Design and Usage of an Ozone Mapping App

With the proliferation of environmental sensor networks, real-time, quantitative, and localized pollutant information has become available for a few big cities. Several mobile apps have been developed to bring this information to the user 24/7. In contradistinction to conventional weather reporting systems that provide a qualitative and static description of pollutant levels for an entire metropolitan area, these new apps dynamically relay quantitative pollutant measurements at high spatial resolution. No design methodology has been rationalized for pollutant apps thus far. And, although such apps have potential impact to public health, their actual user base and usage have not been investigated. We have fielded an ozone mapping app for the Houston area. Ozone is a harmful environmental pollutant developing under certain conditions in major metropolitan centers. We use this as a case study to put forward a design philosophy for pollution apps in general. We also analyze the app's user portrait and her/his interaction patterns. The results of our study can inform the development and marketing of similar apps in this burgeoning field.