The Ministry of Environment on Wednesday said that it received a smart city award in the US for an air quality monitoring project submitted as part of a competition involving more than 700 smart city projects worldwide.
The Smart 20 Awards was organized by Smart Cities Connect, a US organization that holds an annual conference and expo bringing together influential figures in smart city solutions.
The award “annually recognizes global smart cities projects, honoring the most innovative and influential work,” information on its Web site says.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Environment via CNA
The ministry’s project, Advanced Air Quality Monitoring — Innovations and Applications of Mobile Air Quality Sensors, was one of 20 recipients of this year’s Smart 20 Awards.
It is the first Taiwanese central government agency to have received the honor and was invited to attend the awards ceremony in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Wednesday, the ministry said.
The ministry said in a news release that since 2017, it has employed advanced technologies such as sensors, Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence big data analysis for air quality monitoring.
The ministry has collaborated with 18 local governments to deploy about 10,000 air quality sensors, establishing an air quality sensing IoT network that provides “high temporal and spatial resolution and more real-time air quality information” to enable smart environment governance, the release said.
To further enhance the scope and mobility of air quality sensing, the ministry has since 2020 worked with the Green Energy and Environment Research Laboratories of the Industrial Technology Research Institute to develop mobile air quality sensing devices and systems, the statement said.
The award-winning project demonstrates how mobile air quality sensors can identify potential sources of pollution and locate spots for on-site inspections, the ministry added.
The mobile sensors have been deployed to collect data for environmental governance applications in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Chiayi County and Hsinchu City, it said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS