Digital solutions that improve the impact of the Healthy Outdoor Premises for Everyone (HOPE) project’s interventions and, consequently, the quality of air were sought in the Innovations4Interventions (I4I) competition.
The first innovation competition arranged as part of the project in 2020 was about finding new ideas of improving the comprehensibility of the quality of air and the utilisation of data. More information about the experiments selected in the first competition is available here. As an exception to the previous tender process, this competition did not include separate categories for tenders. We received 15 tenders by the deadline. Forum Virium Helsinki assembled a committee of seven experts from the UIA HOPE project’s organisation to study the tenders. More time was spent evaluating the tenders than expected, but this was necessary in order to ensure the quality of tenders. In the end, a total of four pilot projects were selected. All participants were provided with a verbal, summarised evaluation of their tender, along with a score. This feedback was considered particularly important in terms of developing the operations of the participating companies.
Here’s how the winning companies describe their projects:
Stereoscape Oy – Virtual air quality tour for city residents
Experiment sum: EUR 32,400
“The virtual air quality tour is a digital tool for informing residents of the city about important matters in terms of air quality. The goal is to make incomprehensible air quality data and communications about services that affect air quality interesting, easy to understand and accessible.”
Zeamly Oy – Carbon Hunt
Experiment sum: EUR 28,500
“CARBON HUNT is a fun, gamified digital application that combines measured air quality data with the experiences of the target group, children and young people, of how it feels to walk the streets and breathe and how they feel about their health and local air quality, for example, on their way to school. We offer a one-click opportunity with user-friendly digital design to communicate map locations online and anonymously, which provides the neighbourhood with children’s and young people’s concrete experiences of the quality of air during peak times on their way to and from school. We offer children a channel where they can show how they experience the exhaust fumes of an SUV because emotion and perceived health are different to the curves of air quality indicator graphs, which alone are not enough to strengthen interventions and change behaviour in traffic – this requires solid human orientation and visibility.
The pilot’s target group is children and young people, but anyone can use the services. The target group of children under 12 will participate in the project right from the start. The data on perceived quality of air collected with the service will be combined with the available air quality data to create a holistic model that the City of Helsinki can use as part of measures aimed at improving the health of its residents.”
Kamu Health Oy – Virtual pollution accumulation meter
Experiment sum: EUR 20,000
“KAMU Health Oy produces and markets digital services for treating chronic pulmonary diseases. The smart phone app included in KAMU’s service collects data on the user’s location with GPS and, thanks to KAMU’s AI solution, detects the user’s mode of mobility (by car, by bike, on foot, etc.) In the experiment, the hyperlocal air quality data provided by the Finnish Meteorological Institute’s FMI-ENFUSER model is integrated into the KAMU service, allowing the user’s personal air pollution accumulation to be determined and monitored on a daily basis and over longer periods of time.”
Gispo Oy – FMI2QGIS follow-up project
Experiment sum: EUR 10,875
“FMI2QGIS (https://github.com/GispoCoding/FMI2QGIS) is an open tool developed in the first phase of the UIA-HOPE pilot project, designed for utilising the open location data APIs of the Finnish Meteorological Institute, especially in the context of air quality data. The purpose of the project is to continue developing the tool by fixing the bugs detected and adding requested features, especially with regard to usability.
In order to promote the comprehensibility of air quality data, this pilot project will also provide visualisations of air quality data with open source tools. The data visualisations are produced with the FMI2QGIS tool with the aim of making the topic accessible to all residents of the city in an open portal.”
The total sum of the projects selected is EUR 91,775.
Forum Virium Helsinki Oy and the UIA HOPE project welcome all participants and new, enthusiastic digitisers of air quality data to use their abilities to develop the air quality expertise of the City of Helsinki and new solutions in the future.
More information is available on the project’s websites ilmanlaatu.eu and fvh.io/hope
Photo: Jussi Hellsten
Further information
Pekka Niskasaari
Mobile: +358 40 585 9110
pekka.niskasaari(at)forumvirium.fi