Air Quality: The Link between Technology and Human Behavior
By: Eduardo Jimenez
In the exciting world of engineering and entrepreneurship, every product or service that is created is an opportunity to positively impact people’s lives and the environment we share. Today’s entrepreneurs are developing solutions that go beyond technology, building tools to understand human behavior.
Air quality has increasingly become a crucial indicator of people’s lifestyle and health, so it is imperative to monitor it. Advanced devices not only measure particulate matter or carbon dioxide levels, but capture the pulse of our daily lives. The relationship between air quality and human behavior is complex, and understanding it allows us to offer solutions beyond simple monitoring.
In product development, we are constantly at the crossroads of innovation and understanding human needs. The vision of integrating advanced technologies with an empathetic understanding of society is the key to designing devices that not only report on air quality, but also reflect our collective behavior.
Air quality is not just a technical issue, but a reflection of our daily choices and our relationship with the environment. Monitoring it is essential to understand how our decisions directly affect the environment. For example, changes in air quality are related to mobility patterns. During the hours peak traffic (usually between 7 and 9 a.m. in the morning and between 5 and 7 p.m. in the evening), when the streets are full of vehicles due to daily commuting to work, schools and homes, the devices record peaks in the concentration of pollutants, specifically increasing particulate matter, nitrous oxides and carbon dioxide well above average levels for the day. This shows the impact of our daily decisions on the environment and indicates the need for sustainable transportation solutions and community development plans based on emission and traffic levels.
In addition, air quality reveals important aspects of our behavior in enclosed spaces. Carbon dioxide levels, for example, indicate the efficiency of ventilation in offices and homes, as well as the amount of time we spend indoors. With this, we can know when a person opens windows or doors, or detect in real time the occupancy levels of a space, such as an office or commercial premises. On the other hand, by knowing the air quality, in addition to some other variables, we can know when a person is smoking or cooking indoors by the emission of combustion fumes, carbon dioxide and particulate matter.
Here are two examples where we are applying these principles; in some extractive or manufacturing industries, the levels of contamination to which workers are subjected must be carefully controlled to avoid high exposure that is detrimental to their health. In this context, in mining or construction equipment cabins, if the levels of particulate matter suddenly increase and the concentration of carbon dioxide decreases, it is likely that the operator is opening the windows, which can pose a risk to his health and the operation, so companies are looking for ways to control this type of behavior without using other technologies that invade the privacy of employees, such as cameras with image detection, microphones, sensors or other methods to detect behavior. On the other hand, in the hotel industry or in homes, it is of interest to know when a person is opening the windows to turn off the air conditioning equipment and generate savings in energy consumption. Add to this technology to automatically control climate equipment, and a smart business model, and one of the most energy (and money) consuming systems in a building can be made more efficient, impacting sustainability metrics and helping to reduce greenhouse gases associated with energy use. Air quality and behavior affect our health, well-being and even our pocketbooks, and we can use this information to improve our quality of life.
At this intersection of technology and humanity, we are writing the next chapter of innovation, where air quality is key to understanding our collective behavior. It is not about developing complex technologies, but about understanding how our daily decisions impact the environment and our own health. It is time to integrate technology with empathy and vision, creating solutions that are capable of reflecting our individual and collective behavior, generating high added value. Join this mission to create a healthier and more sustainable future for all!