通勤學英語 15Mins Today

每日跟讀#504: Karaoke office: Japan inc. shifts to unusual workspaces

 

From tiny one-person cubicles in underground stations to camping tents under towering skyscrapers and even karaoke clubs: in workaholic Japan, salarymen are never short of a place to work.

 

不論是地鐵站內的單人小隔間，還是高聳摩天大樓下的露營帳篷，甚至是卡拉OK包廂，在工作狂滿街跑的日本，受薪階級永遠不缺辦公場所。

 

On the pavement in Tokyo’s Marunouchi financial district, groups of businesspeople clutching laptops sit on pillows around a low table... in a camping tent surrounded by shimmering glass buildings.

 

在東京丸之內金融區的人行道上，被閃閃發亮的玻璃建築所環繞的露營帳篷內，三五成群的商務人士抓著筆記型電腦，圍坐在環繞矮桌的椅墊上。

 

Yasuyuki Minami, who works for the Japanese arm of software giant SAP, said the unusual surroundings sparked new business ideas. His boss agreed that "we tend to have fixed and stereotyped ideas when we are in the office."

 

全球企業軟體開發商SAP日本分公司員工南靖之（譯音）表示，新奇的環境可激發「全新商業構想」。他的老闆附和道：「待在辦公室裡，我們容易產生固定、刻板的想法。」

 

Daiichikosho, Japan’s biggest karaoke operator, from April 2017, also opened up its singing rooms for office space at 33 outlets close to business districts in big cities.

 

從前年4月開始，日本最大卡拉OK業者「第一興商公司」，也在大城市靠近商業區的33家分店，開放包廂做為辦公空間。

 

For 600 yen per hour, users can display images directly from their laptop computers onto the big screen on the wall. Shy people can also practice business presentations using the microphone and a white board － all in a soundproof room.

 

顧客每小時花600日幣（約170台幣），即可將筆電畫面直接投影在牆上的大螢幕。怕生的人也可以在這個有隔音效果的房間裡，使用麥克風和白板操演商業簡報。

 

Source article: http://iservice.ltn.com.tw/Service/english/english.php?engno=1258638&day=2019-01-03

 

更多跟讀練習單元，就在http://www.15mins.today/15mins-today

每日跟讀#504: Karaoke office: Japan inc. shifts to unusual workspaces

 

From tiny one-person cubicles in underground stations to camping tents under towering skyscrapers and even karaoke clubs: in workaholic Japan, salarymen are never short of a place to work.

 

不論是地鐵站內的單人小隔間，還是高聳摩天大樓下的露營帳篷，甚至是卡拉OK包廂，在工作狂滿街跑的日本，受薪階級永遠不缺辦公場所。

 

On the pavement in Tokyo’s Marunouchi financial district, groups of businesspeople clutching laptops sit on pillows around a low table... in a camping tent surrounded by shimmering glass buildings.

 

在東京丸之內金融區的人行道上，被閃閃發亮的玻璃建築所環繞的露營帳篷內，三五成群的商務人士抓著筆記型電腦，圍坐在環繞矮桌的椅墊上。

 

Yasuyuki Minami, who works for the Japanese arm of software giant SAP, said the unusual surroundings sparked new business ideas. His boss agreed that "we tend to have fixed and stereotyped ideas when we are in the office."

 

全球企業軟體開發商SAP日本分公司員工南靖之（譯音）表示，新奇的環境可激發「全新商業構想」。他的老闆附和道：「待在辦公室裡，我們容易產生固定、刻板的想法。」

 

Daiichikosho, Japan’s biggest karaoke operator, from April 2017, also opened up its singing rooms for office space at 33 outlets close to business districts in big cities.

 

從前年4月開始，日本最大卡拉OK業者「第一興商公司」，也在大城市靠近商業區的33家分店，開放包廂做為辦公空間。

 

For 600 yen per hour, users can display images directly from their laptop computers onto the big screen on the wall. Shy people can also practice business presentations using the microphone and a white board － all in a soundproof room.

 

顧客每小時花600日幣（約170台幣），即可將筆電畫面直接投影在牆上的大螢幕。怕生的人也可以在這個有隔音效果的房間裡，使用麥克風和白板操演商業簡報。

 

Source article: http://iservice.ltn.com.tw/Service/english/english.php?engno=1258638&day=2019-01-03

 

更多跟讀練習單元，就在http://www.15mins.today/15mins-today

每日跟讀#503: How to Close a Gender Gap: Let Employees Control Their Schedules

 

The main reason for the gender gaps at work — why women are paid less, why they’re less likely to reach the top levels of companies, and why they’re more likely to stop working after having children — is employers’ expectation that people spend long hours at their desks, research has shown.

 

It’s especially difficult for women because they have disproportionate responsibility for caregiving.

 

Flexibility regarding the time and place that work gets done would go a long way toward closing the gaps, economists say. Yet when people ask for it, especially parents, they can be penalized in pay and promotions. Social scientists call it the flexibility stigma, and it’s the reason that even when companies offer such policies, they’re not widely used.

 

研究顯示，職場所以出現性別落差：女性薪酬較低，較難爬到公司頂層職位，有了孩子後更可能停止工作，主因在於雇主期待員工長時間坐在辦公桌前。

 

這對女性而言特別困難，因為她們照顧家人的責任比男性大得多。

 

經濟學家說，在完成工作的時間與地點上展現彈性，對於縮小性別差距會大有幫助。不過，人們如果要求彈性上班，特別是已有子女者，卻可能在薪水和升遷上受到懲罰。社會科學家稱之為彈性汙點，也因此即使公司有這樣的政策，用得也不多。

 

A new job search company, Werk, is trying to address the problem by negotiating for flexibility with employers before posting jobs, so employees don’t have to.

 

All the positions listed on the Werk site, including some from Facebook, Uber and Samsung, are highly skilled jobs that offer some sort of control over the time and place of work. People can apply to jobs that let them work away from the office all the time or some of the time, and at hours other than 9-to-5, part time or with minimal travel.

 

Another option gives workers the freedom to adjust their schedules, no questions asked, because of unpredictable obligations, like a sleepless night with a toddler or a trip to the emergency room with an older parent.

 

新創職業仲介公司Werk正試圖解決這個問題，方法是在張貼出職缺之前先與雇主洽商彈性，免得員工必須自己去談。

 

Werk網站列出的所有職缺，包括一些臉書、優步和三星的職缺，都是需要高度技能的工作，能讓應徵者對工作時間和地點享有一些自主性。人們可以應徵各種形態的工作，包括完全不需進辦公室，部分時間不用進去，在9點到5點以外的時間工作，兼職，以及盡量不出差至外地。

 

另外還有一種選擇，是讓員工可因為不可預測的職責而自行調整工作時程而不須交代理由，這些職責包括為照顧幼兒而整夜沒得睡，送年邁父母去急診。

 

“Nobody wants to be the female in the department who says, ‘My kid threw up on me this morning; I can’t come in,'” said Annie Dean, who worked as a lawyer before starting Werk with Anna Auerbach, a former consultant. “Eighty percent of companies say they offer flexibility, but it’s a black market topic. You raise it and you’re not taken seriously.”

 

For now, Werk is a limited experiment. Most of the employers are small companies, and it is aimed at an elite group of women — highly educated and on a leadership track. But it could provide lessons for how to improve work and make it more equal for a broader group.

 

安妮．迪恩本來是律師，後來與原任顧問的安娜．奧爾巴奇合創Werk公司，她說：「沒有人想當部門裡那個說『我的孩子今天早上吐了我一身，我不能到辦公室了』的女性。百分之八十的公司說他們提供彈性，但這是黑市話題，你若提出來，不會被當回事。」

 

現階段，Werk是個範圍有限的實驗。大多數雇主是小公司，而且該網站鎖定女性菁英─受過高等教育並有擔任高層主管的潛力。不過這可提供經驗用以改善工作，使工作對更廣大的群體而言更平等。

Women who have less education or are paid hourly wages have significantly less flexibility than professional women to begin with. It makes working and caregiving that much harder.

Motherhood presents a different challenge for the elite women that Werk was made for. The careers that pay the most and require the most education, like business and law, also have the most gender inequality. Why? Economists have found it’s a result of the long hours and limited flexibility.

 

比起專業女性，教育程度較低或是領時薪的女性彈性小得多。這也使得兼顧工作和照顧家人更是困難得多。

 

當母親對Werk鎖定的女性菁英是另一種不同的挑戰。薪水最高和學歷要求最高的職涯，像是商業和法律，也是性別最不平等的。為什麼？經濟學家發現這是工作時間長和彈性有限的結果。

 

Source: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/311284/web/

 

更多跟讀文章: www.15mins.today

每日跟讀#503: How to Close a Gender Gap: Let Employees Control Their Schedules

 

The main reason for the gender gaps at work — why women are paid less, why they’re less likely to reach the top levels of companies, and why they’re more likely to stop working after having children — is employers’ expectation that people spend long hours at their desks, research has shown.

 

It’s especially difficult for women because they have disproportionate responsibility for caregiving.

 

Flexibility regarding the time and place that work gets done would go a long way toward closing the gaps, economists say. Yet when people ask for it, especially parents, they can be penalized in pay and promotions. Social scientists call it the flexibility stigma, and it’s the reason that even when companies offer such policies, they’re not widely used.

 

研究顯示，職場所以出現性別落差：女性薪酬較低，較難爬到公司頂層職位，有了孩子後更可能停止工作，主因在於雇主期待員工長時間坐在辦公桌前。

 

這對女性而言特別困難，因為她們照顧家人的責任比男性大得多。

 

經濟學家說，在完成工作的時間與地點上展現彈性，對於縮小性別差距會大有幫助。不過，人們如果要求彈性上班，特別是已有子女者，卻可能在薪水和升遷上受到懲罰。社會科學家稱之為彈性汙點，也因此即使公司有這樣的政策，用得也不多。

 

A new job search company, Werk, is trying to address the problem by negotiating for flexibility with employers before posting jobs, so employees don’t have to.

 

All the positions listed on the Werk site, including some from Facebook, Uber and Samsung, are highly skilled jobs that offer some sort of control over the time and place of work. People can apply to jobs that let them work away from the office all the time or some of the time, and at hours other than 9-to-5, part time or with minimal travel.

 

Another option gives workers the freedom to adjust their schedules, no questions asked, because of unpredictable obligations, like a sleepless night with a toddler or a trip to the emergency room with an older parent.

 

新創職業仲介公司Werk正試圖解決這個問題，方法是在張貼出職缺之前先與雇主洽商彈性，免得員工必須自己去談。

 

Werk網站列出的所有職缺，包括一些臉書、優步和三星的職缺，都是需要高度技能的工作，能讓應徵者對工作時間和地點享有一些自主性。人們可以應徵各種形態的工作，包括完全不需進辦公室，部分時間不用進去，在9點到5點以外的時間工作，兼職，以及盡量不出差至外地。

 

另外還有一種選擇，是讓員工可因為不可預測的職責而自行調整工作時程而不須交代理由，這些職責包括為照顧幼兒而整夜沒得睡，送年邁父母去急診。

 

“Nobody wants to be the female in the department who says, ‘My kid threw up on me this morning; I can’t come in,'” said Annie Dean, who worked as a lawyer before starting Werk with Anna Auerbach, a former consultant. “Eighty percent of companies say they offer flexibility, but it’s a black market topic. You raise it and you’re not taken seriously.”

 

For now, Werk is a limited experiment. Most of the employers are small companies, and it is aimed at an elite group of women — highly educated and on a leadership track. But it could provide lessons for how to improve work and make it more equal for a broader group.

 

安妮．迪恩本來是律師，後來與原任顧問的安娜．奧爾巴奇合創Werk公司，她說：「沒有人想當部門裡那個說『我的孩子今天早上吐了我一身，我不能到辦公室了』的女性。百分之八十的公司說他們提供彈性，但這是黑市話題，你若提出來，不會被當回事。」

 

現階段，Werk是個範圍有限的實驗。大多數雇主是小公司，而且該網站鎖定女性菁英─受過高等教育並有擔任高層主管的潛力。不過這可提供經驗用以改善工作，使工作對更廣大的群體而言更平等。

Women who have less education or are paid hourly wages have significantly less flexibility than professional women to begin with. It makes working and caregiving that much harder.

Motherhood presents a different challenge for the elite women that Werk was made for. The careers that pay the most and require the most education, like business and law, also have the most gender inequality. Why? Economists have found it’s a result of the long hours and limited flexibility.

 

比起專業女性，教育程度較低或是領時薪的女性彈性小得多。這也使得兼顧工作和照顧家人更是困難得多。

 

當母親對Werk鎖定的女性菁英是另一種不同的挑戰。薪水最高和學歷要求最高的職涯，像是商業和法律，也是性別最不平等的。為什麼？經濟學家發現這是工作時間長和彈性有限的結果。

 

Source: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/311284/web/

 

更多跟讀文章: www.15mins.today

台北嘿掰講Episode 17 - A look at Taiwan’s ‘shaved ice’ among world’s top desserts

 

每週更新的播客，來聽聽Gavin跟John這禮拜聊台灣雪花冰上榜CNN50最強甜點

 

#Taipeibanter＃台北嘿掰講

 

Taipei Banter, where John and Gavin talk about the interesting things around the world.

 

Article referred in the podcast:http://www.15mins.today/blog/496-taiwan-s-shaved-ice-among-world-s-top-desserts-cnn

 

更多台北嘿掰講, please visit http://www.15mins.today/taipei-banter-podcast

台北嘿掰講Episode 17 - A look at Taiwan’s ‘shaved ice’ among world’s top desserts

 

每週更新的播客，來聽聽Gavin跟John這禮拜聊台灣雪花冰上榜CNN50最強甜點

 

#Taipeibanter＃台北嘿掰講

 

Taipei Banter, where John and Gavin talk about the interesting things around the world.

 

Article referred in the podcast:http://www.15mins.today/blog/496-taiwan-s-shaved-ice-among-world-s-top-desserts-cnn

 

更多台北嘿掰講, please visit http://www.15mins.today/taipei-banter-podcast

每日跟讀#502: Explosive growth in AI opening for Taiwan’s tech sector

 

While there is already a consensus in the market that the global economy is slowing down and companies are finding it harder to turn a profit, the tech industry continues to grow off the back of new technological innovations. In 2015, US technology powerhouse NVIDIA took the lead in making 2015 the year of artificial intelligence, and the current mainstream view in the global high tech industry is that we are about to face an onslaught of AI. No analysis of which tech stocks to invest in this year will be complete without a focus on AI companies.

 

全球經濟與企業獲利成長力道放緩，已是市場共識。但科技產業持續朝新技術發展，二○一五年美國科技大廠NVIDIA帶頭開啟AI（人工智慧）元年，人工智慧浪潮來襲，目前已是全球科技業的顯學，明年科技股投資焦點，絕對少不了人工智慧。

 

The beginnings of AI development can be traced back to 1950, although adoption in the early stages was slow. Despite the sluggish start, the popularization of graphics processing units coupled with a parallel increase in computing speed and larger cloud storage capacity has today created an increasing number of applications for AI technology. Focusing on Taiwan, there are no “pure” AI stocks comparable to NVIDIA, but AI requires a huge supporting framework behind the scenes, and Taiwan’s high tech industry will provide much of the infrastructure and equipment needed to make AI a reality.

 

人工智慧早在一九五十年就開始發展，但遲遲無法真的落實。隨著繪圖處理器開始普及，加速平行運算速度，雲端儲存空間放大，AI應用越來越發達。就台股來看，並沒有像NVIDIA純度那麼高的人工智慧相關個股，但人工智慧背後需要龐大的架構，要有許多基礎建設與相關配備才能實現，台灣科技業多參與其中。

 

First and foremost, AI requires a massive amount of big data to be processed in the cloud. The large variety of calculations requires cloud computing, but also data centers, high-performance computing chips, application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) and audio recognition technology to name just a few of the specialist areas. All of this basic infrastructure needs to be in place in order for AI end products like popular smart speakers such as Amazon’s Echo, Apple’s HomePod or Xiaomi’s Mi AI Speaker to function. In the near future, a raft of other products will enter the market, providing a diverse array of products preloaded with AI technology.

 

人工智慧首先要有雲端處理龐大數據，進行各種演算，需要雲端、資料中心、高速運算（HPC）晶片、客製化晶片（ASIC）、聲學、音學辨識技術等，在相關基礎建設完備後，AI終端產品應運而生，像是近來熱門的智慧音箱亞馬遜Echo、蘋果HomePod、小米小愛同學就是代表，未來還會有更多AI智慧產品，呈現百花齊放的局面。

 

Chip designer Global Unichip Corp is bullish toward the AI market, which it projects will increase by approximately 50 percent year-on-year between the next 3-5 years. Thirty percent of this growth is expected to come from ASIC. Global Unichip Corp also says it believes AI will be the driving force behind revenue growth for the company in the years to come.

 

創意電子看好人工智慧市場未來三至五年約有百分之五十年複合成長率，其中百分之三十的成長率將來自ASIC，人工智慧將是創意未來營運成長一大主力。

 

Source article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2019/01/01/2003707116

更多通勤學英語跟讀單元: www.15mins.today

每日跟讀#502: Explosive growth in AI opening for Taiwan’s tech sector

 

While there is already a consensus in the market that the global economy is slowing down and companies are finding it harder to turn a profit, the tech industry continues to grow off the back of new technological innovations. In 2015, US technology powerhouse NVIDIA took the lead in making 2015 the year of artificial intelligence, and the current mainstream view in the global high tech industry is that we are about to face an onslaught of AI. No analysis of which tech stocks to invest in this year will be complete without a focus on AI companies.

 

全球經濟與企業獲利成長力道放緩，已是市場共識。但科技產業持續朝新技術發展，二○一五年美國科技大廠NVIDIA帶頭開啟AI（人工智慧）元年，人工智慧浪潮來襲，目前已是全球科技業的顯學，明年科技股投資焦點，絕對少不了人工智慧。

 

The beginnings of AI development can be traced back to 1950, although adoption in the early stages was slow. Despite the sluggish start, the popularization of graphics processing units coupled with a parallel increase in computing speed and larger cloud storage capacity has today created an increasing number of applications for AI technology. Focusing on Taiwan, there are no “pure” AI stocks comparable to NVIDIA, but AI requires a huge supporting framework behind the scenes, and Taiwan’s high tech industry will provide much of the infrastructure and equipment needed to make AI a reality.

 

人工智慧早在一九五十年就開始發展，但遲遲無法真的落實。隨著繪圖處理器開始普及，加速平行運算速度，雲端儲存空間放大，AI應用越來越發達。就台股來看，並沒有像NVIDIA純度那麼高的人工智慧相關個股，但人工智慧背後需要龐大的架構，要有許多基礎建設與相關配備才能實現，台灣科技業多參與其中。

 

First and foremost, AI requires a massive amount of big data to be processed in the cloud. The large variety of calculations requires cloud computing, but also data centers, high-performance computing chips, application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) and audio recognition technology to name just a few of the specialist areas. All of this basic infrastructure needs to be in place in order for AI end products like popular smart speakers such as Amazon’s Echo, Apple’s HomePod or Xiaomi’s Mi AI Speaker to function. In the near future, a raft of other products will enter the market, providing a diverse array of products preloaded with AI technology.

 

人工智慧首先要有雲端處理龐大數據，進行各種演算，需要雲端、資料中心、高速運算（HPC）晶片、客製化晶片（ASIC）、聲學、音學辨識技術等，在相關基礎建設完備後，AI終端產品應運而生，像是近來熱門的智慧音箱亞馬遜Echo、蘋果HomePod、小米小愛同學就是代表，未來還會有更多AI智慧產品，呈現百花齊放的局面。

 

Chip designer Global Unichip Corp is bullish toward the AI market, which it projects will increase by approximately 50 percent year-on-year between the next 3-5 years. Thirty percent of this growth is expected to come from ASIC. Global Unichip Corp also says it believes AI will be the driving force behind revenue growth for the company in the years to come.

 

創意電子看好人工智慧市場未來三至五年約有百分之五十年複合成長率，其中百分之三十的成長率將來自ASIC，人工智慧將是創意未來營運成長一大主力。

 

Source article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2019/01/01/2003707116

更多通勤學英語跟讀單元: www.15mins.today

每日跟讀#501: New Apple Watch heralds ‘smart healthcare’ revolution for aging societies

 

The new model iPhone was released mid-last month to a somewhat muted reaction from the market. However, at the same event Apple Inc also released an updated Apple Watch, called the Apple Watch Series 4, which showed that the company is working furiously behind the scenes to break into a new field, as it quietly builds an eco-system around “smart healthcare.” Due to the importance of safeguarding human life, the entry threshold into the healthcare market is high, but the potential rewards are significant. As humans live longer, we are becoming ever more reliant on technology and artificial intelligence as a means to look after our health.

 

新款iPhone在上個月中發表，市場反應是無甚驚奇。不過從同場發表的Apple Watch，可看出蘋果已在另一個領域鴨子划水，悄悄建起了生態系「智慧醫療」。因為人命關天，這是一個門檻極高的市場，但商機也很大，尤其在人類壽命愈來愈長的未來，勢必仰賴更多科技和人工智慧來照顧我們的健康。

 

The definition of “smart healthcare” is extremely broad. Starting with the da Vinci surgical robot, already on the market for over a decade, the area now includes specialist fields such as the automatic transfer of patient blood pressure monitoring data to hospitals and AI-assisted artificial gene synthesis (gene printing), which is able to rapidly compile DNA sequences and produce biopharmaceuticals. While attending a discussion forum by the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan last month, major pharmaceutical company Merck & Co predicted that revenue from AI-related health care alone — which currently stands at about US$600 million — will grow to around US$20 billion by 2026. Furthermore, AI constitutes just one small piece of the overall smart healthcare market.

 

智慧醫療的定義廣泛，從問世十幾年的達文西手術機器人、將數據自動回傳醫院的血壓機、到基因合成學借助AI及機器學習，能快速編寫DNA序列，製造生物藥劑來治療疾病等等。國際大藥廠默克上個月來台出席工研院產業創新論壇時就估計，目前光是與AI相關的醫療保健產值，全球約六億美元，二零二六年將達兩百億美元；而AI不過是智慧醫療的一小塊領域。

 

Humanity is on the cusp of an imminent medical care crisis. According to US research, there is a positive correlation between the patient-to-nurse ratio and patient mortality rate: For every additional patient that a nurse has to care for, the 30-day mortality rate for hospitalized patients increases by 7 percent.

 

人類面臨的醫療窘境，已迫在眉睫。美國研究指出，每位護理師照顧的病人數，和病人死亡率呈現正相關：護理師每多照顧一名病人，病人住院三十天的死亡風險增加百分之七。

 

As a result of various background factors, “smart healthcare” will be an unstoppable force in the future. As such, global manufacturers, whether involved in communications, machinery, pharmaceuticals or consumer technology, are all getting involved, and Apple naturally wants to claim a piece of the pie for itself. At last month’s launch of the updated Apple Watch, Apple revealed that the device now supports a heart rate monitor and wrist sensor and represents a significant step forward for the wearable device. Previously, the watch was only able to record a wearer’s heart rate, but the technology has been upgraded so that Apple Watch can now monitor a user’s heart condition in a way that provides real medical value.

 

在種種背景下，智慧醫療是必然之勢；因此全球廠商不論其專長是通訊、機械、製藥或3C，都在積極投入，蘋果當然也不缺席。上個月發表的Apple Watch，能支援心律檢測及手腕感應，這讓穿戴裝置邁進了一大步，從以往只能記錄心跳幾下，升級到可監測具有醫療價值的心律狀況。

 

In addition to the above new hardware functionality, Apple is also building a health eco-system. Last year, Apple embarked on a partnership with Stanford University Medical Center to found the Apple Heart Study program, which uses Apple Watch to collect large amounts of data on heart rate activity from volunteers. This year Apple has signed agreements with more than 90 hospitals across the US so that patients can use their mobile phones to access their own medical records, making it possible for users to bring their medical history with them wherever they go. If the results are successful, it may well create a snowball effect and spread to other medical institutions.

 

蘋果不只推出上述的硬體新功能，也在建構生態系。去年它和史丹佛醫學中心合作啟動「Apple Heart Study」計畫，透過Apple Watch收集自願者的心律大數據。今年又與全美逾九十家醫院簽約，病人可透過手機看到自己的醫療紀錄，落實病歷帶著走。若成效良好，未來很可能產生滾雪球效應，擴及更多醫療機構。

 

Source article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2018/10/09/2003701979/2

更多英語跟讀單元: www.15mins.today

每日跟讀#501: New Apple Watch heralds ‘smart healthcare’ revolution for aging societies

 

The new model iPhone was released mid-last month to a somewhat muted reaction from the market. However, at the same event Apple Inc also released an updated Apple Watch, called the Apple Watch Series 4, which showed that the company is working furiously behind the scenes to break into a new field, as it quietly builds an eco-system around “smart healthcare.” Due to the importance of safeguarding human life, the entry threshold into the healthcare market is high, but the potential rewards are significant. As humans live longer, we are becoming ever more reliant on technology and artificial intelligence as a means to look after our health.

 

新款iPhone在上個月中發表，市場反應是無甚驚奇。不過從同場發表的Apple Watch，可看出蘋果已在另一個領域鴨子划水，悄悄建起了生態系「智慧醫療」。因為人命關天，這是一個門檻極高的市場，但商機也很大，尤其在人類壽命愈來愈長的未來，勢必仰賴更多科技和人工智慧來照顧我們的健康。

 

The definition of “smart healthcare” is extremely broad. Starting with the da Vinci surgical robot, already on the market for over a decade, the area now includes specialist fields such as the automatic transfer of patient blood pressure monitoring data to hospitals and AI-assisted artificial gene synthesis (gene printing), which is able to rapidly compile DNA sequences and produce biopharmaceuticals. While attending a discussion forum by the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan last month, major pharmaceutical company Merck & Co predicted that revenue from AI-related health care alone — which currently stands at about US$600 million — will grow to around US$20 billion by 2026. Furthermore, AI constitutes just one small piece of the overall smart healthcare market.

 

智慧醫療的定義廣泛，從問世十幾年的達文西手術機器人、將數據自動回傳醫院的血壓機、到基因合成學借助AI及機器學習，能快速編寫DNA序列，製造生物藥劑來治療疾病等等。國際大藥廠默克上個月來台出席工研院產業創新論壇時就估計，目前光是與AI相關的醫療保健產值，全球約六億美元，二零二六年將達兩百億美元；而AI不過是智慧醫療的一小塊領域。

 

Humanity is on the cusp of an imminent medical care crisis. According to US research, there is a positive correlation between the patient-to-nurse ratio and patient mortality rate: For every additional patient that a nurse has to care for, the 30-day mortality rate for hospitalized patients increases by 7 percent.

 

人類面臨的醫療窘境，已迫在眉睫。美國研究指出，每位護理師照顧的病人數，和病人死亡率呈現正相關：護理師每多照顧一名病人，病人住院三十天的死亡風險增加百分之七。

 

As a result of various background factors, “smart healthcare” will be an unstoppable force in the future. As such, global manufacturers, whether involved in communications, machinery, pharmaceuticals or consumer technology, are all getting involved, and Apple naturally wants to claim a piece of the pie for itself. At last month’s launch of the updated Apple Watch, Apple revealed that the device now supports a heart rate monitor and wrist sensor and represents a significant step forward for the wearable device. Previously, the watch was only able to record a wearer’s heart rate, but the technology has been upgraded so that Apple Watch can now monitor a user’s heart condition in a way that provides real medical value.

 

在種種背景下，智慧醫療是必然之勢；因此全球廠商不論其專長是通訊、機械、製藥或3C，都在積極投入，蘋果當然也不缺席。上個月發表的Apple Watch，能支援心律檢測及手腕感應，這讓穿戴裝置邁進了一大步，從以往只能記錄心跳幾下，升級到可監測具有醫療價值的心律狀況。

 

In addition to the above new hardware functionality, Apple is also building a health eco-system. Last year, Apple embarked on a partnership with Stanford University Medical Center to found the Apple Heart Study program, which uses Apple Watch to collect large amounts of data on heart rate activity from volunteers. This year Apple has signed agreements with more than 90 hospitals across the US so that patients can use their mobile phones to access their own medical records, making it possible for users to bring their medical history with them wherever they go. If the results are successful, it may well create a snowball effect and spread to other medical institutions.

 

蘋果不只推出上述的硬體新功能，也在建構生態系。去年它和史丹佛醫學中心合作啟動「Apple Heart Study」計畫，透過Apple Watch收集自願者的心律大數據。今年又與全美逾九十家醫院簽約，病人可透過手機看到自己的醫療紀錄，落實病歷帶著走。若成效良好，未來很可能產生滾雪球效應，擴及更多醫療機構。

 

Source article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2018/10/09/2003701979/2

更多英語跟讀單元: www.15mins.today