Manual YouBikes neatly arranged at a renting station in Taipei. | Photo Credit: Nihit Sachdeva

The opportunity to travel overseas might just be one of the biggest perks of being a sports journalist.

For the Diary, who started writing five years ago, that door finally opened last month with a trip to Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan. However, this wasn’t the regular watch-a-game-write-a-report chore. Hence, it was difficult to operate on default settings. 

Instead, it was a chance to witness a nation’s efforts towards building a culture around health, fitness and sports tech through constant innovation and public-private partnerships.

The Diary was fascinated the most by a visit to Ideas Lab — an innovation lab and startup studio — and being shown a demonstration of its flagship product, XView, which employs ‘AI (artificial intelligence) markerless technology’ to track the motion of the golf swing.

Of course, it helped that this was something strictly related to the Diary’s domain. 

READ: Ideas Lab, having revolutionised golf in Taiwan, looks to build affordable substitute for Hawk-Eye in near future

Know your feet

Rafa, the recently released  Netflix docuseries on the legendary tennis player Rafael Nadal, showed how the Spaniard used special insoles in his shoes to reduce the pain caused by the Müller-Weiss syndrome.

Situated in the scenic county of Yilan in northeastern Taiwan, Brian Lin’s ‘Dr. Foot’ offers similar personalised footwear solutions and podiatric care. With new-age machines that integrate AI into their working, they can analyse key aspects like plantar pressure distribution and centre of pressure stability within seconds. Every insole, made of recycled carbon fibre, is carefully handcrafted.

The Diary was certainly taken aback when one of those machines revealed he had a flat right foot!

Dr. Foot’s services have been used by Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lo Chia-ling (Taekwondo), Huang Yi-ting (Rowing), Yang Po-Han (Badminton), Chen Szu-yu (Table Tennis) and a few other prominent Taiwanese athletes. 

YouBikes everywhere!

In Taiwan, despite the existence of a well-established public transport system in Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), 75 out of every 100 adults own a scooter.

It is definitely not ideal for the traffic situation during peak hours or the environment.

James Huang’s YouBike provides a cost-effective alternative which refines the city’s mobility. The pilot programme, started in the Xinyi district of Taipei in 2009, spans 13 cities.

Manufactured by globally renowned Giant Bicycles and run in partnership with local governments, there are more than 100,000 YouBikes available at 8,500 stations in the country. It’s fairly simple for anyone to spot multiple yellow (manual) and orange (electric) bikes neatly arranged in a queue at one of these stations. 

Users can rent on the official app by tapping their EasyCard, a rechargeable smart card, on the LED device attached to these bikes. For locals, there is no fee for the first half hour of every ride. For foreigners who don’t possess a Taiwanese number, a "single rental” feature is available, using which they can rent a bicycle for 120 hours by paying a refundable deposit of NT$3,000.

The bikes are equipped with GPS, gear shifting, adjustable seat poles, head and rear lights, a basket and a smart locking system. Additionally, it is possible to track the cutdown on carbon footprint.

“We want to let people know that when they are riding a bicycle, they are not just riding a bicycle. They can see some achievement. They can see how they have been helping society as well,” says Huang.

A gym for the elderly

Run by the Gee Hoo Group, the iCareGym is a revelation. Although it can be used by athletes for rehabilitation purposes, it is essentially aimed towards improving the health and fitness standards amongst the elderly in Taiwan.

For every new user, the process begins with an AI-based health evaluation. Based on the results, it provides customised training routines with intensity based on physiological measurements of every individual.

Through comprehensive workout data integration, iCareGym transforms every exercise into quantifiable health insights.

The country is also leading a campaign to find solutions for a healthier future. Under this year’s theme of 'Designing Healthier Futures Together', the ‘Go Healthy With Taiwan’ initiative invites government agencies, legal entities, enterprises, and institutions worldwide to submit innovative application proposals that integrate Taiwan’s strengths in smart healthcare, sports technology, and high-end bicycles.

The campaign is open for applications until August 5. The top three winning teams will each be awarded USD 30,000.

(The writer was in Taipei on the invitation of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council).

Published on Jun 11, 2026