COMPUTING RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK [December 28 - January 4]
Small, Portable Sensors Allow Users to Monitor Exposure to Pollution on Their Smart Phones
Computer scientists at the University of California, San Diego have built a small fleet of portable pollution sensors that allow users to monitor air quality in real time on their smart phones. The sensors could be particularly useful to people suffering from chronic conditions, such as asthma, who need to avoid exposure to pollutants.
CitiSense is the only air-quality monitoring system capable of delivering real-time data to users’ cell phones and home computers—at any time. Data from the sensors can also be used to estimate air quality throughout the area where the devices are deployed, providing information to everyone—not just those carrying sensors.
Just 100 of the sensors deployed in a fairly large area could generate a wealth of data—well beyond what a small number of EPA-mandated air-quality monitoring stations can provide. For example, San Diego County has 3.1 million residents, 4,000 square miles—and only about 10 stations.
“We want to get more data and better data, which we can provide to the public,” said William Griswold, a computer science professor at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego and the lead investigator on the project. “We are making the invisible visible.”
UC San Diego
Researchers:
Wendy Chapman, UC San Diego School of Medicine
Kevin Patrick, Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California
Ingolf Krueger, University of California, San Diego
Tajana Simunic Rosing, University of California, San Diego
Hovav Shacham, University of California, San Diego
Sanjoy Dasgupta, UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering
‹ Current Highlight | Past Highlights ›
Computing Research Highlight of the Week is a service of the Computing Community Consortium and the Computing Research Association designed to highlight some of the exciting and important recent research results in the computing fields. Each week a new highlight is chosen by CRA and CCC staff and volunteers from submissions from the computing community. Want your research featured? Submit it!.
