Taiwan is expected to become an international hub for “smart city” industrial development, Taipei Computer Association (TCA, 台北市電腦公會) chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢) said yesterday.
“The scale and the number of international participants of the Smart City Summit and Expo this year are the largest since the first exhibition in 2014. This suggests Taiwan’s rising position amid smart city industry development,” Tung told reporters on the sidelines of the annual expo at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Hall.
The association’s 2014 smart city exhibition was the first such exhibition in Asia and was designed to demonstrate the applications of big data, cloud-computing and the Internet of Things in modern cities.
The association invited representatives from about 50 nations to this year’s show, with 200 domestic and international information and communications technology companies setting up 900 booths at the fair, an increase of 20 percent from last year, Tung said.
The fair allows large Taiwanese companies such as Acer Inc (宏碁), Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) and Tatung Co (大同), as well as small and medium-sized firms to showcase their smart city solutions to international visitors, he said.
Many of the exhibitors are promoting solutions for air pollution monitoring, traffic management and emergency care for elderly people, he said.
Tung said he is optimistic Taiwan can become a hub for smart city industry, where global enterprises or cities come to Taiwan seeking solutions, and local governments could offer pilot spaces for firms to experiment with their applications.
Acer yesterday announced it would collaborate with the Tainan City Government and the Tainan University of Technology to provide the first smart parking meter system for roadside parking in the nation.
The system uses sensors and a mobile application to help drivers find parking spaces.
The smart parking meter identifies the vehicle’s license plate and offers the user payment options, Acer said.
Acer e-business group president Ben Wan (萬以寧) said the app could save drivers from wasting time looking for parking and help improve traffic flow during peak hours.
Wan said he hopes to continue working with the city government to expand the scope of Acer’s smart parking meter system.
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