Aura

An air quality tracker and accompanying app

The goal of Aura air quality tracker and accompanying mobile app is to create a simple and convenient device that identifies pollution levels for the safety and well-being of targeted users in the city of Jakarta, Indonesia.

The product measures the surrounding air quality and alerts users in real-time through the mobile app to reduce exposure to harmful pollutants. Other features include crowdsourcing data to help users predict the safest route to travel with. The product comes with a detachable clip and a wrist band aimed to fit nicely into the users’ lifestyle.

Nanyang Technological University Singapore
DR3006 Product Design III

OVERVIEW

DURATION

August - September 2020 (2 months)

ROLES

UI/UX Designer, Product Designer, CAD Designer

SOFTWARES

01 /
OVERVIEW

Air quality is a measure of how clean or polluted the air is. Monitoring air quality is important because polluted air can be detrimental to our health. Long-term air pollution can lead to heart disease, respiratory problems and even dementia. It can also affect productivity, sleep behaviour and overall mood. With this app and watch, it specifically targets Jakarta; a city of 11 million people consistently ranks as one of the most polluted cities in the world.

Introducing a personal device to look after your health.

Looking after one’s health by analysing real-time data of levels of pollution and alerting users for trends and patterns of detection of abnormal levels pollution. Providing a bubble of safety and trust wherever the user’s go through a personal device.

02 /
CHALLENGE

Exposure to air pollution affects everyone’s health. It is regarded as an invisible killer and can be most vulnerable to a large population including people with lung diseases, infants and young children, elderly, people who exercise often outdoors.

A heavy and daunting topic that should not be taken lightly, this case study aims to implement this simply, conveniently and effectively into one’s lifestyle and encourage users to see the importance of noting the air quality around them.

03 /
GOAL

Identify pollution levels and reports them in real-time in an attempt to reduce exposure to pollutants.

Design Process

1

2

3

4

5 Empathise

Research

Define

User Persona

Ideate

User flow, Sketches

Build

Wireframes, Prototype

Test

Final UI Screens

RESEARCH METHOD

Primary Research

How is air quality measured?

Air quality can be affected by many different pollutants however the most common measurements are PM 2.5 and PM 10, measured in micrograms per cubic meter.

• PM 2.5 is the concentration of microscopic particles. These particles are found in vehicle and motor exhausts, as well as smoke from burning wood, oil, or coal. When levels are high, PM2.5 particles make their way into people’s respiratory tracts and reach the lungs.

• PM 10 also come from some of the same sources as smaller particles, they are commonly from other sources, including dust, pollen, and mold.

Air Quality Index (AQI) is the ‘standard’ for air quality and also includes carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.

Air quality in Indonesia

Jakarta’s air regularly contains unhealthy levels of harmful gases like carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ground level ozone as well as particulate matter (PM) which can comprise various chemicals. Measuring less than 2.5 microns or 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, PM2.5 can enter the bloodstream and accumulate in various parts of the human body. This can result in cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. It can also affect other organs.

The primary sources of air pollution in Indonesia are peatland fi res, motor vehicles, coal-fi red power plants, road dust, open burning, and biomass burning for cooking and heating. The country has seen a steady growth in private vehicles, which adds to the congestion of air pollution in urban areas.