Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/70379
Figure 3. A Pachube-powered map visualizes live crowdsourced Geiger-counter radiation readings from across Japan. The map also aggregates and displays radiation measurements from other sources such as the Japanese government's sensor network. Crowdsourced Real-Time Radiation Maps of Japan In this age of the "Internet of Things," it's becoming increasingly common to find volunteer citizens carrying various types of Internet-enabled sensors serving dif- ferent purposes, such as distributed radiation sensing and environmental pollution monitoring. Such Internet- connected sensors can be embedded in smartphones (many of the latest smartphones already include a range of useful sensors, and they can detect and auto- matically attach geolocation information to reports and other data sent by users) or provided as special devices (with built-in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or other means of communication to relay and upload measurements to the Internet, either directly or via a nearby suitably equipped and Internet-connected computing device or smartphone) to be worn or carried around by users, fixed somewhere in their living spaces, or mounted on a bicycle or car. Pachube (https://pachube.com) is an online data- base service allowing developers to connect sensor- derived data to the Web and build their own (mapping) applications based on the data. Users can rely on 24 GEO W ORLD / JUNE 2O12 Pachube's mapping tools, such as the Earth Browser app (uses the Google Earth plug-in to view maps in 3-D), to visualize crowdsourced sensor data or develop their own mapping solution to directly fetch and display (live) geotagged data feeds from Pachube. "Pachube came about as a direct attempt to enable the production of dynamic, responsive, conversant 'envi- ronments,'" notes Usman Haque, founder of Pachube. "Pachube is here to make it easier to participate in what I expect to be a vast ecosystem of conversant devices, buildings and environments. Pachube will facilitate the development of a huge range of new products and ser- vices that will arise from extreme connectivity." Following Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011, Pachube was used to monitor and map radiation levels in real time by interlinking live radiation measurement feeds obtained from portable Geiger counters (radiation sensors) owned by concerned indi- viduals from across the country. Figure 3 shows one example of a Pachube-powered, crowdsourced real-time radiation map of Japan. Real-Time Information HAIYAN ZHANG; JAPAN.FAILEDROBOT.COM