Quantify, map and filter pollution using connected objects
By Laurent Laboutiere
— Jan 23, 2017
At a time when France is recording new peaks of pollution and the Chinese government has forbidden local weather stations to launch alerts, access to data concerning pollution and the tools to lessen its effects are the focus of major concern.
At CES in Las Vegas, French start-ups Plume Labs and Wair presented connected objects that combat pollution through a quantified environment and connected objects.
The quantified environment is also behind the Quantify project being developed by a team of 15 students from IONIS Group schools. The team has created an anti-pollution drone that uses genetically modified bacteria to detect pollution particles. Depending on the concentration of pollutants in ambient air, these bioluminescent bacteria glow with greater or lesser intensity.
The Wair start-up based in Lyon has developed a scarf that is part fashion item, part connected object, based on the idea that if anti-pollution masks were more attractive, they would be used more frequently. With a filter system directly woven into the fabric and connected to a mobile app, it filters and purifies air that is breathed in while measuring and indicating the quality of ambient air according to location.
The Flow sensor developed by Plume Labs is able to measure the rates of four pollutants (fine particles, ozone, nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds), map this pollution and notify the user through a smartphone app.
This device allows users to better understand, control and lessen their exposure to pollution. According to Romain Lacombe, founder of Plume Labs, the quantified environment enables “knowing more about one’s environment and providing greater protection by preventing exposure to the most polluted areas”. Like Netatmo with its connected weather stations, Plume Labs wants to create a user community that can provide real-time mapping of pollution in urban agglomerations.
The “wearable” will be available for pre-ordering next spring. Plume Labs is also extending its efforts to the B2B market, where it offers an API for forecasting air pollution using data collected in real time by users, the urban pollution history and machine learning algorithms.
We like: taking into account the importance of aesthetics in the daily use of personal anti-pollution devices at Wair. The combination of the IoT and a user community at Flow.
We were inspired by: better measurement through the quantified environment for better control of one’s personal environment and decreased risk can be applied to many areas.
#pollution #ecology #IoT #innovation #fashiontech
