The Taichung City Government Environmental Protection Bureau has won two international gold awards at the "2024 Government Design Awards (GOV Design Awards 2024)" for its two smart technology applications aimed at improving air quality – “Air Quality Sensors IoT Integrated with Drone Automatic Air Pollutant Sampling” and “Vehicle-Mounted High-Pollution Vehicle AI Smart Identification Equipment”. This marks the first time a government agency in our country has successfully won a gold award. Today (15th), at the city council meeting, Environmental Protection Bureau Director Hong-Yi Chen presented the award on behalf of the bureau to the city government.

Mayor Shiu-Yen Lu stated that the city government actively employs smart technology to enhance law enforcement efficiency and achieve precise environmental governance through innovative techniques. Winning another international award this time highlights Taichung City's remarkable achievements in advancing smart city development and has received high recognition from the international community. The city government will continue to deepen the diverse applications of technology in the future, further optimizing urban governance and striving to create a more livable environment.

 Director Chen stated that the “2024 Government Design Award” is organized by BETTER FUTURE, a global design promotion organization from Australia. The award aims to recognize the courage of commissioners and creators of design projects in the government, community, and public sectors. Over the past 9 editions, a total of 406 awards have been presented.

Director Chen stated that the Environmental Protection Bureau has been actively implementing AI technology and big data analytics in recent years. By utilizing an air quality sensor IoT, the bureau can monitor real-time air quality throughout the city. In the event of significant air pollution incidents, the technology enables immediate pollution tracking and triggers emergency response mechanisms to safeguard public health. At the same time, it effectively limits air pollution hotspots by integrating automatic sampling with drones to control pollution sources. From 2021 to 2023, a total of 100 cases were processed through smart law enforcement, with fines accumulating to over 25 million NTD, and the complaint rate for air pollution cases decreased by 2.74%.

 In addition, the Environmental Protection Bureau has pioneered a nationwide initiative by collaborating with taxi companies to equip their vehicles with onboard cameras and AI recognition technology. Last year, this system detected over 20,000 motorcycles that had not completed their mandatory emissions inspections. Ensuring that all motorcycles in the city complete regular inspections and meet emission standards will significantly contribute to improving local air quality.