Airboxlab announced that its connected indoor air quality monitor, Foobot, is now available in the UK. Foobot is the brainchild of CEO, Jacques Touillon, who wanted to help his eldest child in his fight against asthma and after looking without success for a device to fight this invisible enemy was determined to improve his son’s health and to develop a solution himself. Foobot was born.
Foobot is the most advanced data processing smart monitor in the market, helping businesses and homes take control of indoor air quality, either by working with other smart home or office automation devices, helping trigger the ventilation, filtration, purification system or simply by giving detailed knowledge of something which is effectively invisible.
Good air quality and the right temperature and humidity, not only make for a more comfortable working environment but also a healthier and more productive workforce. By scanning the environment day and night, Foobot will provide warnings and actionable advice to keep the air in the office fresh and pollution free. Foobot constantly measures VOCs, PM2.5s, temperature and humidity, and logs them in five minute intervals.
Foobot turns invisible indoor pollution into a tangible, visible thing thanks to its soft coloured LED light, meaning air quality can be easily viewed and assessed and appropriate action can be taken if required to improve it.
The Foobot app gives access to real time information, so over a longer period of time, gives an understanding of which common home or office products are releasing a frequent dose of pollutant so action can be taken to avoid pollution production.
The indoor environment plays a critical role in our overall well-being, both due to the amount of time we spend indoors (90%) and the ability of buildings to positively or negatively influence our health.
Foobot is currently conducting research in partnership with Building Engineering Services Association [BESA] where Foobot devices are measuring the air quality and assessing the variances in older and more modern office buildings throughout London. The results and key learnings from this trial will be available in late summer.
Businesses, architects and developers could soon be required to achieve an agreed standard of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in order to gain planning permission for new buildings.
The Mayor of London is being urged to include IAQ levels in his revised London Plan for buildings over a certain size, following intensive lobbying from the Clean Air in London campaign. While the lengthy debates and legal challenges over how to address outdoor air pollution continue, the industry can make an instant impact by putting measures in place that protect the health of building occupants.
A recent study by teams from Harvard and Syracuse Universities simulated environments with different levels of ventilation, carbon dioxide, and emissions and found that employees in the green condition environment performed 61% better on cognitive tasks than in the standard office conditions. Further, by doubling the ventilation in the green condition environment, cognitive performance increased by more than 100%.
A further study conducted on 10 different green-certified buildings found employees had 30% fewer headaches and respiratory complaints in the green office environment and workers in the study slept better at night, tracked by a wristband measuring sleep quality.
Financially too it makes sense. Research by the World Green Building Council, has found that if improvements to the internal environment cuts absenteeism through illness it is worth £26 per sq m (€ 29.34 per sq m) and if improves staff productivity by just 5% that is worth £307 per sq m! (€ 346.48 per sq m)
Foobot uses internal sensors to check for pollution in the form of chemicals and particulate matter, which are up to five times more common indoors as a result of confinement and alerts you via the dashboard developed for business users.
The device is sensitive to:
- PM2.5’s – particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres, like dust, pollen and pet dander
- VOC’s – volatile organic compounds, toxic gases like formaldehyde and ammonia. This sensor is also sensitive to carbon monoxide, a potentially dangerous gas.
- Humidity – low humidity can cause irritation. Excessive humidity allows mold and dust mites to grow.
- Temperature – mostly for comfort, but still important to optimise
The Dashboard reports show the patterns of the different pollutants over time, and provides advice and recommendations that you can share with key stakeholders in your organisation or your customers each month in just one click.
It allows you to monitor changes in air quality in numerous office locations remotely, enabling you to take proactive steps to improve it immediately and to advise customers on what’s best – whether it’s new ventilation, filtration, dehumidification or insulation A network of IAQ experts are always available to offer advice should assistance be required.
Click here for a video explaining how Foobot works
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