Pigeons to Blog on Air Pollution
Yes, you read the headline correctly : On August 5th 2006 20 pigeons armed with mobile phone backpacks will be used to monitor air pollution around the California area. The pigeon blog packs will send text messages back to the pigeon blog to report on air quality in real time.
Again, this is not a Google PigeonRank hoax, this is real news. Miniature cameras slung around the pigeons’ necks will also post aerial pictures to the pigeon blog.
Forget Citizen Media, this Pigeon Media project was the brain child of University of California at Irvine researcher Beatriz da Costa and two of her students.
From NewScientist.com :
“We are combining an air pollution sensor with a home-made cellphone,” says interdisciplinary artist and researcher Beatriz da Costa of the University of California, Irvine, who came up with the idea of the pigeon blog with her students Cina Hazegh and Kevin Ponto. The team has built a prototype of the pigeons’ kit containing a cellphone circuit board with SIM card and communication chips, a GPS receiver and carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide sensors.
Thought you might be interested in my take on the whole using pigeons to test air pollution thing. My name is Brian and I’m Britain’s premier blogging pigeon. Invented my own version back in Feb: The Simple Sniff Test
https://pigeonblog.wordpress.com/2006/02/22/the-simple-sniff-test/
Much nicer all round for us pigeons and probably got greater potential for global results. These dudes are only flying over CA, USA. Anyway, see what you think and let me know.
Your pal
Brian P