SmartPhones Sensor: Helps Generating Crowdsourced Pollution Maps

Science is progressing daily. Every second of every day someone in some part of the world is creating something new and innovating. But Science and technology have its backlogs too. One of the major side effects of developing technology is pollution.

The irony is to compact these side effects we need the help of science. In the Kalsruhe Institute of Technology, a technology is being developed that will enable the smart phones to measure and determine the level of particulate matter present in the atmosphere. But the accurate calculation of the particulate level in the atmosphere for a crowded city or a large region will need conservable amount of manpower.

THE IDEA: 

The idea is to attach a sensor to the smart phones that will calculate the particulate matter level in the atmosphere and in turn generate effective pollution maps for that particular area. The idea is still under consideration and the research is going on this particular topic. But what is yet to be determined is exactly how many persons will be required for this project to generate a reliable and accurate pollution map for a certain area.

THE PROGRESS: 

Kalsruhe Institute of Technology is not the first intuition to work in this field. Other institutions have worked on a similar idea before Kalsruhe. At the University of California, a project was undertaken by a group of researchers who explore the same idea. Back in the year 2010, smart phones were used to read the levels of particulate matter and researchers were under the impression that by installing an app in the smart phones, light could be emitted via the LED’s flash from the built in camera and photos pertinent to the topic were analysed.

The researchers at KIT went further ahead and attached a light trap to the concerned phone to receive more accurate and reliable results. A low cost dust sensor was also adapted.

In another year or two , researchers hope to develop a production version of this product with a newer version of the sensor that will calculate fine dust along with course dust. Photos could also be stored and preserved in the future version increasing the effectively of the product. This form with be supported by a magnet which will suit the needs of the application in the smart phones.

THE PROBLEM: 

In spite of all this, a slight problem still remains. This application will be used by the general public and researchers are doubtful about how this application will be used by the public.

No matter what the negative consequences of the application might be, this is certainly a ground-breaking idea in the field of science. This will help to solve a number of health issues especially in over populated and busy cities. With the help of accurate pollution maps, necessary measures could be taken for a particular region to protect and preserve their environment. The health department could concentrate on a particular area with this app.