Yunlin County Showcases Innovations in Fire Safety and Agricultural Tech

The Yunlin County government hosted an achievement presentation for its 2025 Local Industry Innovation and R&D Promotion Plan (SBIR), highlighting the innovative outcomes of 19 businesses that received guidance. The event showcased the forward-looking potential of local entrepreneurship in Yunlin.

Among the featured innovations was a "Smart Factory Fire Warning System" developed by Wang Xin-wei, the second-generation owner of a chemical trading company in Huwei. Leveraging his background in electrical automation engineering, Wang created a system that uses AI and factory surveillance cameras to detect fire or smoke incidents. The system provides real-time alerts to managers' phones, significantly reducing response times and enhancing fire prevention efficiency. This system is particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized enterprises, costing approximately 40,000 NT dollars and capable of monitoring up to six camera feeds, a cost-effective alternative to the millions required for larger systems.

Another notable development came from Xiuluan agricultural entrepreneur Sun Xiao-ru, who collaborated with a professional team led by retired professor Xie Jin-yuan. They developed a "Smart Pest and Disease Monitoring and Drug-Free Health Treatment System." This system addresses the challenges farmers face in monitoring crop diseases and pests, where traditional sample testing can take up to two days. The new system, which has accumulated over 17,000 greenhouse disease data points, uses AI to predict outcomes and monitors fields every 10 minutes, delivering results within a minute. It employs electromagnetic waves based on the covalent bonds of pathogen DNA to inhibit bacterial growth, eliminating the need for chemical agents and reducing labor costs.

Professor Xie mentioned that this system can also be adapted for livestock environments, such as chicken and pig farms, using different frequencies to target specific pathogens without drugs. Companies in Singapore, Canada, and Indonesia have expressed interest in adopting this technology. County Magistrate Chang Li-shan emphasized the program's competitive nature, with an acceptance rate below 60%, and pledged continued support to enhance the R&D and execution capabilities of participating businesses.