Author(s):
Boularas, Mélissa ; Szmytke, Zuzanna ; Smith, Logan ; Isik, Kaan ; Ruusunen, Juho ; Malheiro, Benedita ; JUSTO, Jorge ; Ribeiro, Maria Cristina de Castro ; Silva, Manuel F. ; Ferreira, Paulo ; Guedes, Pedro
Date: 2021
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.22/17648
Origin: Repositório Científico do Instituto Politécnico do Porto
Project/scholarship:
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UID%2FEEA%2F50014%2F2019/PT;
Subject(s): Collaborative learning; European Project Semester; Sustainability; Air pollution; Community; Bicycle
Description
Air pollution kills approximately 7 million people every year and nine out of ten people are exposed to high levels of airborne pollutants. This paper describes the design of a bicycle air probe by a team of multicultural and multidisciplinary students of the European Project Semester, during the spring of 2020. This learning experience started with the analysis of the state-of-the-art, ethics, marketing and sustainability dimensions, and was followed by the design, development and simulation of a proof-of-concept solution. The result is GOairLight – a bicycle probe paired with a mobile app. The probe collects air quality, humidity and temperature data as cyclists ride, while the mobile app shares the collected data with the community, by means of a cloud database, presents relevant air quality information and suggests less polluted routes. Furthermore, it relies on a sustainable energy source – a dynamo powered by the cyclist – and automatic lighting. The latter feature improves cyclist visibility and raises the awareness towards the cyclist, contributing to increased road safety.
This work was partially financed by National Funds through the FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) as part of project UID/EEA/50014/2019.
