With air pollution emerging as an important factor in many parts of the world, some companies are turning to mobile technology to try to tackle it.

Leading the way is the BreezoMeter app for Android, which is a product of Israeli environmental engineer Ran Korber.

He came up with the idea while looking to buy a house for his family. Korber wanted to avoid air pollution, but when he checked the air pollution sensors around Israel, he found the information scattered in various databases. What’s more, the data was also difficult to understand, so he teamed-up with Ziv Lautman to develop a solution.

The app draws the air pollution and weather information from government databases and sensors, and should deliver information that is accurate down to street level.The duo wanted to know which districts had high levels of noxious fumes, and which areas and streets to avoid.

“Sensors can be five miles from you, or one mile away, so you don’t really know what the pollution level is outside your window,” Lautman says.

They managed to find a house far away from polluted areas, and now they’re hoping their app will help others do the same, all while delivering an easy-to-grasp interface.

The BreezoMeter app relies on a number of factors, including wind direction, wind speed and weather information to calculate what the air pollution is going to be in your area, based on the location data obtained from a smartphone.

The app draws the air pollution and weather information from government databases and sensors, and should deliver information that is accurate down to street level.

The team released an English version last month, with plans to expand to California, followed by the rest of the US, China, and other countries.

[Via: scmp.com]