One of the leading global air quality analytics providers, BreezoMeter, is incorporating real-time road traffic data from Here Technologies to aid its assessment and forecasts of air quality across more than 50 countries.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), annually more than three million people are killed by outdoor air pollution, of which road traffic itself is a major contributor. Israel-based BreezoMeter is helping organizations around the world understand and take action to help solve the problem, by providing them with air quality data as simple, intuitive and actionable as weather information.
Using sophisticated algorithms and machine learning techniques, BreezoMeter calculates air pollution at hyperlocal scale, drawing on numerous sources of data, including governmental sensors, satellites, transportation dynamics, and weather patterns. BreezoMeter uses big data analytics to provide end users with accurate and precise air quality data, including pollutant concentrations, live maps, and forecasts.
With road traffic a major cause of poor air quality around the world, BreezoMeter is further enriching its analyses with Here Real-Time Traffic, the industry’s first real-time traffic engine enhanced with aggregated, rich sensor data from connected cars. The Real-Time Traffic system identifies where and when traffic congestion occurs, and delivers up-to-the-minute information about current traffic conditions.
While traffic is a major source of pollution, most air quality monitoring methods only take into account annual traffic data at specific points. This approach tends to overlook the changing patterns of traffic, which typically vary from one hour to the next, and from one city block to another. In its efforts to reach the highest accuracy and reliability possible, BreezoMeter’s R&D team examined various methods to improve traffic imputation on air quality patterns, and opted for Here’s Real-Time Traffic data.
“Real-time traffic data from Here, combined with machine-learning techniques, allows us to deliver accurate and reliable air quality data around the world,” said Daniel Elkabetz, BreezoMeter’s business development director. “When integrated into our clients’ mobile apps, websites, landing pages, and marketing campaigns, the air pollution information and visual maps drive engagement, satisfaction and ultimately sales.”
Brad Kohlmeyer, vice president of engineering at Here Technologies, commented, “With more and more connected cars feeding our traffic engine, we’re able to obtain an increasingly robust view of traffic flow in key urban areas around the world. We are very pleased that BreezoMeter can turn this data into a useful asset in tackling the blight of air pollution.”
