It’s official! Google’s Street View will also bring us up to speed on the air quality of that place we so desperately want to visit!
This is not science fiction, but simply the result of the startup put into the pot by Google and a major California company, Aclima, which is involved in the production and development of special sensors that measure the degree of pollution in the air by analyzing and comparing millions of data points.
The data collected and processed are then published on Google maps, in addition to images, as an additional and important piece of information to be given to the user who perhaps wants to go to a place but is unaware of the air pollution rates of carbon dioxide, monoxide or other volatile organic compounds in that particular area.
We could choose our next vacation destination precisely based on the degree of air healthiness, for extra comfort and no doubt for free!
How did the project with Aclima come about?
The project came to life in the U.S. as early as last year, when hundreds of Aclima sensors were first tested in some 20 dislocatedGoogle offices around the world. Google had initially curbed the experiment to its own offices to improve the workplace for its employees, but through collaboration with US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the experiment has expanded its horizons. Google has decided to install this technological product on board its cars, which travel the world to take photos and give us Street View of every corner of the planet, thus allowing these instruments, to take in valuable information about the presence of pollutants in the air…around the world! These sensors are able to take pictures ofairquality and generate data on environmental quality, including comfort measures of temperature, humidity, noise, light, and carbon dioxide emissions that give us an overview of the most risky areas for health and the healthiest ones.
Somewhat like with the weather forecasts that we are used to following assiduously, the pollution index will also be a piece of data not to be underestimated when planning a vacation or a move. The availability of this collected data will also allow us to have detailed information about where we live and move every day and be aware of the dangers we face in highly polluted areas and behave accordingly, perhaps preferring for our travels, more ecological solutions.