The German automotive lighting and electronics company Hella and the Israeli cloud-based air quality analytics provider BreezoMeter have formed a strategic partnership to develop a cloud-based air quality management system.
The objective of the Hella-BreezoMeter cooperation is to create reliable real-time data on the air quality in and around vehicles and to make the data available to its occupants. The partnership also intends to provide personalized solutions for active health management based on this cloud-based air quality technology.
Airborne pollution by particulate matter in the range of up to 2.5 micrometers (PM 2.5) is especially import when it comes to health issues, as these particles are small enough to penetrate deeply into the lung, where they get deposited and can be the cause of short- and long-term health risks.
The environmental outlook from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicts that in 2050 around 3.5 million people around the world will die because of particulate matter pollution.
Hella has developed a sensor that measures the level of particulate matter in the vehicle interior, as well as in the exterior ambient air in real time. This data is enriched with information from BreezoMeter on additional pollutants, such as carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO?), nitrogen dioxide (NO?), and PM10.
Derived from governmental sensors, satellites, weather, traffic information and other sources, BreezoMeter uses innovative technology in machine learning, big data analytics, and pollution dispersion models, to calculate air quality forecasts for over 67 countries.
Due to the cloud-based system, over 1.6TB of BreezoMeter data is validated and organized every hour, 7.1 billion compound calculations are performed, and 420 million geographical data points with air quality information are being generated. The forecasted air quality data is transmitted to the vehicle through an interface, processed centrally within the vehicle, and then displayed on its interior information system.
“Thanks to the cooperation with Hella, air quality information can be determined directly in the vehicle and integrated into its routing. In return, the mobile sensor measurements complement our data. This will make it possible to create the most detailed map for air quality in the near future,” explained Ziv Lautman, BreezoMeter’s co-founder and chief marketing officer.
“Based on this information, it is possible to enhance the automatic air quality management system of the vehicle interior, from a currently reactive system to a system that will proactively improve the protection of the occupants before it enters a polluted area.”
