November 19, 2009
Humans as Sensors: Using Mobile Phones to Map a City's Noise Levels
Mobile crowdsourcing is being used to construct traffic maps and forecast crowd flow, now it is also beginning to map noise levels within cities around the world. NoiseTube provides a mobile application that lets users capture the surrounding ambiance through a built-in microphone, and if the phone supports it, tag it with GPS coordinates. Nicolas Maisonneuve's goal was to "turn the mobile phone into an environmental sensor." Using the results, city planners will be able to better realize how to fight noise pollution. Anyone can view the data on Google Earth, and compare sound levels between cities like Brussels and Amsterdam.
[via textually]
