Velair - Personal Urban air pollution mapping

Pocket size air quality sensor

VelAir is a mobile urban pollution sensor. Designed to be wearable or bike mounted, VelAir detects concentrations of oxides of Nitrogen and other harmful compounds that proliferate in cities. It charts these readings using a built in GPS and uploads them to the cloud via integrated wireless chip.

Crowd sourced cloud data

The cloud data is collated and arranged on a third party mapping app (such as Google Maps). This allows pedestrians and cyclists to avoid air pollution hot spots by automatically rerouting them in real-time. A one-touch mechanical cam-locking system was developed for handlebar mounting. It is designed to last for decades rather than years

Evolution of prototypes

Five generations of prototypes were developed, later ones performed all the tasks described above. Prototype 5 incorporated all the systems necessary for commercial operation along with a novel sample processing chamber to condition the sample air for higher accuracy. This was the first prototype to utilize a completely in-house designed circuit board (render shown above). Some of the systems involved were inspired by concepts developed for the Kumo respirator.

Multiple hackathon winner

VelAir won the inaugural Trinity Science Gallery Strange Weather Hackathon and the V&A Open Collaborative Making event for London Design Week.

If you wish to discuss this project or need expert insight to develop one of your own, please get in touch here.