaded into Winmate’s Box-IWAI. CEO, Ken Winmate Inc. said, “AI is enabling public safety vehicles to be smarter and more effective; however, in order to do so, in- vehicle computers must be up to the task of accurately and efficiently processing complex algorithms.” “Today, public safety vehicles are starting to utilise more AI applications. For example, police cars can be outfitted with face recognition software to help identify persons registered to criminal databases. Even more often deployed are license plate recognition (LPR) algorithms, also known as automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) or automatic number plate recognition (ANPR). Law enforcement can use LPR to identify vehicles and check them against various blacklists (e.g., cars with outstanding warrants, expired registration, stolen vehicles, etc.), which they can connect to via cellular networks.” The latest Edge computer offering from Winmate, Taiwan-based manufacturer of rugged technologies, is a fanless embedded VPU- based in-vehicle computer - Box-IWAI. The in-vehicle computer is easy to set up and best suited for smart traffic AI applications, as well as use in public safety vehicles such as police cars. With AlphaInfo’s LPR software, law enforcement can simultaneously grab high-resolution images of license plates from passing vehicles, as well each vehicle’s color and make. “As the demand for smarter systems and solutions continues to grow across various in-vehicle applications, the need for advanced in-vehicle computers with increased processing power able to run AI algorithms will only intensify,” states Ken. “In-vehicle computers will need to support the most advanced processors and be optimally designed for moving, ever-changing environments (e.g., VPU, fanless, mini size, PoE support, extreme temperature, low power consumption, etc.). The future of in-vehicle computers must not just meet basic requirements, they need to exceed them to accurately and effectively execute constantly advancing intelligent applications.” Company: Ken Lu, Winmate Inc. Web Address: www.winmate.com