TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The digital ministry announced six winning teams for the Civic Tech Taiwan competition on Monday, which saw collaboration between public groups and developers to build a modular, open-source disaster resilience platform.
A modular design mirrors building blocks, as content can be swapped or updated in parts rather than as a whole. Open-source means making the digital content's source code free to the general public for modification.
The competition called for entries in April to create a shared digital assets library for public groups and local governments as natural disasters intensify, per CNA. Six teams participated, each with expertise in disaster reporting, risk analysis, resource allocation, rescue, and evacuation, per the digital ministry's press release.
One team standardized disaster reporting data and hotspot analysis to improve data integration efficiency. Another team used an AI agent for an information portal integrating early-stage disaster data and agency coordination.
Resilient Urban Lab integrated open geospatial data and spatial analysis to identify high-risk areas such as narrow alleyways. CodeWorldBagel, applied disaster prevention data from different ministries to support AI analysis and decision-making,
Brocere integrated satellite communications, AI, and IoT to maintain communication during disasters. The sixth team used data analytics to optimize resource management, heightening users' situational awareness.
Deputy Minister Isabel Hou (侯宜秀) said all-around collaboration is vital to ensure readiness. She cited the Hualien barrier lake relief effort as an example of government and volunteers cooperating to achieve a common objective, per UDN.
Panel judge and researcher from the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction, Su Wen-jui (蘇文瑞), said the entries demonstrated a solid understanding of disaster relief. He noted that broadened collaboration should ensure ready deployment, per the Economic Daily News.
