In tandem with the Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau Director-General Lin Wei-cheng and 23 drone flyers with professional operation licenses, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che inaugurated the establishment of Taiwan’s first local government drone fleet on the 6th of August. The establishment enables better communication and coordination amongst drone operators. At present, the use of professional drones is generally in police monitoring and surveillance, fire control, environmental protection, water conservancy, etc. In future, the fleet will continue to train more flyers and collaborate with each other across different levels of government to increase its application at government level.
Drones have long been used by the Tainan City Government, Mayor Huang Wei-che indicated. It is not until now, has the government been determined to build the fleet catering to the needs of the Tainan City Government Agriculture Bureau, Bureau of Land Administration, Fire Bureau, and Police Department and develop a talent pool. The government will provide drone flyers with assistance in obtaining operator licenses issued by the Civil Aeronautics Administration, so that they will not only be qualified but also competent to fly. The drone fleet is to serve local citizens and boost government efficiency and effectiveness.
Tainan City Government is the first local government to engage in a comprehensive check and integration of drone operations and develop a local government drone fleet. The government will bend every effort to expand the fleet with more people and resources, making the applications of and services provided by the drone fleet more diversified.
Mayor Huang Wei-che aims to build Tainan City as a “Smart City.” Up to now, over 30 governmental agencies (including district offices) in Tainan have adopted drones in over 40 administrative tasks. Also, several drone-based research projects including the detection of pollution source, management of oyster beds, pesticide spraying, AI city patrol, etc., have been launched simultaneously. The use of drones can be seen on land, sea, and in the sky in terms of municipal administration, and has reached its current policy goal.