On November 20th, Tom Wang, Founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Advantech, delivered a special lecture at the Department of Electronic Engineering at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST). The topic of the lecture was “Technical Management in Product R&D, Troubleshooting, and Experiences in Patent Avoidance.”

Tom, our CTO, is an alumnus of NTUST’s Department of Electronic Engineering. After graduating, he joined the Electronics Research and Service Organization’s (ERSO) Computer Research Center and has since accumulated over 30 years of experience in the industrial computer industry. Over the past two decades, he has led the Advantech team in the development of industrial-grade embedded panel computers, offering customized embedded system solutions for industries such as rail transportation, maritime, communication, and healthcare. These solutions address issues such as analog-to-digital signal conversion, power management optimization, and enhanced heat dissipation. Advantech has introduced over a hundred innovative products, with some remaining successful in the market for over a decade.

In recent years, Mr. Wang has dedicated his efforts to the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0, launching Advantech’s own branded product – a fanless, compact IoT gateway. Leveraging years of design experience, this gateway boasts features such as high-temperature resistance, a small footprint, and multiple connectivity options. It adopts an integrated design capable of collecting information from wired or wireless sensors, various brands of programmable logic controllers (PLCs), analog measurement devices, and machinery. Its CPU design supports edge computing, achieving real-time data transmission and presentation with zero latency, supporting multiple channels to send information to the cloud or data centers. Additionally, the gateway comes with built-in SCADA monitoring software, allowing users to receive real-time intelligence, with the system issuing notifications in the event of anomalies. Notably, when dealing with digitizing environments containing outdated machinery or situations where information cannot be directly retrieved, Advantech employs image capture to convert such data into digital information.