How GCU is helping shape the future of wearable air-quality technology
Glasgow Caledonian University is exploring how its technology, design and health expertise can be brought together to address the challenges of air pollution and improve the way people understand the air they breathe.
This latest study reflects the University's focus on delivering socially purposeful, applied research that delivers real-world impact. It is examining how wearable air-quality monitors could provide more personalised information about people's exposure to pollution, while ensuring the devices are designed around the needs of the people who will use them.
The researchers say air pollution is linked to millions of premature deaths worldwide each year, yet most monitoring relies on a relatively small number of fixed stations. These provide valuable information about pollution at a particular location but cannot show the pollutants an individual is exposed to as they move through their daily lives.
Wearable monitors could provide more personalised information about the air people breathe in different places and situations. Data collected by individual devices could also potentially be combined with existing monitoring systems to provide a more detailed picture of air quality across different locations.
The Glasgow Caledonian research, conducted by PhD researcher Wensi Cai under the supervision of Dr Daria Morozova, Dr Laura Pruszko and Emeritus Professor Mike Mannion, has explored what would make people willing to wear air-quality monitoring devices regularly.
The research brought together perspectives from air pollution, sensor technology, user experience design, fashion design, wearable technology and commercial product design. Experts from these areas were interviewed to understand the factors that could influence whether people adopt and continue to use wearable air-quality monitors.
The findings show that different groups of users have different priorities. For outdoor workers, such as traffic wardens, refuse collectors and construction staff, accuracy, reliability and durability are particularly important. People who are physically active, including cyclists and runners, place greater emphasis on comfort, appearance and ease of use.
For people with respiratory conditions, heart disease or other health concerns, trust, privacy and the credibility of the information provided are among the key considerations.
The research found that many of the challenges facing wearable air-quality monitors come from the fact that they sit between technology, healthcare and fashion. Improving technical performance can require larger sensors, bigger batteries or additional hardware, which can make devices heavier, less comfortable or less attractive to wear.
This means that a technically sophisticated device may have limited impact if people choose not to wear it consistently.
In response, the Glasgow Caledonian team developed a new design framework bringing together technology design, fashion design and user-centred design. Rather than treating these considerations as separate stages, the framework encourages engineers, designers and health specialists to work together from the outset.
Dr Morozova, Department of Fashion, Marketing, Tourism and Events, and who was Director of Studies for the project, said: “The project illustrates the value of bringing different areas of expertise from across the University together to address a problem that cannot be solved through technology alone.
“We believe that better-designed wearable monitors could help people make more informed decisions about their health and wellbeing. They could help vulnerable individuals avoid highly polluted environments, support employers in protecting outdoor workers, and provide new insights into how pollution affects people in different places and situations.
“Ultimately, the study concludes that the future success of wearable air-quality monitoring technology will depend not just on how well the devices measure pollution, but on how effectively they fit into everyday life. If people are not willing to wear them, even the most advanced technology cannot deliver the health benefits it promises.”