A breath of fresh air - 5G fighting air pollution
According to the World Health Organisation, 91% of the world’s population breathe polluted air, resulting in an estimated 7 million deaths per year worldwide.[1]
This year, World Environment Day was held in Hangzhou, China and the theme was air pollution. This was somewhat ironic as Hangzhou houses the most cars per person of all cities in China, making it one of the most polluted in the country, and the world.
With an increasing global population and continuing industrialisation fuelling growth of urban areas, air pollution is projected to get far worse. Urgent action is required to clean up the air we breathe.
Would having knowledge of pollution levels in your area impact your decision making? Would you decide to walk instead of drive for example, if you knew that air toxicity from car fumes was particularly high that day?
What if you received a notification to your phone informing you of the pollution level in your location, in real time, planning you a green, less polluted, alternative route or mode of transport?
Enter MegaSense: a programme created by the University of Helsinki whose aim is to achieve just that. By utilising 5G and machine learning techniques, MegasSense is aiming to calibrate a number of low-cost sensors across cities globally, which deliver accurate measures of pollution levels in real-time.
Using 5G network, the sensors will connect to the cloud giving businesses, policy makers and members of the public real-time reports of air quality across their city and in their location.
MegaSense’s aim is that by collating and distributing this data, people are able to make informed decisions about their behaviour which could impact the pollution levels around them. Whether that’s individuals choosing to cycle more frequently or policy makers implementing car free days for example, like the one that took place in London on 22 September 2019.
Businesses could also harness this real-time data to promote their ventures. For example, when logging into the Uber app, Uber Pools or their Jump scooters could be recommended or promoted to customers as more eco-friendly options rather than private cars.
In the wake of the controversy surrounding the implementation of the 5G network, it is encouraging to see programmes such as MegaSense harnessing its capabilities as a force for good, which has the potential to positively impact so many across the planet.
[1] https://www.who.int/airpollution/en/
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