Almost one year ago now, I got my hands on Livegrid, an ‘air quality monitor’ that was easily the most exciting device I tried all year. In fact, in my full review, I labelled it as the ‘most enjoyable way to monitor air quality’. Even one year later, I stand by that statement.
What makes this device so exciting is that it’s essentially a photo frame that shows a digital aquarium - an aquarium that either lives or dies (well, it doesn’t actually die, but it does become lethargic) depending on your carbon dioxide levels.
Not only was this a quite beautiful device, but I noticed that it instantly got the attention of everyone in my house. At the time, I was visiting my family home in New Zealand, and everyone was fascinated by the device. I’ve spent years trying to get my mother to pay more attention to air quality, and this device instantly made her invested in ensuring the house was always well ventilated. I’ve never seen that interest with any other monitor.
My wife even had to ensure that we brought the Livegrid with us back to our home as she really wanted to display it somewhere prominently. Unfortunately, that means that we no longer have one in my family home, but this level of interest (and I must admit, from people who normally don’t really care about air quality) was very eye-opening for me. If you would like to read my full review of the device, you can do so below. However, it led me to wonder if there are other, similar devices out there.
Recently, I came across another device that is very broadly in the same category. However, instead of trying to convey information in a beautiful way, it instead focuses on informing users in an engaging and understandable way. There is no denying, though, that it works to make understanding air quality more accessible and break down barriers.
This device is the Air Lab by Networked Artifacts. This is a portable device which, at first glance, could be seen as similar to other portable devices on the market. What makes this so special, though, is that there is also a professor (named Robin) who gives tips, hints, and sometimes other useful information about the current conditions. See the image below for a great example.
I haven’t yet tried this device, but one is currently in the mail and I hope to update this thread as soon as I have the chance to try it properly. In the meantime, anyone interested can try out the device in the online simulator.
While this device is generally quite different from Livegrid, I think that it falls into the same category as it’s a far more engaging and accessible approach to air quality monitoring than we’ve traditionally seen in the past.
The third device that I want to introduce today is the uCritAir. If you’re from my generation, you may instantly see the similarities between this and Tamagotchi (essentially, a digital pet that was contained within a handheld device - they were super popular in the early 2000s).
Depending on the air quality that you are exposed to, the critter will either thrive or its health will decline. Taking this a step further, you can use ‘interventions’ like masks, air purifiers, and UV lamps to protect your critter when the air quality deteriorates. The game is right up my alley, as you can even do some planting in game!
To me, this is such a cool idea because it has the potential of making air quality so much more accessible for children and even adults. It’s just a very fun and engaging way of teaching about air quality. I will also have a review of this device in the near future!
Have I missed any devices that make air quality monitoring engaging? If so, please let me know! I would love to expand on this list.