產業脈動｜NVIDIA機器人技術與臺灣的機會

2024年春天NVIDIA於美國加州的GTC(GPU Technology Conference) 大會上，執行長黃仁勳介紹自家所謂世界最強的AI晶片-Blackwell，這個晶片的最大特點是可在兆級參數大語言模型上建構和運行即時生成式AI，且成本和能耗比起NVIDIA上一代的晶片低了好多倍。Blackwell的命名是紀念美國研究賽局理論和統計學的數學家 David Harold Blackwell。到了6月的台北國際電腦展(COMPUTEX 2024)，黃仁勳更說明了運算革命的歷程將會從CPU走向雲端運算，再到GPU。也就是在個人電腦時代，CPU是運算的核心，但隨著互聯網興起，運算朝向雲端集中，而今日在人工智慧，大規模數據運算、高度真實模擬等技術對超高運算能力的需求不斷激增的發展下，GPU由於其獨特的高度並行運算架構，將成為運算革命的引領者。這些舉動吸引了全球科技業的目光，新一代Blackwell GPU與NVIDIA執行長黃仁勳身後的一整排人形機器人，讓外界高度關注AI與機器人的未來；人形機器人將被發展在各種環境中執行任務。具有兩隻手臂和兩條腿的類人設計使得它被期待在人類的環境中靈活運用，投放到現有的倉庫流程和基礎設施中。人形機器人被視為一種顛覆性技術，類似於電腦或智慧手機，若成功的話它將徹底改變我們生產商品的方式以及人類的生活方式。人形機器人對各個產業的潛在影響使其成為一個令人期待的發展，但它們被大規模採用仍有許多複雜技術的挑戰，成本是一個關鍵因素，是否成功將取決於它們與成熟的機器人解決方案(例如自主移動式的機器人)競爭的投資回報率。在全球人形機器人如火如荼的發展下，我們也看到了臺灣的機會，包括1.臺灣具IC製造的完整生態系與先進晶片的製程技術；2.完善的機器人零組件供應鏈；3.資通訊產品豐富的系統整合實績。

In spring 2024, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang introduced Blackwell at the GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California, claiming it to be the world’s most powerful AI chip. Blackwell’s main feature is its ability to build and run real-time generative AI on a trillion-parameter language model, with significantly lower costs and energy consumption than NVIDIA’s previous chips. Blackwell is named in honor of David Harold Blackwell, an American mathematician who studied game theory and statistics. At Computex 2024 in Taipei, Jensen Huang explained that the computing revolution will move from CPUs to cloud computing to GPUs. That is, in the personal computer era, the CPU was the core of computing. However, with the rise of the Internet, computing has shifted to the cloud. Today, due to rising demands for exceptional computational power for AI, data processing, and realistic simulations, the GPU’s advanced parallel computing is poised to lead the computational revolution.These actions attracted the attention of the global tech industry. The new Blackwell GPU and humanoid robots behind NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang drew significant focus to the future of AI and robotics. These humanoid robots will be developed to perform tasks in various environments. The humanoid design with two arms and two legs is expected to be used flexibly in a human environment, into existing warehouse processes and infrastructure. Humanoid robots are seen as a disruptive technology, similar to computers or smartphones, that, if successful, will revolutionize the way we produce goods and the way humans live.The potential impact of humanoid robots on various industries makes it an exciting development, but there are still many complex technical challenges to their mass adoption, cost is a key factor, and success will depend on the ROI on which they compete with established robotic solutions such as autonomous mobile robots. With the rapid global development of humanoid robots, Taiwan also has several opportunities, including: 1. A complete IC manufacturing ecosystem with advanced chip fabrication techniques; 2. A well-developed robot component supply chain; 3. Extensive system integration achievements in ICT products.