Sensors built by computer scientists at the University of California, San Diego have allowed users to monitor air quality on their smart phones in real time.
Though the researchers have so far only tested the sensors with 30 users, lead investigator and UC San Diego computer science professor William Griswold hopes that when they can achieve wider distribution, air quality can be measured much more effectively than the small number of Environmental Protection Agency monitoring stations.
"We want to get more data and better data, which we can provide to the public," Griswold said in an announcement. "We are making the invisible visible."
The CitiSense air quality sensors detect ozone, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide, and the program then displays the readings on the user’s smart phone or computer using the EPA’s color-coded scale (green for good to purple for hazardous).
The sensors revealed to its users some misconceptions that people commonly have about pollution. For instance, rather than diffusing somewhat equally through the air, compounds actually tend to remain concentrated at certain areas along main roads and at intersections.
The sensors are currently on loan to San Diego State University researchers who are studying air quality in San Ysidro, one of the most polluted areas in San Diego County. The sensors currently cost $1,000 each, but the researchers hope to reduce the price so they can build a wireless network gathering information from sensors carried by the public at large.
