Insight develops clean air travel app
A prototype app in development at data analytics research centre Insight could offer pedestrians and cyclists a 17.87% reduction in pollution exposure.
The aim of the prototype is to positively impact public health and encourage more people to make sustainable travel choices without compromising their own health.
A report published by the Environmental Protection Agency found that air quality in Ireland is generally good despite some concerning localised issues in cities and towns.
The Insight SFI team at DCU used data analysis; refining and supplementing the publicly available Google Air Quality dataset for Dublin; to build a database capable of suggesting green travel routes for those travelling around the city.
Users can enter pollutants they wish to avoid into the app. Preferences are then fed into an algorithm which calculates a route using the dataset and shows the quickest and least polluted routes.
Dr Mingming Liu, assistant professor, School of Electronic Engineering, DCU, said: “Promoting active transportation modes such as walking and cycling over fossil-fuelled vehicles is critical in encouraging people to move towards greener transportation options. However, at present, active transportation users such as walkers, runners and cyclists have very limited awareness of the pollution levels in their surroundings, making them susceptible to various health risks while walking or cycling on the roads.”
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