Kick-Off research project “CleanBREATHE”

The SPiRIT team is pleased to announce that the research project “CleanBREATHE – Blended Research on Air pollution using Technical and Educational solutions” has been successfully reviewed and approved. We started the project at the end of 2021 in collaboration with the Faculty of Computer Science at the University of Skopje (North Macedonia) with the aim to raise awareness on air quality and pollution issues. The kick-off event took place in February 2022 with all scientists in Skopje.

Air pollution is a significant environmental and health risk. According to the European Environment Agency, its consequences kill about half a million people every year in the European area. The CleanBREATHE project aims to make air pollution more granularly visible based on mobile crowdsensing and design solutions to raise awareness of contaminated air among the Macedonian and German population and stimulate immediate behavioral changes in the population. Based on design science research methods, prototypes will be developed on the one hand to promote citizen participation, educate the population about air pollution, and provide better processing of data using appropriate visualizations. Based on an extended sensor network and an improved database, artificial intelligence algorithms (Convolutional Neural Networks) for air pollution prediction will be developed, which will provide additional services for a commercial application. Furthermore, the hardware and software developments will be complemented by workshops on air pollution for interested citizens and students. Finally, a business model based on an app will be developed from the user-friendly designed artifacts, enhanced services, technical solutions, and prepared information.
A broad network of partners, ranging from the state environmental authority and civil society organizations to local companies, supports the project.