Taiwan wins 12 gold medals at international invention exhibition

Nuremberg, Nov. 5 (CNA) A team of Taiwan inventors said Wednesday that they hauled in a total of 12 gold, seven silver, and seven bronze medals, along with a special award, at the recent Inventors' and Innovation Exhibition in Nuremberg (iENA).

Inventors from five Taiwanese junior and senior high schools, five colleges and universities, and four firms, as well as four freelancers, participated in this year's exhibition, showcasing Taiwan's diverse and mature innovative energy, according to Shen Yu-hao (沈毓豪), leader of the Taiwan Prominent Inventor League, as the team is called.

In particular, two devices invented by feng shui practitioner Lee Shang-yu (李尚禹) won gold and bronze medals and a special award from Germany, the Taiwan team said in a news release.

One is an orientation device based on "remote geomancy (feng shui)," while the other is a measurement device that determines "the energy field intensity of a specific location using satellite maps," the team said.

The two devices utilize satellite maps and artificial intelligence algorithms to replace orientation methods typically reliant on experience and judgment, it said.

After the location is entered, the systems automatically identify nearby buildings, roads, and water flows, calculating the "energy field strength index" that reflects the habitability of the site, the team said.

The iENA jury said the devices were innovative and showed cultural integration, opening up new applications for "scientific feng shui," according to the statement.

The 77th edition of the iENA -- one of the world's major trade fairs for ideas, inventions and new products -- was held Nov. 1-3, attracting 540 entries by inventors from some 30 countries, according to its website.