A company called TZOA (pronounced Zo AH) is looking to tackle pollution at a global scale. To that end, they’re launching a wearable enviro-tracker for consumers and researchers, and an Indiegogo campaign to fund the effort. The goal is to create an environmental platform that helps all parties — including individuals, researchers and policy makers — stay aware of the air around them.
The small device detects Particulate Matter (PM) with sensors that count individual particles, display concentrations, and distinguish between PM10 particles that trigger allergies (i.e. pollen, dust, asbestos and mold) and PM2.5 particles that are much smaller but more harmful to health. Data is then sent to a companion app to provide users with real-time and historical stats, as well as actionable steps they can take to improve air quality. The application also aggregates TZOA and publicly available environmental data to build crowdsourced air quality maps that highlight areas to avoid at the neighborhood, City and country level.
The goal of the campaign is to create an environmental platform that helps individuals, researchers and policy makers stay aware of the air around them.“The ability to monitoring air quality is important for the management of allergies as well as understanding and mitigating the health risks associated with airborne pollution,” said Kevin R. Hart, TZOA Co-Founder and CEO, “By letting people ‘see the air’ we are educating them to become motivated to take personal actions that improves their environment. As we have seen with water conservation movement, this in turn raises wider awareness and builds advocates to push for wider social change to combat this growing public health issue.”
TZOA features a small (16x16x4.5mm) fan to draw air into its optical inner chamber, a 630nm (micrometer) red laser with a very small wavelength that detect particles using light scattering technology and sophisticated algorithms, and a tap-activated LED display which changes color to give indications of real-time air quality conditions. Moreover, there are also photosensitive light sensors for detecting the length and intensity of light and UV exposure; barometer for temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure readings. This model is available for pre-order for
The unit made for researchers is slightly bigger to deliver increased battery life, enhanced sensor resolutions, data logging capabilities, dedicated data ports for hardwire as well as wireless downloads, and the ability to sync multiple TZOA units to a single mobile device or laptop.
TZOA consumer units will be available in Q4 2015 starting at $99.99, while research units will be available in September 2015 priced at $250.
During the Indiegogo campaign, the company will try to raise $50,000 for the development of both products, and also recruit 500 ambassadors to help map their local communities.
