GW researchers are building sensors that will be placed on campus and along parts of Pennsylvania Avenue to track air pollution and traffic data.
A group of faculty members met in the Science and Engineering Hall last week to build environmental sensors to track air conditions in areas throughout the city. Eight sensors were installed on the roof of the engineering building last month, measuring conditions like the temperature, humidity and air pressure. A carbon dioxide sensor will be installed this week.
Officials said they want to compile public data about bus arrival times and footage from video cameras into an interactive map from the technology consulting company Avanss. There, users can look at the data from the Science and Engineering Hall sensor, along with how many bikes are available at a given Capital Bike Share station or how much gas is in a Car-2-Go vehicle parked at a certain spot near campus.
Don DuRousseau, the director of research technology services at the Capital Area Advanced Research and Education Network at GW, said the research group is looking for additional research partners who could develop applications. He said he wants a public-private partnership to help fund the technological infrastructure like the map, which he said costs “hundreds of thousands” of dollars.
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