The Vehicle Warning System Invented by College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor Li-Chen Fu Gloriously Won the University Level Industry Economic Contribution Award from the Ministry of Economic Affairs

NTU College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor Dr. Li-Chen Fu gloriously won the 2010 Ministry of Economic Affairs’ University Level Industry Economic Contribution Award(individual award.) The award presentation ceremony was held along with other industrial technology R&D achievements on September 8th and officiated by Premier Den-yih Wu, who gave Dr. Fu a public citation and a trophy. Including Dr. Fu, a total of nine professors won the University Level Industry Economic Contribution Award, and the joint presentation ceremony was held for MOEA’s Industrial Technology Advancement Award, the Industry Innovation Award, the University Level Industry Economic Contribution Award, the Industry Technology Program and the Corporate Technology Program, and the National Invention and Creation Award as well.

The reason Dr. Fu won the award was because he used computer vision technology to build a driving warning system, i.e., he mounted digital image sensors and a computer on the automobile, which could automatically detect the driving conditions around the vehicle, such as other cars, pedestrians, or road signs. If the system detects a critical situation, it will immediately inform the driver to make the necessary and appropriate response, so that an accident can be avoided. If the driver is caught in a momentary distraction or inattention, this intelligent warning system will substantially reduce the opportunities of a crash, and the life of the driver will be much more secure.

Dr. Fu’s research expertise lies in computer vision, artificial intelligence, robotics and system control. He taught for more than twenty years at the Department of Electrical Engineering and the Department of Information Engineering, during which time he never took a respite from research, and he was adept at both theory and practice, as he not only completed more than 400 academic treatises, but had ten patents from the U.S. and Taiwan, and completed several practical systems while assisting the technologies needed by 10 manufacturers, including TSMC, and three corporate units. Owing to his scholastic attainments, he was often awarded honors from the National Science Council and many civilian organizations, and he also won the Best Teaching Award from the Ministry of Education, the Outstanding Engineering Professor Award from the Chinese Institute of Engineering, and the Teco Technology Award from the Teco Cultural and Educational Foundation which all represented recognition of his contributions to the industry

For many years Dr. Fu delved into the applications of computer vision combined with robotics. Initially he was involved with the identification, positioning and visual serving of 3D images that were caught by the robots, and with the eye-hand coordination of mounting a visual camera on the arm of the robot; in the recent decade, Dr. Fu began to usher the computer vision technology into car images, and was committed to using computer vision technology in the R&D of warning systems. In this respect, he was one of the few pioneers in Taiwan. So far he has research achievements in lane detection, vehicle detection and pedestrian detection, and he has acquired two patents from the government of Taiwan.