CHICAGO — A company that used racing pigeons to monitor air quality in London now wants to help Chicago runners determine the best time to go out for a jog.
For now, humans with pollution-sensors clipped to them will do the heavy lifting, although there's a chance pigeons will be enlisted in Chicago at some point.
Plume Labs offers a real-time app that shows Chicago residents pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, ozone and nitrogen dioxide in the air. It also has technology — using pollution data from monitoring stations around the world — that predicts when the best time is for outdoor activity like running.
"We use artificial intelligence to show how pollution levels change all over the world," Plume Labs founder/CEO Romain Lacombe told DNAinfo in a phone interview from Paris, where the company is headquartered.
And we're off! The first #PigeonAir patrol flies from Brick Lane, monitoring air pollution as we go! pic.twitter.com/W8KnyrxnCe
— Pigeon Air Patrol (@PigeonAir) March 14, 2016
Lacombe's company is most well-known for a brief trial where Plume Labs strapped data sensors onto the backs of professional racing pigeons around London. As the birds zipped around the London air, they captured pollution data all over the city.
"I will never look at a pigeon the same way again, and it was a great way to draw attention to our company," Lacombe said.
Lacombe, who has visited Chicago a few times, said there's a remote chance he could bring the pigeon idea here — and he isn't opposed to using rats for ground-level pollution readings either.
"The rats idea probably works better for New York," Lacombe said.
Seatbelts on, tray tables up. We’re leaving Primrose Hill shortly #PigeonAir pic.twitter.com/eE2SVxWhfW
— Pigeon Air Patrol (@PigeonAir) March 16, 2016
What likely will happen next is pollution testing using humans clipping sensors onto their bags, bikes and other places.
The pollution data is vital to big cities like Chicago, which was ranked one of the most polluted cities in America by the American Lung Association last year. Lacombe said pollution data for Chicago is collected from live measurements from the city's Environmental Protection Agency branch.
Lacombe created Plume Labs in 2014 after training for a marathon on Paris streets.
"When you run in a city, you're actually breathing air from exhaust," Labombe said. "It was something that led to creating the company and what we can do about it."
Plume Labs' app is available on iTunes and Android.
"The whole goal is to make the environment something personal," Lacombe said.
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