July 1, 2009
Mobile pollution sensors deployed
Cyclists, buses, cars and even pedestrians will become mobile pollution detectors in an initiative launched on Tuesday, reports the BBC.
Led by Imperial College London, the Message project will trial three types of mobile, wireless pollution sensor.
These will measure traffic pollutants throughout the UK, and transmit their data via the mobile phone network.
Scientists say such detailed mobile measurements could help improve the management of air quality.
Four UK universities are collaborating on the project, which will deploy 100 sensors in London, Leicester, Gateshead and Cambridge. Each one will measure up to five different traffic pollutants simultaneously, including carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide.
Other projects where cell phones monitor pollution:
-- Cyclists' cellphones help monitor air pollution - Cellphones used by bicycle couriers are monitoring air pollution in Cambridge, UK, and beaming the data back to a research lab.
-- Cell phone Air Pollution Monitor - Squirrel is a Bluetooth-enabled gadget that monitors pollution developped by The University of California San Diego and Calit2.
-- Cell phones to sense our environment and its pollutants - Tiny environmental sensors in cell phones and turn phone users into roving citizen scientists who continuously sample and respond to their personal environment.
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