Gadget of the Month... February 2016

CleanSpace app measures realtime air pollution intake

The CleanSpace tag is a portable air pollution sensor that enables you to track your personal carbon monoxide exposure in real time. So you can monitor the air you’re breathing in, whether you’re out and about or on your commute to and from work. 

Developed by former science minister Lord Paul Drayson’s technology firm Freevolt and powered by Freevolt technology, the tag is claimed to be the first commercial device powered by wasted energy in wireless transmissions. It works by harvesting effectively wasted wireless energy to power itself, so doesn’t require charging. 

I got my hands on the tag in early January. The tag easily paired with my phone via Bluetooth and began sending carbon monoxide levels to the CleanSpace app which is free to download from the iTunes and Android stores. The device is slightly smaller and thinner than my iPhone 6 and much lighter, so it was reasonably easy to carry around all the time whether in my pocket or handbag. 

But what is the benefit of monitoring your air pollution intake? Interesting features on the app include the ability to use the Airgraph function to see where and when in your day you have been subjected to the highest levels of carbon monoxide. The Airmap function shows the areas around your city with the highest pollution levels, not surprisingly including London’s Oxford Street among many other pollution hotspots.   

As people begin using the tag on a mass scale, CleanSpace says it will build a more detailed, crowd-sourced live map of air pollution around the UK and elsewhere in the world. The device costs £75.