As the nature of the network is changing and new devices are appearing on the market, our software platform is adapting to change.

The Quadra Space Team  (http://www.quadraspace.org/) has ported the SensLink application which was initially developed for J2ME MIDP phones to the Android mobile platform.Here are a few screen shots;

We will be at Mobile world congress in Barcelona, and will provide more details about this new collaboration and other exciting news after the event.

So stay tuned……….and see you at MWC hopefully.

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/178na1.pdf

“In a new study, Spanish researchers describe a method specifically designed for measuring and characterising noise from building sites. They claim the method could help shape future policy related to noise pollution caused by the construction industry and provide important information to help reduce construction noise.

The researchers concluded noise on the site  was within the appropriate levels, noting that construction workers were probably exposed to higher noise levels than those measured. However, they argue that the very particular type of noise produced by construction work – characterised by low frequency (making a deep noise) and intermittency – means it deserves special attention in policy making. Current noise laws, they say, do not take into account the specificity of this kind of noise. By contrast, they consider New York City regulations to be very effective, as they are designed specifically with construction noise in mind.”

City Senspods are available today for first mapping and then reducing noise associated with construction sites.

The easiest way to power Senspods using human energy is using a handcrank; we use the 12 V Freeplay FreeCharge model  (http://www.freeplayenergy.com/product/freecharge12v)

along with a cigarette lighter to Mini USB adapter.

Since pedalling generates a lot more power, our next challenge will be to see how Senspods can be integrated into the CopenhagenWheel developed by MIT’s  Senseable Lab  (http://senseable.mit.edu/copenhagenwheel/) ……..but that will be the object of a future post.

Since the Copenhagen conference was such a failure (are we surprised ?), it seems that progress will depend upon local initiatives. How about T-Shirts with Pinocchio’s face and LED’s showing longer and longer noses for the delegates at the next Climate  summits……. ? Wouldn’t that be a fun way of mixing e-government, environment and entertainment ?

To place your orders, check our store.

You will see on our products page our current range of Senspods and you can check our  store for prices and delivery dates.

In terms of mass, how much does a reduction of 1 ppm by atmospheric volume  represent ?

Using 5.137 x 10¹⁸ kg as the mass of our atmosphere, 1 ppm of CO2 represents 2.13 Gt of carbon !!

Some companies are choosing a humorous angle to air quality. For example the cosmetics  brand Clarins has posted a funny advertising video regarding its “anti-pollution” cream to protect the skin from aggressive airborne oxidizing elements.

I hope not many people will follow this technique to reduce their exposure to city air, and truly think it is refreshing to see a humorous take on a real problem in order to raise awareness.

We do not need to be bombarded by graphs and sophisticated modelling to become responsible citizens, so here are some numbers that you can refer to regarding cities and air, so that next time you are at a cocktail party or next to the coffee machine at work you can have more interesting discussions about how individual and local actions can probably do a lot more over the long term than a political summit.

Back of the napkin calculations:

When you are at rest (sleeping or sitting own) you inhale 0.5 m³ of air /hour.

While in motion walking, running etc…This amount goes up to 1.2 m³ of air/hour.

On average you inhale 15 m³ of air per day.

Each one of us, through the natural process of breathing, produces approximately 1 kg of carbon dioxide per day.

Now what typical concentrations are we talking about in urban environment ?

Ozone (O3): Range from 5 to 100 ppb (ppb = parts per billion)

CO2: 300 to 400 ppm

CO: 1.5 to 5 ppm

NOx:50 to 400 ppb (NO +NO2)

The formula to convert from one unit to another are the following (in typical urban conditions):

Concentration in ppm =  [24.45 x concentration in mg m^-3] / Molecular weight

Concentration in mg/m³ = 0.0409 x concentration in ppm x Molecular weight.

The molecular weights for the differents gases are:

Ozone (O3): 48

CO2: 44.01

CO: 28.01

NOx: 46.01

So for example if we have 380 ppm of CO2 in our city, we get:

0.0409 x 380 x 44 = 684 mg/m³

So on average we will inhale 15 m³ x 684 mg/m³ = 10257 mg  = 10.257 g of CO2 in one day.

What about CO2 foot print of electrical appliances ? If your electricity is based on coal, then a rough estimation is 0.4 kg of CO2 per kW.

For a web based calculator regarding your footprint, take a look at:

Carbon Footprint calculator:

If you are curious about CO2, look at this very thorough website from the US Department of Energy:

http://cdiac.ornl.gov/pns/faq.html

Stay tuned for  future discussions regarding individual and local initiatives as well as more controversial  state imposed schemes such as the french carbon tax or the newly proposed “GPS based road tax bill” proposed in the Netherlands ….

Crolles (France) 15 October 2009 –

Miniature gyroscopes and accelerometers chips are increasingly integrated into electronic devices, but accurate motion sensing is still mostly reserved for professional applications like elite athletic monitoring, physical rehabilitation, aerospace or robotics. There are very few commercially available systems leveraging the benefits of real time analysis of movement and Web 2.0 technologies. To fill this gap, Sensaris (http://www.sensaris.com) is introducing the MoveIt Senspod, a 6 axis wireless wearable motion sensor.
The sensor is one of the smallest commercially available wireless unit packed with high sampling rate 3 axis accelerometer, 3 axis gyroscope and GPS. The built-in Bluetooth EDR radio makes it the ideal mobile phone or PC companion.
Its credit card size and light weight enable a wide spectrum of daily life uses as it leaves complete freedom of movement while simultaneously measuring speed, acceleration, rotation, twist, distance and position. Place the MoveIt Senspod on objects or on your body to optimize your own sports performance, explore augmented reality or challenge your friends in new urban games.
Data exploitation for online/offline analysis, coaching or even social network based challenges is done using web technologies. The provided API and platform independent SDK lets programmers develop innovative consumer applications in their favorite environment to quickly bring them to market. By just requiring a Bluetooth serial profile, the MoveIt is compatible with a very wide installed base of mobile devices.

“Our customers have been telling us for several years that they were looking for comfortable, easy and fun ways to enhance their experience. The combination of the MoveIt Senspod with our SensNet real time communication platform opens up exciting sensor uses not only in gaming, sports or fitness but also in high growth segments such as gesture recognition or ambient assisted living.”

We have improved the design a lot since these prototypes were released in May….…and we are now more and more convinced that there is a growing movement of people to make a difference at the local level without waiting for global summits. There is no “one size fits all solution” and the small steps made everyday where you live and work today will matter more  in 5 years, than the combined decisions announced in Rio de Janeiro, Kyoto and Copenhagen.