This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A large part of urban planning involves navigating how people experience a place. That kind of insight can require collecting data at a level of detail that large-scale datasets cannot provide.
Henry Levesque is a doctoral student in Regional Development Planning at the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP). He is exploring a different approach to smart-city data collection by developing an open-source tool designed to make that process more accessible. His research centers on an open-source, low-cost system that allows people to collect highly localized information about their environments and retain greater control over how that data is gathered and used.
Rather than relying exclusively on large data sets designed to describe an entire city or region, Levesque's tools are designed to answer questions at a much smaller scale: What is the temperature on this particular block? What are the conditions along this sidewalk? How does a person respond to a particular environment?
"If I only want temperature data around a very specific block or intersection or neighborhood, I don't need a data set of an entire city or county," Levesque said. "I could instead collect my own data set that could have better granularity." Levesque's data collection platform uses inexpensive, off-the-shelf components to collect information about an environment and the people experiencing it. In its current configuration, the device can be worn on a hat or attached to a helmet and captures images of both the user and what the user is viewing.
It can simultaneously record GPS location and can be configured with additional sensors to collect information such as temperature, humidity and air quality. Levesque's primary data collection device can be worn on a hat or helmet. In its current configuration, it captures images and records GPS information.
Additional sensors can be added to measure factors such as air quality, temperature, humidity and light. The system uses inexpensive, readily available components rather than specialized equipment. Levesque has also designed the system so that the data remains accessible to the people collecting it.
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