There are gadgets that have straightforward practical uses and then there are gadgets that are just informative to which sometimes, you will find yourself stumped as to what can you do about the information you just got. Well, the Flow Smart Air Quality Tracker by Plume Labs belongs to the latter. Unlike weather forecast gadgets, where you probably can decide if you need to bring along a brolly or not, you can’t really do much with the data like particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOC), temperature and humidity that the device will feed to you (which you read off the 12 color LEDs or an app for more comprehensive data).
Ok, maybe you can. You can, if you noted that the PM 2.5 is too high, you can bring a mask or god forbids, a respirator, or you could choose to avoid the polluted place entirely. However, if you live in a dense urban jungle, I hardly think any corner will be safe from pollution. For urban dwellers, the only reprieve is to go off the grid and into the woods or something. Anyways, if you are keen in knowing all the above data surrounding you and in your home, Flow makes a good informative device and as a boon, you’d be doing so with quite a bit of style (not a surprise cos’ it is designed by UK’s Frog Design). I am not going to lie. Flow had my attention first because of the looks.
The brush aluminum finish and the leather strap for hanging it on bag, stroller and whatnot, really drew me to it. Though, I am not sure if I want or even need one. I live in a tiny place and if I were to find out it is polluted, there’s really nothing much I can do except to deploy more air purifiers, or if I am out and about, wear a mask. You see the paradox in this device here? It alerts you to the problem(s), if any, but it can’t provide you with solution(s), except maybe pointing out where fresher air is available. But that also requires user contributions and this means you need whole lot people using this to be able to result in a solid data which the rest of users can benefit from. Flow Smart Air Quality Tracker’s price and availability are unknown at this point.
Images: Plume Labs.
