Sheffield telematic firm The Floow assigned to research UK’s air pollution

Sheffield-based telematics organisation The Floow has been appointed by the University of Sheffield, in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), to advise on air pollution issues in South Yorkshire.

In response to the Sheffield City Council’s Action Plan 2015 interpreted DEFRA evidence, which revealed up to 500 deaths a year in Sheffield alone are caused by contaminated air, project ‘Crowd4sat’ has now been launched - investigating traffic pollution in the region.

Since Sheffield authorities are spending £160m per annum on air contamination, the ESA, The Floow and the University of Sheffield are collaborating to provide insight into the effect of car emissions on the air we breathe.

The project launch occurred just weeks after the UK’s Supreme Court ordered the Government to take on air pollution issues in order to keep to its obligation under European law on pollution limits.

Running until the start of 2016, the research project will collect data to give an understanding for the ESA to build a hub of data for future use in effecting change in the strategy to understand and tackle pollution.

Sam Chapman, innovation leader and co-founder of The Floow, said: “This is a fascinating test project that will provide actionable insight into the pollution that is generated in our region, as a result of vehicle use and driver behaviour.

“We know that the majority of harmful air pollution is as a result of transport, and so by capturing the data we will be in a position to establishing exactly where emissions are produced using key factors such as vehicle acceleration, stationary periods and stop times.

“Currently in Sheffield air pollution is measured through only a limited number of good air quality sensors, each costing the taxpayer tens of thousands of pounds and only providing a limited picture of pollution.

“Telematics is accurate and can analyse the specific variables needed to look at air pollution emissions. It is more cost effective and doesn’t need to be monitored in the way that the sensors do.”

Dr Stuart Wrigley, research fellow at The University of Sheffield, added: “The core focus of the Crowd4Sat project is improving the usefulness of existing satellite environmental monitoring and enhancing its positive impact on peoples’ everyday lives.

“The air pollution study led by The Floow is an excellent example of this. Satellite derived estimates of air pollution only tell part of the story of the quality of the air we breathe at ground-level. By combining ESA’s high-quality satellite information with The Floow’s dynamic, fine-grain traffic information a much more complete picture of local air pollution can be obtained. This, in turn, provides valuable insights for local traffic management to address air pollution.”

Through the comprehensive data analytics delivered by The Floow using telematics technology the ESA will make recommendations to the government and authorities on traffic management.