The involvement of the public in research has significant potential, especially through the provision of massive amounts of data. This is commonly known as citizen science. In the European H2020 research project CompAir, we will exploit citizen science data about air pollution. Augmented Reality is the appropriate technology to make these data accessible to a large variety of users in their local surroundings. Following ideas from Noble & Sridar, we will further research and develop new ways to visualize complex environmental data in a meaningful way. The user will be able to receive local environmental information from plenty of sensors augmented in its smart phone. This will help change daily behavior, but also provide valuable data sources for environmental policy making in urban environments. The challenge will be to transform complex statistical data into a meaningful visualization that attracts and engages people.
Dynamic Exposure Visualization App (DEVA)
We present for the first time a real-time visualization of air quality and traffic data based on publicly available environmental do-it-yourself (DIY) sensors with Augmented Reality. It can be used on any mobile device such as smartphone or tablet. The app has the following features:
- different visualization modes for optimized display of 3D sensor data in the augmented 3D space
- alert, if pollution thresholds are exceeded
- trip recording to record and save current GPS positions and monitor air quality along a recorded trip. The data serve as input for the Dynamic Exposure Visualization Dashboard (DEV-D).
- detailed sensor information for a variety of pollutants such as CO2 (Carbon Dioxide), NO2 (Nitrogen Dioxide), BC (Black Carbon), PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 (Particulate Matter of size 1, 2.5 and 10 micrometres), humidity and temperature.
- detailed traffic sensor information such as number of cars, trucks or bicycles for a given period.
The app is available for free download on Google Play Store. We will also offer an iOS version on the Apple Store by end of November 2024.
