AirProbe app designed to test air quality

A new app has been released that helps people to measure the amount of potentially harmful airborne pollutants they are exposed to on a daily basis. The app - which is used alongside a small sensor box - has been developed by partners in the UK, Germany, Belgium and Italy and is designed to increase awareness of the environment.

The AirProbe app is designed to measure air pollution levels, including black carbon and ground level ozone. It was tested by over 300 people across London, UK, Kassel, Germany; Turin, Italy, and Antwerp, Belgium. The app follows on from the success of a similar one - WideNoise - that is used to measure noise pollution and has been used by over 10,000 people. The data collected by the air quality app is available to everyone in order to inform them about their environment.

Vittorio Loreto, project coordinator, research leader at the ISI Foundation in Turin and professor of physics at Sapienza University of Rome, said: “The EVERYAWARE project really aimed to empower people, to give them easy but accurate tools to measure air quality and noise. And then we analysed their use of the system as well as the data they had collected."

A total of €2 million (£1.5 million) was provided by the EU to fund the EVERYAWARE project, which is designed to create tools to measure environmental factors and organise case studies. The funding was used by five partners from various sectors - including environmental and computer sciences - to develop usable measurement tools for everyone.

The project has so far seen the development of the two apps, both of which also come with social games that allow users to share their impressions and information. The apps also make use of interactive maps. 

For measuring air quality, the AirProbe app works with a small sensor that is battery operated and suitable for carrying in a backpack. It connects to mobile devices via Bluetooth to relay readings for a number of different types of air pollution. It also informs the user of any highly polluted areas in their town or city, as well as peak pollution times that should be avoided.