Helping drivers find parking spaces and providing guidance inside a busy train station are the latest two initiatives in the Smart City Taiwan project.

The Industrial Development Bureau at the Ministry of Economic Affairs has been running the Smart City Taiwan project since 2018. It aims to use all types of smart technologies such as IoT, big data, and AI to integrate local, industry and civilian needs.

Transportation is an important component to technological transformation. Smart parking and augmented reality (AR) navigation are two aspects of transportation that are being discussed around the world. Given Taiwan’s technology foundation, it has incorporated these concepts and developed its own business models within transportation.

Usually, drivers spend a lot of time searching for parking spaces. This is not only time-consuming and frustrating, but it also produces avoidable greenhouse gas emissions. In response, the government of Tainan launched a smart parking app and installed geomagnetic sensors in parking spots to obtain real-time information on roadside parking. With the assistance of the smart parking system, drivers can save 15% of time spent on parking. And it could reduce CO₂ emissions by 15%.

So far, 70% of parking spots, or 8400 out of 12,000, in Tainan City have been included in the smart parking platform. With the management platform, the turnover rate of parking spots along key roads increased by 19.2%. In addition, over 10,000 users use the smart parking app, which has received a 4.4/5 rating on the app store.

Large train stations have implemented AR navigation services that help identify users’ surroundings by comparing real-time images from their camera to an online image database. The Taipei government launched the Taipei Navi app to provide indoor AR navigation in Taipei Train Station. The app connects users’ Bluetooth to the widespread beacons situated inside the station. It uses the users’ camera to provide AR services and prevents them from missing their trains.

The app can improve travellers’ shopping and traveling experiences in Taiwan and has since been exported to Singapore and Saint Vincent.

The Smart City Taiwan project aims to speed up collaboration and integration between cities and towns to drive local and country innovation. To date, it has deployed 224 projects covering the six major aspects of agriculture, education, healthcare, transportation, tourism and governance.