Singapore, Feb. 24 (CNA) A portable microscope developed by a Taiwanese company has attracted the attention of 100 companies involved in the aviation field at an airshow in Singapore that concluded Sunday, according to a company executive.

The microscope, developed by Taipei-based Lumos Technology Co. to help precision industries with maintenance and quality control, drew inquiries from many manufacturers of aircraft and related components, including Boeing and Airbus, said company president Yang Chi-yi.

It took the company nearly three and a half years to develop the high-resolution, portable microscope, which helps manufacturers monitor production lines and effectively help them repair and check products, Yang said.

One of its main advantages is that it can be installed on digital cameras, the executive said, because the camera makes it easier for companies to discuss the quality of products with their clients or employees, and keep records.

The company's portable microscope is already being used by major semiconductor companies, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) , as well as European automakers, Yang said.

Defense ministries in the United Kingdom and Germany have also purchased the product to help them repair or check their military equipment, Yang noted.

Japanese companies are the company's main competition, but Yang said Lumos' product costs only half of that offered by its rivals while the quality is the same.

Berlin, Nov. 5 (CNA) Taiwan inventors walked away with 35 awards from the 2006 Nuremberg International Invention Exhibition on Sunday.

Some 700 works by inventors representing 32 countries were entered in the annual event this year, which took place in Nuremberg, Germany, Nov. 2-5. The Taiwan delegation was headed by Kao Fa-yu, former president and founder of the Taiwan Prominent Inventors Association.

The Taiwan delegation submitted 36 works and captured 34 awards, comprising 14 gold, five silver and 15 bronze medals -- a record for Taiwan inventors in the Nuremberg exhibition.

Far East University in Tainan, southern Taiwan, which is noted for its ability to roll out new inventions, won a special award from organizers.

Inventions submitted by members of the Taiwan delegation included a stove that uses nitrogen as fuel and a vehicle auto-brake system for anti-retrogression.

In the exhibition, digital portable field microscope X-Loupe captured high attention and won a gold award. X-Loupe is developed by ITRC (Instrument Technology Research Center) and Lumos Technology Corp.

X-Loupe contains a microscopic module and a series of objectives that are used to combine with a digital camera in order to clearly capture the image of an object with its size as small as 10 micron. The combination of X-Loupe series and a digital camera functions as a digital portable field microscope. The application of X-Loupe series can be very broad, for example, branded items appreciation, education, research, antique authentication, industrial quality control, and dermatology screening.

While the electronic microscopy might be too professed to be accessed by the general public, X-LoupeTM series works with a digital camera and provides amateurs another excellent and handy choice of a digital portable field microscope.

The pocket-sized design of X-Loupe series enables the product mobility. Unlike the conventional microscopy which is usually heavy and cumbersome, the cooperation of X-Loupe series and a digital camera provides users many flexible and adaptable functions when they are utilised under various circumstances.

With its build-in 4 dimmable white-light LEDs, X-Loupe overcomes one of the most challenge tasks, illumination, in micro-photography, and pictures can be shot at anytime even under the darkness.

X-Loupe series allows users to preview the image through object lens with different magnifying powers such as 60X, 100X, and 150X.

On the other hand, users can also browse images at anytime from the LCD screen on the backside of the digital camera. The digital camera can be directly connected with TV via a RCA connector for the group meeting, for instance.

Furthermore, images can be easily printed out by using USB 2.0 interface connected with any PictBridge compatible printer.

When taking the picture, the far edge of the objective can either have a direct contact with the object that is going to be shot, or have a non-direct contact by using a circular latex strand to cover the far edge of the objective.

There is no specific requirement on the usage of a circular latex strand, and the sharpness of pictures eventually depends on users' operation.