| When Candy sees people in Chinatown leave stores and put face masks on she always wonders if the air quality is really that gnarly. Someday the answer will be as easy as opening a mobile phone app. Candy worked with Spatial Information Design Lab co-director Sarah Williams and Columbia University Computer Science PhD candidate Sean White on visualizing air quality data for mobile devices. After recording and geocoding carbon monoxide levels around Manhattanville in New York City, the group is exploring ways this information can be made accessible on mobile devices, including cell phones as well as augmented reality devices that combine live video with 3D graphics. Candy came up with possible ways users can view air quality data in their immediate surroundings through map views and live street views of the physical world. Users can also view other useful information such as land use, demographics, data points, and interactive messages. In the end, this work will help improve site visit tools for architects and urban planners and also make invisible health data accessible to all through mobile phone applications. |
