The Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering at National University of Tainan (NUTN) showcased the latest achievements of its TAIDE Taiwanese–English AI Learning Companion at COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2026, held from June 2 to 5, 2026. Supported by the National Science and Technology Council's Advanced AI Research Program, the project brings together expertise from the Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica, the National Center for High-performance Computing (NCHC), Chen Kang Publishing Co., Ltd., and NUTN to advance innovative applications of Taiwan's sovereign AI for local language education.
One of the highlights of this year's exhibition was the integration of MediaTek's Breeze ASR 26 automatic speech recognition model into the learning system. According to validation conducted by the NUTN research team using Taiwanese-language teaching materials published by Chen Kang and testing corpora provided by the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), the system has achieved a Taiwanese speech recognition accuracy exceeding 95%, marking a significant milestone in the application of Taiwan's sovereign AI to local language education.
Led by Professor Chien-Hsing Lee, the TAIDE Taiwanese–English AI Learning Companion is a key component of the interdisciplinary project "An Interactive AI Platform for Language Learning in the Taiwanese Context," directed by Research Fellow Hsin-Min Wang of Academia Sinica. The collaborative initiative, jointly developed by Academia Sinica, National Taiwan University, and National University of Tainan, integrates the TAIDE sovereign AI framework, multimodal speech and text interaction technologies, and the Breeze ASR 26 model to create an intelligent language learning environment tailored to Taiwan's educational needs.
Professor Lee explained that, beyond natural language understanding and conversational interaction, the AI learning companion provides real-time feedback on students' spoken performance, helping learners improve both pronunciation and language proficiency. The latest model upgrade also incorporates interactive learning data accumulated through NUTN's long-term human–AI collaborative learning projects conducted in Taiwan, Japan, and Malaysia. By training the system with authentic teaching data collected across multiple countries and educational settings, the research team has further enhanced the system's stability in local language learning, semantic understanding, and interactive responses.
In recent years, NUTN has continued to promote the integration of artificial intelligence into educational practice. The University recently launched the Taiwanese–English AI Human–AI Collaborative Learning System at the AI Exploration Classroom of Rende Elementary School in Tainan, where the platform has been incorporated into AI clubs and local language courses, allowing students to experience AI-assisted learning in authentic educational settings.
According to President Hui-Ping Chen, the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence presents universities with an important opportunity to integrate AI technologies with Taiwan's cultural and educational needs. Showcasing the TAIDE Taiwanese–English AI Learning Companion at COMPUTEX not only demonstrates the practical application of Taiwan's sovereign AI in education, but also highlights the potential of combining artificial intelligence with local language learning.
The Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering further noted that, in addition to continuously enhancing the AI learning companion, the research team is working with National Chi Nan University and National Cheng Kung University Hospital to expand the technology into the field of health education for older adults, exploring broader applications of AI in both education and health promotion. During COMPUTEX 2026, educators, industry professionals, and members of the public were invited to experience the TAIDE Taiwanese–English AI Learning Companion firsthand and discover the innovative potential of Taiwan's sovereign AI in local language learning.