NOTES

SmogOff development notes

We've been developing new air pollution sensors with real-time displays for on-street use, with support from researchers in health messaging and health impacts, and input from Cornwall Council.

Climate tool "highly commended" in the COP26 Climate Challenge Cup

The Climate Challenge Cup included finalists from across the US and UK and celebrated existing partnerships between research organisations, civic authorities and local communities. The Local Climate Adaptation Tool was was developed with researchers from Exeter University and Cornwall Council and showcased at COP26 in the Green Zone.

You can try it for yourself here: Local Climate Adaptation Tool

Creative ways to visualise/sonify air quality data

We've been looking for inspiration on creative ways to publicly display/sonify air pollution data, and have put together this short post to showcase some inventive ways that other people/organisations have chosen to visualise/sonify data.

Notes on sensor components for a low-cost air quality monitoring device

Poor air quality is an increasing global concern and has significant health impacts. For researchers and citizen scientists to monitor air quality effectively, they need access to air pollution sensors that collect reliable data. Commercial air quality monitoring devices are often expensive, and so many citizen science projects have turned to DIY devices assembled from affordable components. At Then Try This, we are looking to develop our own low-cost, portable …

Designing and prototyping a virus robot installation during a pandemic

At the end of 2019 we were ready to begin work on our second iteration of the Viruscraft project, moving focus from how viruses jump from one species to another, to how they evolve once they are in a population. This project has been focused from the start on designing and building physical interfaces to help understand invisible biological interactions between viruses, host organisms and evolution. Our new plans included …

Evidence Support Initiative pilot report

The Evidence Support Initiative is a pilot project pairing science researchers with councils to facilitate evidence-based decision making, and learn about each other’s worlds, funded by Civic Square’s Dream Fund.

The Evidence Support Initiative launch

We’ve been awarded seed funding to pilot a new system to encourage and facilitate scientific researchers to work with their local councils, providing on-demand advice on scientific issues to fit the needs of councillors, and perhaps also passing on the skills to find and use scientific information.