AiR -- An Augmented Reality Application for Visualizing Air Pollution

TL;DR

AiR is an Android app that visualizes local air pollution levels using augmented reality to raise public awareness about air quality and its health impacts.

Contribution

The paper introduces AiR, a novel augmented reality mobile application that visualizes real-time air pollution data in users' surroundings to enhance environmental awareness.

Findings

Successfully visualized multiple pollutants in AR environment

Engaged users with interactive educational content

Potential to influence public behavior towards pollution reduction

Abstract

Air quality is a term used to describe the concentration levels of various pollutants in the air we breathe. The air quality, which is degrading rapidly across the globe, has been a source of great concern. Across the globe, governments are taking various measures to reduce air pollution. Bringing awareness about environmental pollution among the public plays a major role in controlling air pollution, as the programs proposed by governments require the support of the public. Though information on air quality is present on multiple portals such as the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which provides Air Quality Index that could be accessed by the public. However, such portals are scarcely visited by the general public. Visualizing air quality in the location where an individual resides could help in bringing awareness among the public. This visualization could be rendered using Augmented Reality techniques. Considering the widespread usage of Android based mobile devices in India, and the importance of air quality visualization, we present AiR, as an Android based mobile application. AiR considers the air quality measured by CPCB, in a locality that is detected by the user's GPS or in a locality of user's choice, and visualizes various air pollutants present in the locality $(PM_1{}_0, PM_2{}_.{}_5, NO_2, SO_2, CO, O_3 \& NH_3)$ and displays them in the user's surroundings. AiR also creates awareness in an interactive manner about the different pollutants, sources, and their impacts on health.