It’s official! Google’s Street View will also bring us up to speed on the air quality of that place we so badly 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 pieces of data.
The data collected and processed are then published on the Google maps, as well as pictures, as additional and important information to be given to the user who perhaps wants to go to a place but is not aware of the air pollution rates of carbon dioxide, monoxide, or other volatile organic compounds in that particular area.
We could choose the destination of our next vacation just by the degree of healthiness of the air, to have an extra comfort and no doubt for free!
How did the project with Aclima come about?
The project came to life in the United States as early as last year, when hundreds of Aclima’s 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 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the experiment has broadened its horizons.
Google has decided to install this technological product on board its cars, which travel the world to take pictures and give us Street View of every corner of the planet, thus allowing these tools, to encapsulate valuable information about the presence of pollutants in the air … around the world!
These sensors are capable of taking photographs of the quality of the‘air 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 health-risk and healthiest areas.
Somewhat as is the case with the weather forecast we are used to following assiduously, the pollution index will also be a data point not to be underestimated in anticipation of a vacation or 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 environmentally friendly solutions.
