Medical tech, digital, artificial intelligence and material tech are among the top 10 technologies to watch this year, says the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA).
The integration of multidisciplinary technologies with imaginative thinking is key to solving pain points in the country.
Narong Sirilertworakul, president of NSTDA, said R&D has the potential to affect social and economic development. In 2018, NSTDA's budget was 5 billion baht, which it expects to have an outcome of 4.2 times expenditure, or 21 billion baht, increasing to five times in 2020.
"Health tech is one of the most advanced sectors this year," he said. Six of the top 10 tech trends this year are medical.
The first technology trend is mosquito-targeted Wolbachia, which uses the Wolbachia bacteria to eliminate mosquitoes, helping to lessen diseases such as malaria. This technology could be useful in other parts of the world such as Africa, said Mr Narong.
The second is edible vaccines made from transgenic plants, produced for pharmaceuticals that use agrobacterium, which is more cost-effective than normal vaccines and more convenient for parents than bringing children to hospitals for injections.
"Thailand can capitalise on this trend as we have various kinds of herbs," he said.
The third is cell lines for drug testing that can do not need to use animals, paving the way for personalised medicine.
The fourth is personalised therapy that use two techniques, building stem cells and reprogramming cells, combined with genetic design for personalised treatment.
The fifth is intelligent nano needles that integrate sensors with needles to get real information on human systems such as blood sugar levels for diabetes.
The sixth is nanovalves for drug delivery, a new kind of nanoscopic valve.
Mr Narong said the seventh technology is material science and customised sound absorbers that can absorb sounds at different frequencies, priced 50% lower than imported ones.
The eighth is metal 3D printing to be used in healthcare, aerospace, and automobile. By the third quarter of 2019, metal 3D printing will be more affordable and used in offices for small scale printing. NSTDA has collaborated with private firms to develop this area too.
The ninth trend is "cyber and physical technology" -- Internet of Things, communications, and cloud that integrates the digital and physical aspects to improve city management systems.
The last trend is chatbots for smart-homes, to be used with smart speakers or digital assistants and service robots, including customer support chatbots.
