Cycling against particulate matter - CycleSense in Karlsruhe is on the move!
On the hottest day of the week, around 100 people made their way to the Cyberforum Karlsruhe. The occasion was the kick-off event for the CycleSenseproject, which aims to rethink particulate matter measurements in the city – with the help of citizens, bicycles and self-developed sensor boxes.
“All the chairs were taken, there were lots of people there. The motivation we noticed in the audience was really cool,” says Michel Weber, one of the founders of CycleSense. The project originated from a student working group and has already successfully taken part in Jugend forscht . In the meantime, the team members – now students – consisting of Michel Weber and Felix Hörner, have completed over 100 self-built particulate matter sensors. These small devices are moved around the city by citizens on bicycles, enabling dynamic, area-wide particulate matter measurement. A significant step forward compared to the previous, permanently installed measuring stations.
From the idea to the project
The story of CycleSense began a few years ago when Michel and several friends noticed that particulate matter in cities was only being measured at certain points. The current measuring system in Karlsruhe is barely adequate for this: “We have two measuring stations that are located at fixed points,” explains Michel. But particulate matter is a very dynamic variable. Depending on the location, emission source or weather conditions, pollution levels fluctuate greatly. So far, attempts have been made to estimate the pollution for the rest of the city with the help of simulations – “but simulations are only ever approximations,” says Michel.
CycleSense therefore wants to record real values in order to get a more realistic picture of how much particulate matter is produced where in Karlsruhe. The idea: bicycles as mobile measuring stations. After numerous prototypes and experiments, a sensor box was created that is small, robust and easy to install – ideal for everyday use. This was made possible by the project partners Stadt Karlsruhe, Stadtwerke Karlsruhe, FZI | Forschungszentrum Informatik, karlsruhe.digital and Cyber Forum. Data is transmitted via KA-sWLAN.
Particulate matter – invisible danger to health
Particulate matter is invisible but highly dangerous: according to current figures, over 200,000 people in the EU die prematurely every year as a result. Nevertheless, legal limits are often based more on political compromises than on real health risks. CycleSense’s mobile measurements are intended to provide a much more detailed picture for the first time:
Where is pollution particularly high in Karlsruhe? Which roads are most affected? And how does the situation change over the course of the day or year?
Take part now!
Following the successful kick-off event, the first measurement phase is now beginning: volunteer cyclists will collect data for three months. The boxes will then be maintained, cleaned and updated if necessary. The second measurement phase will then begin. In the long term, the team would like to build even more sensors to create an even denser network of measuring points. Anyone interested in becoming part of the project can still register on the website: cyclesense.de. “The project is going well, but we always need people to get involved,” says Michel Weber.
