A technology company revealed it had strapped pollution-monitoring backpacks onto 10 pigeons in London to monitor air pollution.

Last week, the flock, nicknamed the Pigeon Air Patrol, were set loose from a rooftop in Brick Lane by pigeon fancier, Brian Woodhouse.

For three days, Londoners were able to get live updates of the pollution where they are by tweeting their location to @PigeonAir.

Data from three of the pigeons, called Coco, Julius and Norbert, were used to instantly reply, telling them about the level of pollution in their area.

A live map is also being updated as the pigeons fly around, detailing the levels of pollution in different areas of the capital.

“Air pollution isn’t sexy and people don’t engage with it,” said Pierre Duquesnoy, creative director at DigitasLBi, who had the original idea.

“So the heart of our idea was to make air pollution more accessible and relevant to people. The Pigeon Air Patrol is a perfect example of how data combined with creative storytelling can raise awareness of a serious health and environmental issue.”

To develop the idea Duquesnoy worked with Plume Labs, a technology company that helps consumers track and reduce their exposure to air pollution.

“Air pollution is a huge environmental health issue, killing 10,000 people every year in London alone,” said Romain Lacombe, chief executive officer of Plume Labs.

“Putting air sensors on the back of pigeons goes beyond raising awareness of this problem and helps Londoners understand the impact of pollution in an accessible, tangible and immediate way.”

The pigeons used in the study are racing pigeons, who usually live four times longer than street pigeons because they’re so well cared for. The high-tech backpacks they wear to monitor pollution are tiny and light as a feather.

The campaign only ran for three days, after which the birds were able to return to their normal life.

一家科技公司透露称，他们在十只鸽子背上绑上了污染监测器来监测伦敦的空气污染情况。

上周鸽友布莱恩· 伍德豪斯从布里克巷的屋顶放飞了这群被称为“空中巡逻鸽”的鸽子。此后三天，伦敦市民可以通过在推特上发布自己的位置并@PigeonAir来了解该地实时更新的污染情况。

名为可可、朱利叶斯和诺伯特的三只鸽子收集的数据被用来即时回复市民消息，告知市民所在地的污染水平。

随着鸽子飞行轨迹改变，生成的实时地图亦不断更新，详细显示伦敦各地区的污染水平。

“空气污染并没什么吸引力，人们也不去关注它，”乐必扬创意总监皮埃尔· 迪凯努瓦说道。这个想法最初是他提出的。

“因此我们的核心想法是让人们更容易得悉空气污染情况，让空气污染与人们更加切身相关。”

“把数据同新奇的宣传结合在一起能够增加人们对严重环境卫生问题的关注度。空中巡逻鸽就是一个很好的例子。”

为了发展这个构想，迪凯努瓦选择与科技公司Plume Labs合作。Plume Labs帮助其客户追踪并减少暴露在空气污染中的机会。

“空气污染是一项重大的环境卫生问题。仅在伦敦，每年因空气污染而死亡的人数就超过1万，”Plume Labs首席执行官罗曼· 拉科比说。

“在鸽子背上安设空气监测器不仅会使人们更加关注这个问题，也能让伦敦市民用可行的方式更真切、更直观地意识到污染的影响。”

研究所用鸽子均为赛鸽。由于受到良好养护，它们的寿命通常是普通鸽子的四倍。鸽子背的高科技污染检测器像羽毛一样又小又轻。这项活动仅持续三天，之后鸽子们回归正常生活。

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

    【发烧友】 fāshāoyǒu fancier a person having a liking for or interest in something, enthusiast

    【暴露】bàolù exposure the condition of being exposed to danger, harm, etc.