President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) stated Friday that the government is fully advancing the Ten Major AI Infrastructure Projects, aiming to transform Taiwan from a chip manufacturing giant into an AI application powerhouse. He emphasized that through robotics, Taiwan will convert computing power into practical applications, driving AI adoption across industries. Additionally, Lai said that he expects the National Center for AI Robotics to serve as an engine for tech R&D, a hub for cross-disciplinary talent, and a key bridge between industry and academia. 

The National Center for AI Robotics under the National Institute of Applied Research (NIAR) held its inauguration ceremony on Friday. In his speech, President Lai outlined three expectations: that the center would provide a large-scale advanced robotics research service platform as a solid backbone for industry-academia-research, accelerating cutting-edge technology from labs to validation and mass production, and continuously strengthening Taiwan's integration in robotics technology. 

Lai further hopes it will become a cross-disciplinary talent hub via courses, hands-on work, competitions, and international exchanges. Finally, it should link Tainan’s Shalun, Lioujia, and the Southern Taiwan Science Park to create a robotics industry corridor, promote the application of research results, and drive industrial development.

National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said Taiwan faces labor shortages and an aging, low-birthrate society. The center will foster service-type smart robots with perceptive and collaborative capabilities via cross-domain, co-research, real-world collaboration, and resource sharing, acting as an accelerator for domestic and international robotics ecosystems, turning Taiwan’s component strengths into systematic competitiveness.