Sniffer Bikes collect data in Lund
Sniffer Bike in Sweden
In Lund, Sweden, Sniffer Bike / Snuffelfiets is part of a digital ‘Advent calendar’. Together with Future by Lund, the city of Lund made it possible for new examples of internet/digitalisation to appear every day in December. To show its effect now and in the future.
An air particle measurement via crowd-sourcing starts in Lund today. Four cyclists are each equipped with a Sniffer Bike sensor. During the ride they report the values, which are shown on a map. In this way, it shows the air status at various places in Lund. The data set was built all the way up to Christmas Eve.
During the month of December you can follow Snuffelfiets / Sniffer Bike in Lund here: http://kartor.lund.se/snifferbikeLund/
If you are having trouble seeing the values, please try a different web browser
The Sniffer Bike sensors are set up to measure very small air particles – up to 2.5 microns (PM 2.5). We expect the measured concentrations of particles in the air to vary greatly during our research. The weather conditions have a lot of influence, but also time of day and of course the location of the cycled routes.
Low measured concentrations of particles give blue card lines (good values). Yellow-orange show moderate concentrations and red card lines indicate higher concentrations.
Data-driven policy
The sensors on the bicycles of course give less reliable values than more expensive (large) measuring instruments. However, they can give an indication of air changes over time. The Sniffer Bike sensors can also give an idea of where it is appropriate to place a more accurate fixed measuring station.
Particle matter
PM2.5 is a common measure for measuring particles: the mass of particles is less than 2.5 microns (μm) in diameter. It is feared that such small particles have a clear negative effect on health, both in the short and long term. In this experiment no nitrogen content is measured yet.
Combining policy areas
The cyclist and the bicycle can contribute to solving various social problems. This concerns not only traffic problems but also air quality, public health, interaction/participation and welfare.
Snuffelfiets makes individuals and governments more aware of this and supports policy on these topics.
How does Sniffer Bike work?
There are several sensors in the device that the participating citizens mount on their bike. While cycling, they measure three types of particle matter every ten seconds. And also location, (average) speed, wattage, temperature, humidity and organic gases. In addition, the device also contains an accelerometer and a vibration meter that collect data about the quality of the road surface.
Smart collaboration with IoT
The data from Sodaq‘s sensors are sent every minute via LTE-M to Civity’s Data Platform where they are processed. (LTE-M is the connectivity similar to that of mobile phones, but specifically designed for Internet or Things applications.) Measurement values and bicycle locations are displayed on the data platform dashboard via an API link. The data provides insights to evaluate and adjust the impact of policy.
Citizen participation
The measurements with Sniffer Bike were started as a development project with Sodaq in collaboration with the province of Utrecht.
Since the start of the experiment in the Netherlands a year ago, enthusiastic ‘Sniffer Bikers’ have been driving around in the municipalities of Zeist, Amersfoort, Utrecht, Nieuwegein and IJsselstein. The provinces of Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland and Overijssel are also interested in the Snuffelfiets. project. And recently, a pilot with 50 bicycles was started in Gelderland. And now we’re ‘sniffing around’ in Lund as well.
Civity Nordics
Civity has been active in the Nordics since 2 years, mainly through a strong collaboration with Sensative, its Swedish partner. Civity is supplying its state of the art Data Platform and services to 28 municipalities in Sweden.
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