Innovation Award Winner 2021: Dr Jason Stafford (University of Birmingham)
Digitally transforming air quality statistics to protect the health of populations
Dr Stafford will be developing a fully immersive virtual reality experience that will demonstrate the effect of local air pollutants on personal health in urban areas.
The technology will use computer simulations of urban pollutants from various sources such as exhaust, brakes, tyres etc and simulate how these spread around urban areas and impact on people’s health.
This virtual reality experience will be installed in the Exchange Building in the heart of Birmingham City Centre where all members of the public will have the chance to use it. Another similar platform will be used for education purposes within the University of Birmingham.
The project hopes to increase awareness of how local air quality impacts health, encouraging people to re-think how they move around urban spaces.
Dr Stafford also hopes that the project can result in changes in policy and to urban planning to help improve air quality for everyone in our towns and cities.