NPUST’s Professor Hudson Hsu said that the event benefited from close cooperation between NPUST and the A-Kong-Tien Rotary Club, as well as the professional support provided by the Air Force Institute of Technology. Through a series of educational and entertaining activities, the disadvantaged students were acquainted with the charm of national defense aviation technology as they learned knew knowledge and skills. And through the process, visions of potential career paths in aviation science and national defense were planted in the children’s minds, and a sense of responsibility for their country was cultivated in their hearts.

The successful event was another instance of NPUST putting University Social Responsibility (USR) to practice, as they work to inspire dreams and foster a love for science and technology in the hearts of children. In the future, NPUST will continue to promote USR projects, expanding community cooperation and providing more opportunities for learning and growth among disadvantaged groups as they work to promote social harmony and progress.

Professor Hsu said, “the team used an activity where they go upstairs to turn on the lights and downstairs to turn off the lights to help the visitors understand the switch configuration used in circuits. By allowing students to design teaching aids for switching devices and explain the basic concepts of power distribution, the public can learn about safe and correct electricity use.”

The NPUST exhibit attracted a large number of parents and children looking to participate in the experience. It also received enthusiastic responses from the foreign envoys who participated in the event.

The Charity Carnival brought together more than 60 domestic enterprises from finance, technology, food, baking and other industries for cross-domain cooperation and sponsorship. This year, for the first time, the National Palace Museum and eight foreign envoys stationed in Taiwan participated in the exhibition. In the past two years, a total of 800 rural school children and 4,000 new residents and disadvantaged families visited the exhibition. As an active practitioner University Social Responsibility (USR), NPSUT regularly participates in activities designed to enhance community development, and continuously works to promote social well-being and create better conditions for mutual prosperity in Taiwan’s multi-ethnic integrated culture.

Hopes are that by conducting government, industry and academia cooperation, they will be able to cultivate local aerospace technology industry in Pingtung and bring science-based popular science education to more school campuses.

During the summer break, Professor Hudson Hsu of the NPUST Smart Mechatronics Bachelor Degree Program and Associate Professor Chia-Wei Hsu from the Air Force Aviation Academy worked together to carry out science popularization activity for the first time at a remote campus in Linbian, Pingtung. Students learned about the history of the Air Force, the mysteries of flight, and rocket propulsion. With 360-degree paper airplanes making and water rocket, the students build up their understandings of life science. The activities were designed to inspire aerospace ambitions among the children during their summer vacation while also emphasizing the importance of University Social Responsibility (USR).

With the cooperation of the Pingtung County Government, the 2024 Taiwan Science Popularization Train will be used to promote science-based education courses at local elementary, junior high, and high schools and activities will also be held at three railway stations in Pingtung County, including Pingtung City, Linbian and Fangliao. In the activities, focus is being given to the space technology and green materials being developed at the Pingtung Science Park.

With added support from the corporate elites affiliated with local Rotary Clubs, they will also promote talent cultivation in such fields as smart agriculture, drone applications, and robotics industries. Additionally, in order cultivation talent in Pingtung’s aerospace industry, Professor Hudson Hsu is cooperating with Director General Shu-Chen Chang of the Pingtung County Industrial Policy Council to organize a series of industry forums on aerospace and green materials technology. Through talent cultivation, trade exhibitions and other activities, hopes are to help industry in Pingtung County’s to advance to new levels and experience global integration.

NPUST’s Professor Hudson Hsu said the activity was about “practicing university’s social responsibility (USR) and helping guide local corporate social responsibility”. Not only are they promoting community co-prosperity through science, education, and environmental sustainability, but they are also working to ignite local culture in villages for military families.

The event provided an opportunity for children to have fun as they put their English language skills to the test and learned new things. With various “checkpoints” set up, the children waited excitedly in the lines as they made their way from one level to the next. The themes were rich and diverse, including military, constellations, astronomy, aviation, vehicles, ships, tourism, and catering. The event also included a tour of the air force military dependents’ village, allowing the participants to gain an in-depth understanding of its culture and history.

Visitors had a chance to take part in a variety of experiential activities, which taught them about pneumatic line-throwing guns, clam and pig identification, electrical wiring, polarizing lens experience, gravity and inertia, atmospheric pressure, and much more.

Additionally, Rotary International District 3510 invited 8 foreign exchange high school students from six countries, including the United States, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Thailand to participate in the activities. Under the leadership of the 3510 district chairman, D.G. Kent, and his team, they held a “Science and Technology English Challenge” and “Parachute Water Rocket” experiential activity to promote science education. The venue was like a small international carnival, and the educational and entertaining atmosphere was full of enthusiasm.

During the camp, a number of instructors from the Air Force Aviation Academy, including Chia-Wei Hsu, Chih-Yuan Weng, Bo-wen Lin, He-Ching Lin and Li-kai Liu, shared on such topics as the history of the Air Force, flight principles, hand-thrown aircraft, and parachute water rockets. Three professors from NPUST, including Hudson Hsu, Chun-Fa Cheng, and Chih-hsien Kung, also provided instruction on quadcopters, and GPS and GIS satellite technology applications. Adding some more variety, Professors Ying-Chun Wang and Ching-Min Lee from National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism talked about UFOs and aliens, high-speed rail driving simulations, and cockpit internship experiences of passenger aircraft flight attendants. A total of 10 professors took part in the teaching, aiming to inspire local students and satisfy their curiosity while also promoting national defense aviation and helping to popularize local culture and history.

NPUST’s Professor Hudson Hsu, who is was chief host of the program, said that the Little Aerospace Engineers activity was designed to expand services to the community and the functionality of colleges and universities. “We hope to increase awareness and improve understanding of the Air Force in the local community, and gradually build an aviation science education park in Kaohsiung”. Using Local resources, they are encouraging colleges and universities to work together with primary and secondary schools to promote science education, help students and teachers understand aerospace technology, and develop the local features of the area. The activity of Little Aerospace Engineers has been going on for 13 years now. It is mainly based in Gangshan area of Kaohsiung, which is a training hub for the Air Force. It combines the humanities, history, and the features of local industries to create educational science activities for participants to enjoy. From scientific student research and teacher training to science exhibitions and hand-held machine competitions, the courses cover a wide range of theoretic and practical exercises that are designed to popularize science education while also helping achieve the tacit function of national defense for the people.

Back in Taiwan, a special results presentation was organized on January 10, 2024 at the NPUST Smart Agriculture Center to showcase the winning works. Headed up by NPUST Professor Hudson Hsu, the team of inventors included Professor Chang-Hsien Tai and Assistant Professor Shang Han Tsai, also from NPUST, Associate Professor Ming-Sen Hu and Associate Professor Nan-Ching Yeh of the Air Force Academy, Dr. Chih Ying Chen of Academia Sinica, industry expert Mr. You-Lin Su, and members of the Naval Meteorological & Oceanographic Office. The two inventions responsible for the gold medals and Special Contribution award included a “Low-Carbon Supersonic Shockwave Soil Loosening and Caving Device” and a “Miniature Mobile Deep-Learning Sea Surface Wave Height Prediction System”.

At the results presentation, NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said “I am very honored to report the good news that our team had a double gold medal win at the 17th International Warsaw Invention Show. Their two inventions show that NPUST is making outstanding advancements in environmental sustainability and AI technology. Thanks to all the participating members and partners of the R&D team, our achievements were able to stand out on the international stage. We will continue to work hard to make contributions to technological development and environmental sustainability.”

One of the award-winning works, the “Low-carbon Supersonic Shock Wave Soil Loosening and Caving Device”, uses shockwave technology to loosen soil and increase porosity. The effect it has allows plant roots to benefit from improved ventilation and nutrient absorption, and, in-turn, reduces labor and carbon emissions. The technology can also be used in such military applications as cave, tunnel, or trench construction. The destructive power of the shockwaves can also be used to kill fire ants—making for a tool that can help control the environment without reliance upon polluting agents. For this reason, the invention was not only awarded the gold medal award, but also the “Special Contribution Award” for its ESG and environmental sustainability applications. The other gold medal invention, the “Miniature Mobile Deep-Learning Sea Surface Wave Height Prediction System”, uses innovative AI deep-learning to analyze data from meteorological satellites and weather stations. The system is able to meet the needs of naval operations by predicting wind speed and wave height for the next six days. Unlike previous-created AI prediction models, this technology is able to receive satellite and weather station data at any time, self-correct mathematical operation modules in real time, and thus predict conditions more accurately.

With the students on the NPUST team coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, the competition was an opportunity for them to develop their potential, practice of “learning by doing”, and gain self-confidence to face challenges in life. Eighteen teams entered the competition in total, coming from Tamkang University, Vanung University, Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Feng Chia University, National Formosa University, Cheng Kung University, Air Force Institute of Technology, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, and other colleges and universities. Around 200 people participated in the competition, testing their capabilities in such categories as “Aircraft Design”, “Cargo Capacity”, “Flying Skills” and “Technical Innovation”.

NPUST began as an agriculture school, and evolved with the times to develop in a variety of science and technology orientated fields. Its research combines Industry 4.0, AI, IoT, Big Data, and cloud computing—much of which is being used to develop Smart Agriculture technology. The application of UAVs in farming and animal husbandry is also a hot field of development at the school. Most of the current plant protection drones and aerial photography drones on the market are multi-rotor drones; however, with limited battery and load capacities, they can only stay in the air for around 30 minutes. By developing fixed-wing UAVs with auxiliary applications, flight times can be extended to 2-4 hours, thus greatly improving operations and research capabilities in such areas as agricultural inspections, GIS geographic mapping, air pollution monitoring, ocean exploration, water and soil conservation, vegetation analysis, and meteorological observation. In addition to cultivating talents in electromechanical industries, NPUST’s Smart Mechatronics program strives to develop advanced sea/air UAVs, land/air communication technologies, smart unmanned factories, and various robot applications. NPUST is also cooperating with the Ministry of Education to promote University Social Responsibility (USR), and with the Ministry of Science and Technology to promote relevant education policies. The Vision Class at the university is specially organized to cultivate the professional abilities of students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds based on a belief that these students will become self-reliant in the future and become backbones of various industries as they pursue their dreams in life.

The Taiwan Aerospace Society has been putting on the Taiwan UAV Creative Design Competition annually since 2007, making it the oldest UAV competition in Taiwan. The competition, which brings together industry, government, and academia, was co-organized by the Tamkang University Department of Aerospace Engineering and Dragonfly UAS, with additional assistance provided by Miaoli County Government, the Miaoli County Model Aviation Association, and the Taoyuan City Professional UAV Pilot Association.

Professor Uzu-Kuei Hsu, Director of the program of Artificial Intelligence and Mechatronics at NPUST, collaborated with SOARTECN INC. (Playrobot), a well-known talent cultivation institution in the industry, to conduct AIoT smart environment sensing application training. The training focused on teachers from high schools and universities in the Kaohsiung and Pingtung areas, structured around “curriculum selection, innovative practice, and industry-academia synergy.” The course featured AIoT environment sensing applications as thematic examples, aiming to quickly integrate AI and IoT with local educational characteristics.

With the official launch of the Pingtung Science Park in 2022, focusing on space technology, green materials, and smart agriculture and healthcare, the Kaohsiung-Pingtung region will have 16 universities serving over 70,000 graduates in the next decade. However, the number of graduates with expertise in electromechanics remains insufficient. Under the leadership of President Chang Chin-Lung, NPUST is actively establishing a regional smart electromechanical talent development base. This initiative aims to enable local youth to find employment without moving to northern Taiwan, by integrating teaching equipment among partner schools and expanding educational facilities. The goal is to cultivate local industrial talent with a seamless integration of education and practical application.

During the gathering, President Tsai commented on the way in which Professor Hsu has applied his professional knowledge in the field of aerospace, helping to improve the engine of the IDF Ching-kuo fighter jet and inventing a patented technology used in the F-16 computer monitoring and diagnosis system. During his military service, he was called “the National Army’s king of inventions and the ‘Edison’ of the Air Force”. Devoted to national defense research and development, Hsu has made many contributions to Taiwan’s defense operations and he was warmly applauded by all the other winners at the ceremony. After retiring from the army, Hsu went on to teach at NPUST, and is currently serving as the director of the Smart Mechatronics Program at College of Professional Studies where he has been guiding young students in research.

During the ceremony, Professor Hsu said “my heart is full of gratitude for the honor of receiving this affirmation from the president and from the field. For every inventor, the Outstanding International Inventor award is like an “Oscar”. To be able to win it really is the greatest honor.” In the future, Hsu will continue to apply his talent, invest himself in innovative research and give back to the country. This year, Professor Hsu was also named an International Fellow by the International Alliance of Innovation and Invention Association, a distinction given to select individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the industry and academia. Since 1997, when Hsu was studying for a master’s degree at the National Chung Cheng University College of Science, he has been working closely with the NCSIST Institute of Aeronautics and the Air Force. He has also participated in major national defense research and development projects for fighter jets, missiles and meteorology. In addition to the work he has done on IDF fighter performance, Hsiung Feng III missile design and development, and other long-term commitments to Taiwan’s defense and combat capabilities, Hsu’s enthusiasm for R&D has won him more than 40 domestic and foreign invention patents and resulted in the publishing of 400 papers.

Professor Hsu encourages his students saying if you “face your work, take joy in your work and develop professionalism, you are an expert.” Not only has he made great achievements in the professional field, but he is also enthusiastic about public welfare. Once a recipient of support from the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families, Hsu was determined that after making his own way, he would definitely give back to society. Now he works with the foundation on a talent training program at NPUST designed to give disadvantaged students the opportunity to take part in professional studies. He also organizes science camps during the winter and summer breaks for primary and secondary school children in remote rural areas. Hsu’s tireless pursuit of learning, professional development of academic knowledge, and enthusiasm for the public welfare society set an example for the students, and expectations are that he will help them to become NPUST’s inventors of the future.