[Police Times – Reporter Yen-Fen Huang, Hsinchu]

The Ai-Heng Development Center, in collaboration with National Tsing Hua University’s High-Speed Network Laboratory RENAISUN team, officially launched the Solar Thermal Low-Carbon Sustainable Drying Demonstration Base on the 11th. By integrating solar energy with AI-based smart monitoring, the project not only helps small farmers enhance the quality of their agricultural products but also engages Ai-Heng’s young adults with disabilities (“Slow Flyers”) in the process, allowing them to learn and experience the full cycle from farming to processing.

Ai-Heng Development Center Chairman Yao-Sai Tai stated that Ai-Heng has long been committed to supporting adults with disabilities in becoming productive members of society. In alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the center actively promotes “eco-friendly and Earth-loving” initiatives. In the past, herbs grown in the Ai-Heng Lohas Farm had to be dried using electric heating, which took up to two days and consumed a large amount of electricity, limiting production capacity. Since March this year, the center has partnered with the NTHU team to establish the Solar Thermal Low-Carbon Sustainable Drying Demonstration Base, enabling herbs to be efficiently dried with solar thermal energy in just three hours. The process not only ensures stable quality while saving energy and reducing carbon emissions, but also brings pride to the “Slow Flyers.” “Seeing the high-quality results of the herbs harvested with their own efforts has boosted both productivity and farm revenue, and brought more confident smiles to their faces,” Chairman Tai said with joy, sweat on his brow.

Professor Neng-Fu Huang, lead researcher of NTHU’s RENAISUN team, noted that farmers have long faced challenges of energy-intensive and unstable drying processes, which reduce the economic benefits of their hard work. After two years of research, his team developed this solar thermal system equipped with AI smart control. The collaboration with Ai-Heng has successfully created the Solar Thermal Low-Carbon Sustainable Drying Demonstration Base, demonstrating how technology can enhance agricultural value, advance energy-saving and carbon reduction goals, promote sustainable agriculture, and foster social inclusion for both farmers and disadvantaged groups.

The Ai-Heng Lohas Farm is not only a farm but also a learning ground for the “Slow Flyers.” From planting, harvesting, sorting, and drying, to packaging, they gain hands-on experience in agricultural processing. With user-friendly interfaces and AI-assisted tools, they are able to participate directly in the drying process. This initiative gives both persons with disabilities and novice farmers opportunities to be actively involved, embodying the principles of the UN CRPD (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) — equal participation, equal opportunity, and rights protection.