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Personal Device to Monitor Air Pollution

A chimney is seen in front of residential buildings during a polluted day in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China, January 21, 2016. REUTERS One researcher says that air pollution levels in China may have peaked.
A chimney is seen in front of residential buildings during a polluted day in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China, January 21, 2016. REUTERS One researcher says that air pollution levels in China may have peaked.
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Personal Device to Monitor Air Pollution

A chimney is seen in front of residential buildings during a polluted day in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China, January 21, 2016. REUTERS One researcher says that air pollution levels in China may have peaked.
A chimney is seen in front of residential buildings during a polluted day in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China, January 21, 2016. REUTERS One researcher says that air pollution levels in China may have peaked.

To monitor the exposure to the three most harmful pollutants, a French company has unveiled a new device to measure air pollution. The device is characterized with its small size and affordable price, as well as its usability.

The “Flow” device can be used as a handheld sensor or could be attached to pushchairs, purses and bags. It can be bought worldwide for under $200.

The New Scientist website reported Romain Lacombe, CEO of Plume Labs, the Paris-based firm behind the device, who said that the sensor was tested by 100 volunteers this summer in central London.

The crowdsourced results are now being used to map the air quality of more than 2000 kilometers of the city’s pavements.

He added: “We want to help people take ownership of what they breathe.”

A few similar devices are already on sale, but Flow will be the first to be able to detect levels of the big three pollutants: volatile compounds, airborne particulates and nitrogen oxides, according to the website.

Cities depended on a few fixed monitors to track air quality over vast urban areas. But these offered little insight to the average person because pollution varies from block to block due to the effects of trees, traffic patterns and architecture.

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Paris Olympics Expected to Face 4 Billion Cyber Incidents

A general view of the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower a day before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics, in Paris, France June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
A general view of the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower a day before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics, in Paris, France June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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Paris Olympics Expected to Face 4 Billion Cyber Incidents

A general view of the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower a day before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics, in Paris, France June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
A general view of the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower a day before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics, in Paris, France June 25, 2024. (Reuters)

As the Paris 2024 Olympic Games approach, cybersecurity officials are bracing for over 4 billion cyber incidents. They are setting up a new centralized cybersecurity center for the Games, supported by advanced intelligence teams and artificial intelligence (AI) models.

Eric Greffier, the technical director for Paris 2024 at Cisco France, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Tokyo 2020 Games saw around 450 million cyber incidents. He added that the number of incidents expected for Paris is at least ten times higher, requiring a more efficient response.

Greffier explained that a single cybersecurity center allows for better coordination and a faster response to incidents.

This approach has proven effective in other areas, such as banking and the NFL, where his company also handles cybersecurity, he added.

The Extended Detection and Response (XDR) system is central to the company’s security strategy.

Greffier described it as a “comprehensive dashboard” that gathers data from various sources, links events, and automates threat responses.

It offers a complete view of cybersecurity and helps manage threats proactively, he affirmed.

The system covers all aspects of the Olympic Games’ digital security, from network and cloud protection to application security and end-user safety.

In cybersecurity, AI is vital for managing large amounts of data and spotting potential threats. Greffier noted that with 4 billion expected incidents, filtering out irrelevant data is crucial.

The Olympic cybersecurity center uses AI and machine learning to automate threat responses, letting analysts focus on real issues, he explained.

One example is a network analytics tool that monitors traffic to find unusual patterns.

Greffier said that by creating models of normal behavior, the system can detect anomalies that might indicate a potential attack. While this might generate false alarms, it helps ensure that unusual activity is flagged for further review.