At the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC), where Asia's largest information technology (IT) exhibition "Computex 2026" was held, an ice cream-making robot was on display. When a visitor placed an order, the artificial intelligence (AI)-equipped robot clerk picked up the ice cream using a vision camera and a two-finger gripper, then delivered it to the visitor using its wheeled lower body.
At Computex 2026, which opened Tuesday, robots representing physical AI took center stage to greet visitors. Since 1981, Computex has served as an exhibition for PCs and electronic components for 45 years. But as AI has advanced in recent years, physical AI that takes on a physical form has rapidly emerged, and Computex has also evolved into a robotics exhibition where global robot companies show off their technological prowess.
In fact, a dedicated exhibition hall called the "AI Robotics Zone" was newly established this year. The main attractions here were Taiwanese-made robots. Taiwanese companies showcased their competitiveness by exhibiting core robot components such as actuators (robot joints) and robotic hands, highlighting their collaboration with Nvidia.
In particular, Taiwanese precision component company Hiwin set up a booth and drew attention with its humanoid robots and industrial robots. These robots flexibly applied robotic hands, which are difficult to implement. Using "zero-shot" technology that does not require large amounts of AI learning, they used three fingers depending on the shape of the object, or folded one finger to use it like a pincer. "We have implemented a total of 17 degrees of freedom (the number of directions in which it can move)," a Hiwin official said, expressing confidence in the performance.
The robotic arm of another Taiwanese company, Solomon, demonstrated a process of grasping structures such as the location of the main board by shining a vision camera resembling a stand lamp—rather than a hand—over component circuits.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said at a press conference that day, "The era of physical AI is approaching, in which AI agents like humanoid robots will operate in physical space," adding, "It will be a tremendous growth opportunity for all of us." Nvidia, a global leader in AI semiconductors, has thus formally declared the expansion of its physical AI business at this year's Computex. "We expect that robot companies will play an increasingly active role going forward in line with these changes," an on-site official explained.
