PocketLab Air Is a Portable Air Quality Monitoring Station

Concern about pollution and air quality is hardly anything new. But, for the most part, we tend to focus on a region’s overall air quality. For instance, it’s common knowledge that Los Angeles has historically had a serious smog problem. But, what often gets ignored is local air quality, which can vary dramatically from one part of a city to another.

If that is a concern of yours, it’s worth considering the PocketLab Air. This is a portable device for measuring various data points related to air quality and pollution. The built-in sensors are capable of detecting and measuring carbon dioxide, ozone, particulate matter, and atmospheric weather like temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and light. That data can then be combined to determine the local Air Quality Index (AQI).

The PocketLab Air, which has a battery life of 24 hours of continuous operation, connects via Bluetooth to your smartphone. Using the app, you can then check sensor data, save and export it, or even participate in missions. Missions allow you to share your collected data with a network of citizen scientists and researchers, so you can help work on climate research.

The PocketLab Air is on Kickstarter until December 20th, and has already surpassed its funding goal. Early birds can get one for $198, regular backers for $248, and retail pricing is estimated to be $298. However, units aren’t expected to begin shipping until October of 2018, so that’s something to keep in mind if you’re planning on backing the project.