Newswise — (Salt Lake City) —A group of students from the University of Utah School of Computing has launched a new application designed to help consumers become more aware about alternatives to driving. The app is an effort to improve behavior that contributes to Utah’s air pollution problem.
Using an Android device, the application uses GPS and user interaction to track different modes of travel. When a trip is complete, information is sent to a server to be shown to the user at a later date, said student Fenton Whetstone, who worked on the project. Consumers can later review their information and receive suggestions for how to decrease pollution.
Kerry Kelly, associate director for the University of Utah’s Program for Air Quality, Health and Society, said the students’ project aims to “turn the tide” against increasing pollution as Utah’s population grows.
“With our project, we want Utahns to realize that it is simple and easy to take steps towards reducing pollution without sacrificing any of the great lifestyle that comes with living in such a beautiful location,” said Kelly, who consulted with students during the project’s development.
The app is available for download on the following web site: http://af14.eng.utah.edu/about.
The students’ project comes as other similar efforts are underway at the U.
The University of Utah Program for Air Quality, Health and Society in January was awarded a $40,000 grant from UCAIR to develop a prototype of a game that will encourage people to change their habits to help improve Utah’s dirty air. The project includes a partnership between the University of Utah’s top-ranked Entertainment Arts and Engineering program, high school students from the Granite School District’s AMES Academy, Breathe Utah, the Utah Division of Air Quality, and researchers from the University of Utah Program for Air Quality Health and Society.
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