SAVE YOUR BREATH : GPS DRIVES MOBILE AIR QUALITY MONITORING

In a proactive environmental protection program, officials in Braunschweig, Germany, are testing a system of real-time pollutant sensors, mounted on GPS-equipped transit buses, which are linked to a computer that analyzes the findings. That gives dynamic, real-time characterizations of pollutants on specific lines and locations where people are most likely to experience them. Later, it is hoped to establish a traffic control system linked to the measurement system so that when pollutant levels rise past a pre-determined threshold, traffic control measures can direct vehicles away from areas of the city where pollution is unacceptably high either to park and ride lots with links to public transit or to portions of the region with lower levels of pollutants.