Developing labor-saving log-based shiitake mushroom cultivation devices, the NSYSU team wins the Platinum Medal Award and the HON HAI Special Award
2025-12-29
Who says growing shiitake mushrooms must come with back pain? Under the leadership of Distinguished Professor Wei-Chih Lin of the Department of Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering at National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU), Taiwan's traditional under-forest industries are quietly being transformed. The team has developed two labor-saving devices for cultivating log-based shiitake mushroom—the "Multi-Axis Log Handling Machine" and the "Automated Inoculation Machine for Log-Grown Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation." These innovations provide solutions to rural labor shortages, bring smart technology into forest farming, and earned three major honors at the 2025 Taiwan Innotech Expo Invention Competition: the Platinum Medal Award, the Bronze Medal Award, and the HON HAI Special Award presented by HON HAI Technology Group.
Distinguished Professor Wei-Chih Lin explains that log-based shiitake mushrooms are one of the most representative and mature under-forest economic products, contributing to soil conservation, wood-resource circularity, and revitalizing mountain communities. However, labor shortages, aging workforces, and the physically demanding nature of the work pose major challenges. Traditional cultivation faces bottlenecks such as heavy labor, high risks, complex procedures, and difficulties finding workers—especially in key tasks like log transportation, drilling and inoculation, stacking, and relocation, all of which rely heavily on physical strength and experience.
To address these challenges, Professor Lin's team, commissioned by the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, developed two labor-saving devices guided by the principles of safety, efficiency, and user-friendliness. The "Multi-Axis Log Handling Machine" significantly reduces lifting loads and rollover risks, shortens transport paths, improves stacking stability, and minimizes musculoskeletal injuries. The "Automated Inoculation Machine for Log-Grown Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation" standardizes inoculation depth, spacing, and frequency, increasing consistency and mycelium colonization success, shortening work time, and reducing labor requirements.
"A grounded and empathetic mindset is the foundation of good policy," Lin remarks. In addition to funding the project, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency actively participated in discussions, field visits, and on-site testing, offering valuable knowledge and expertise throughout the process. The team learned to integrate local industry needs and social context into engineering design, strengthening young researchers' capabilities and competitiveness in future careers.
The two devices stood out among more than 1,200 patented inventions at the 2025 Taiwan Innotech Expo Invention Competition. The "Multi-Axis Log Handling Machine" won one of only 14 Platinum Medal Awards, recognizing its innovation, feasibility, and industrial potential. The "Automated Inoculation Machine for Log-Grown Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation" received the Bronze Medal Award and the prestigious HON HAI Special Award, selected anonymously by HON HAI Technology Group evaluators—an honor given to less than 1% of entries and the only award granted to a public-sector invention, highlighting the Invention's maturity and market value.
With top honors and industry recognition, the team's patented innovations demonstrate strong alignment with real-world needs and economic value. Moving forward, they will continue partnering with various sectors to bring new momentum to mountain communities and foster co-prosperity between forests and local societies.
Who says growing shiitake mushrooms must come with back pain? Under the leadership of Distinguished Professor Wei-Chih Lin of the Department of Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering at National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU), Taiwan's traditional under-forest industries are quietly being transformed. The team has developed two labor-saving devices for cultivating log-based shiitake mushroom—the "Multi-Axis Log Handling Machine" and the "Automated Inoculation Machine for Log-Grown Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation." These innovations provide solutions to rural labor shortages, bring smart technology into forest farming, and earned three major honors at the 2025 Taiwan Innotech Expo Invention Competition: the Platinum Medal Award, the Bronze Medal Award, and the HON HAI Special Award presented by HON HAI Technology Group.
Distinguished Professor Wei-Chih Lin explains that log-based shiitake mushrooms are one of the most representative and mature under-forest economic products, contributing to soil conservation, wood-resource circularity, and revitalizing mountain communities. However, labor shortages, aging workforces, and the physically demanding nature of the work pose major challenges. Traditional cultivation faces bottlenecks such as heavy labor, high risks, complex procedures, and difficulties finding workers—especially in key tasks like log transportation, drilling and inoculation, stacking, and relocation, all of which rely heavily on physical strength and experience.
To address these challenges, Professor Lin's team, commissioned by the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, developed two labor-saving devices guided by the principles of safety, efficiency, and user-friendliness. The "Multi-Axis Log Handling Machine" significantly reduces lifting loads and rollover risks, shortens transport paths, improves stacking stability, and minimizes musculoskeletal injuries. The "Automated Inoculation Machine for Log-Grown Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation" standardizes inoculation depth, spacing, and frequency, increasing consistency and mycelium colonization success, shortening work time, and reducing labor requirements.
"A grounded and empathetic mindset is the foundation of good policy," Lin remarks. In addition to funding the project, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency actively participated in discussions, field visits, and on-site testing, offering valuable knowledge and expertise throughout the process. The team learned to integrate local industry needs and social context into engineering design, strengthening young researchers' capabilities and competitiveness in future careers.
The two devices stood out among more than 1,200 patented inventions at the 2025 Taiwan Innotech Expo Invention Competition. The "Multi-Axis Log Handling Machine" won one of only 14 Platinum Medal Awards, recognizing its innovation, feasibility, and industrial potential. The "Automated Inoculation Machine for Log-Grown Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation" received the Bronze Medal Award and the prestigious HON HAI Special Award, selected anonymously by HON HAI Technology Group evaluators—an honor given to less than 1% of entries and the only award granted to a public-sector invention, highlighting the Invention's maturity and market value.
With top honors and industry recognition, the team's patented innovations demonstrate strong alignment with real-world needs and economic value. Moving forward, they will continue partnering with various sectors to bring new momentum to mountain communities and foster co-prosperity between forests and local societies.
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