Premier Lai Ching-te on Thursday commended the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) for promoting an internet-of-things (IoT) network of air quality sensors, saying the sensors will make environmental monitoring and enforcement practices smarter while providing real-time information on air quality to the public.
IoT-enabled applications have proven helpful in resolving environmental problems, the premier said following an EPA briefing at the Cabinet's weekly meeting. The EPA has set up a sensor quality verification platform and deployed sensors in the field, all with encouraging results so far.
The EPA said it plans to install a smart network of 10,200 air quality sensors across the nation from 2017 through 2020. To ensure the quality and stability of the data, a verification center for sensors capable of detecting PM2.5 (particular matter of 2.5 micrometers or less) was established in 2017, including a testbed and laboratory testing platform for assessing sensor functionality. An environmental testing data center was also set up to perform big data analytics and create applications from the information collected.