Clearing the air over pollution

Jul 2 2009 Ian Johnson

Clearing the air over pollution

A GLIMPSE of a future in which it may be possible to know the measure of pollutants in the air where we live or work is being offered by scientists who are transforming pedestrians, cyclists, buses and cars into mobile wireless sensors to demonstrate new ways of measuring air quality.

Researchers will show transport authority and industry representatives how small mobile sensors could improve how air quality in urban areas is monitored and managed.

It seems that there is a lot that we do not know about air quality in our cities and towns because the current generation of large stationary sensors don't provide enough information.

The Centre for Transport Studies at Imperial College London which is running the project envisages a future where hundreds and thousands of the mobile sensors are deployed across the country.

The new technology means that researchers can now measure and model air quality in unprecedented detail to improve their understanding about pollution hotspots and analyse the factors such as bad urban design that contribute to poor air quality.

The scientists will also model pollution clouds in 3D, by attaching sensors to traffic lights and street lamps. They aim to understand how pollution forms, lingers and dissipates in high emission zones.

The air quality measurements and the location of each mobile sensor will be tracked on Google maps.

Although an experiment, this move could, once and for all make inroads into problem areas where residents and workers are seriously concerned about pollution and associated health problems and have no firm evidence to go on when demanding action.

Maybe cars of the future will have inbuilt sensors that will warn us of pollution levels before we open the door and breath it in. And that has to be a positive move.