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Wepo is a Crowdfunded Wearable for Air Quality Monitoring

Wepo is a Crowdfunded Wearable for Air Quality Monitoring

By NDTV Correspondent | Updated: 7 March 2016 13:08 IST

Every week, we search through crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to try and highlight one project worth backing. We're always on the lookout for great new projects to fund, ranging from the next big thing to the weird yet cool tech products that won't find traction in a big company.

That's because some of the coolest products these days, such as the Pebble Smartwatch and the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset owe their existence to crowdfunding, instead of coming from big companies. Of course, not every project is as big a game changer, and often, projects that get funded still fail to materialise.

But if you're willing to take a risk and can afford to write off a little money, then there's a lot to look at and maybe fund.

This week, we came across an Indiegogo project that we wanted to highlight particularly for all Indians, especially those who live in Delhi, which was recently acknowledged as the most polluted city in the world.

The Wepo is a wearable device that measures air pollution exposure. Countries like India and China are badly hit by air pollution today, and the more people are aware of the constantly rising levels of pollution, the greater the likelihood of ever achieving change.

This first generation Wepo is a portable carbon monoxide sensor, and future versions will also measure nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, along with other pollutants. The device will connect with your smartphone using Bluetooth Low Energy, and it packs a 2000mAH battery that will take around 20 hours to discharge.

Along with phone apps, the creators are also looking for apps for Tizen devices like the Galaxy Gear S smartwatch, an Android Wear smartwatches. This way, the makers hope, you'll be able to regularly see information about air quality, and be more conscious about pollution.

You can see the pitch video here:

The Wepo won't come cheap - you can get one if you pledge $399 (or around Rs. 25,000) with an estimated shipping date of July 2015. This means that it isn't something that most people can afford to back, and for most of us, it's going to make more sense as later versions trickle down to the market, with more features at lower prices. But the project is already fully funded, which means that this version of the device already has a good shot at becoming real, and if you're interested in the concept and want to encourage development in the field, then backing could be a good idea.

To see more projects that you can back, click here.

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