Machine Learning
Optimisation
Big Data
It's projected that the effects of poor air quality in the UK will cost the NHS more than £10 billion by 2035.
The fine pollutant particle PM2.5 was repsponsible for nearly half a million deaths across Europe in 2018. It is emitted by incomplete combustion and tyre wear, which increases the level of pollution on roadways and adjacent bike or pedestrian routes.
With areas of London some of the most polluted in the country, and the average Londoner spending nearly 300 hours a year commuting, it's clear that a commute-level intervention could have significant impact.
This is compounded by the higher breathing rates experienced by those commuting actively, which results in a higher rate of particle deposition in the lungs than when driving or inactive.
This project investigated whether pollution level can be cheaply measured in real-time, whether these measurements can be used to produce a personalised estimate of pollution risk, and finally whether this risk can be mitigated through intelligent routing.
[low-cost air quality monitor]
[personalised risk estimation algorithm]
[real-time routing optimisation]
[paper]
[WAMT project]