Clean air technology firm AirLabs is set to install 250 advanced air quality sensors across the Borough of Camden, London to monitor and manage air pollution with the aim of improving public health and well-being in urban spaces.
The project, in partnership with Camden Council and The Camden Clean Air Initiative, aims to provide detailed, hyper-local data enabling the public to map the safest route from A-to-B. It will also feed into local traffic management policy and provide NHS Trusts and schools with valuable information to help protect public health.
According to the initiative, the network will provide at least 100 times more spatial resolution and refresh 60 times more regularly than the network of existing air quality reference stations in Camden, capturing and reporting hyper-local air quality data every minute to map the issue in real time.
Devices will be optimally spaced to identify and differentiate between different sources of pollution, including whether they are localised sources such as road traffic and wood-burning, or regional sources such as industry.
The devices will be installed on lampposts, buildings and other suitable infrastructure and take measurements every minute enabling detection of the smallest of changes.
The sensors will be deployed over the coming months and will complement the existing air quality monitoring network. The future possibilities of how the data can be used are reported to be vast. AirLabs is working to engage with potential partners, clean air groups and councils to explore future collaboration.
Marc Ottolini, CEO of AirLabs, said: “Our ultra-dense network of sensors will provide unprecedented ultra-high definition visibility of local air pollution to allow communities, businesses and stakeholders to make more informed choices to protect the health and well-being of the local population.
“There’s no time to wait in tackling the air pollution crisis – we all contribute to air pollution, and we all suffer the health impacts that it causes. This new information system empowers us all to enact data-driven change and become part of the solution.
“Camden Council understands the importance of empowering the community to tackle this vital issue head on. This network will serve as a blueprint for boroughs across London and cities around the world, using the power of data to inform meaningful action and protect populations from the invisible threat of air pollution.”
