Blockchain tech to combat air pollution
In the initiative, PlanetWatch will store data gathered from air quality sensors onto the Algorand blockchain, and subsequently reward contributions to the ecosystem by distributing the Planet token – a utility token – to sensor owners. Current air quality monitoring methods, say the organizations, are inadequate due to no real-time data reporting, which leads to delays in pollution peaks detection and no timely warnings for endangered populations.
PlanetWatch’s global network will comprise air quality sensors and environmentally conscious people who install air quality sensors outside their homes or carry sensors while commuting and travelling, with the aim of validating, filtering, and displaying data on the Internet and through a mobile application in real time. The validated data will be transcribed onto the Algorand blockchain to create an immutable air quality repository accessible to all participants.
“Algorand’s protocol was built by the team to be energy conscious with minimal processing power needed to achieve consensus in its innovative pure proof-of-stake approach,” says W. Sean Ford, Chief Operating Officer at Algorand. “The eco-friendliness of the Algorand network makes for a natural partnership with PlanetWatch to help global populations access transparent, reliable information about air quality in their locations.”
Claudio Parrinello, CEO of PlanetWatch, says, “The missing link in air quality monitoring is a high-density, low-cost sensor network, delivering real-time data. Historically, air pollution is monitored through large, expensive scientific instruments installed in a small number of locations, with data not being published in real-time.”
“Through Algorand’s highly secure, fast, and energy-efficient protocol,” says Parrinello, “data is recorded onto the blockchain for anyone to access. This data has vast commercial and scientific value as air quality pollution will become more prevalent in the coming decades.”
With the PlanetWatch network, a grid overlay is applied to each territory with sensors connected to PlanetWatch. Each cell in the grid is dynamically assigned a status, which reflects the potential to earn Planet tokens by performing air quality measurements inside the cell. An algorithm ensures that higher rewards are offered where fewer measurements have occurred in the previous time frame, creating an incentive to carry out measurements in neglected cells, aiming to optimize coverage of active territories.
Sensors can be purchased from PlanetWatch and operated to earn (“mine”) Planets. It is also possible to sponsor a sensor already installed by PlanetWatch and mine Planets without actually managing any sensor. The first PlanetWatch-compliant air quality sensor detects and senses pollutants (PM2.5, PM 10, NO2, O3, and CO), meteorological parameters (temperature and relative humidity), and greenhouse gases (CO2).
PlanetWatch is the first blockchain company to join the spin-off partnership program by European research organization CERN. The organization will use the CERN Control and Monitoring Platform (C2MON) data acquisition framework developed at CERN – a highly scalable monitoring platform for big data scenarios.
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