Experiments in Urban Sensing

Problem Description

Urban science revolves around using data to explore and answer questions about cities. Often this data is available through a variety of sources and is easily obtainable. In some cases, however, the necessary data may not exist and the need for building and deploying custom sensing solutions becomes necessary. Simultaneously, the recent onset of new low-cost and open source technologies and a drive for smart and sustainable cities have opened the possibility for rapid prototyping and deployment of sensors in urban spaces. Given this context, what can we learn about cities from the deployment of these low cost sensors and how can we leverage these technologies to better understand a city’s infrastructure, environment and people?

Objective

This challenge arms groups with arduino based, low cost mobile sensing devices that are equipped to log these data types:

• Particulate matter
• Temperature
• Humidity
• Noise levels

Groups are challenged to design an experiment using the supplied sensors and data collection devices. A number of considerations will need to be factored into the design such as identifying the initial research question, the location and method of deployment and understanding of the quality and accuracy of data gathered.