In a tale worthy of Aardman Animations (the Oscar-winning studio behind Wallace and Gromit), three plucky little blighters called Coco, Julius and Norbert donned tiny pollution sensor vests and took to the skies to measure ozone and nitrogen dioxide, reporting their findings via Twitter.
The initiative was the result of a collaboration between marketing company DigitasLBi and Plume Labs, who successfully launched the Plume Air Report phone app in September 2015. The exact science may be top secret (their “scientific partners” are Imperial College London) but it appears to have been a success – 75 percent of those surveyed said it had made them care more about air pollution. Next up? One hundred humans will don new sensors that will also track volatile organic compounds during a crowdsourced project later in 2016.
For more information:
www.pigeonairpatrol.com
www.plumelabs.com
A former library manager and storyteller, I have wanted to write for magazines since I was six years old, when I used to make my own out of foolscap paper and sellotape and distribute them to my family. Since getting my MSc in Publishing, I’ve worked as a freelance writer and content creator for both digital and print, writing on subjects such as fashion, food, tourism, photography – and the history of Roman toilets. Now I can be found working on The Analytical Scientist, finding the ‘human angle’ to cutting-edge science stories.
