Post Date: 26 June 2019

HKUST New App (PRAISE-HK) Uses Street-Level Air Quality Data To Reduce Personal Exposure And Health Risk

[HONG KONG] 21 June 2019: HKUST Institute for the Environment today launched a new mobile app that aims to help users reduce their exposure to outdoor air pollution. PRAISE-HK stands for “Personalized Real-time Air-quality Informatics System for Exposure – Hong Kong” and will help build Hong Kong into a world-class smart and healthy city. Funded by HSBC 150th Anniversary Charity Program, PRAISE-HK is a five-year project commenced in November 2016, and covers three major release milestones for the mobile app and the system:

(1) Phase 1 – The app presented today (21 June 2019) is its phase 1 that profiles high-resolution outdoor air quality map down to street-level (with resolution down to 2-20 meter);

(2) Phase 2 – will provide full integration of personal exposure, tracking both outdoor and indoor air pollution levels including inside buildings or commuting;

(3) Phase 3 – will be an interaction app system that provides health prediction alerts based on personal responses to air pollution.

What is PRAISE-HK?

PRAISE-HK is a smart city app that provides state-of-the-art real-time and forecast (up to 48 hours) air quality and health risk information down to street level. PRAISE-HK shows Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) as well as percentage added short-term health risk (%AR) of daily hospital admissions attributable to criteria pollutants: nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), and sulphur dioxide (SO2).

The PRAISE-HK app is powered by a new system developed by cross-disciplinary experts led by the HKUST Institute for the Environment. The high accuracy performance is attributed to the following important technologies:

1. Air quality and atmospheric model – analyzes and forecasts air quality allowing for: dispersion of emissions released both regionally and in Hong Kong, and the associated complex photo-chemical reactions; and the influence on local pollutant dispersion of urban morphology in terms of building density and street ‘canyons’. The system generates street-scale resolution forecast maps (down to 2-20 meter) that highlight both pollution hotspots and areas of better air quality; fusion of modeled and measured concentration data ensures forecast accuracy.
2. Traffic model – tells us important road-side emission data from 30,000 Hong Kong road segments. The team developed a state-of-the-art microscopic activity-based traffic model, the first of its kind for Hong Kong, which captures the daily activity patterns of 4-million agents to derive the underlying traffic patterns across all modes of public transport as well as private car usage. The model produces detailed dynamic traffic patterns which are then used to estimate roadside emissions.
3. Sensor technologies – are developed with sophisticated hardware design and algorithm to reach the competent performance goals, and to fit the need for complicated microenvironment monitoring.
4. Big data – fills wide range of data gaps (from changing traffic speeds to special traffic incidents) to improve overall accuracy and to raise real-time performances;
5. Air quality exposure science – evaluates personal exposure profiles and associated health impacts; and
6. Mobile technology – identifies users’ location either outdoor or indoor, in what kinds of buildings or transportation modes, so that PRAISE-HK system could analyze its personal exposure to the surrounding air quality.

Users can access this useful information on the PRAISE-HK app and take corresponding action, in particular, to reduce short-term exposure risks that makes a big difference for people who are sensitive to air pollution.

Why PRAISE-HK?

Hong Kong’s air pollution problem has improved significantly in the past few years but is still far from meeting the World Health Organization’s Air Quality Guidelines. Hong Kong’s official air quality monitoring network, limited to 16 fixed-site stations, is designed to measure the average air quality over different districts, but they cannot show the fine scale street-to-street air quality variations. This may give a false impression that there is little variation in air quality across the city, and that there is not much the public can do to avoid highly polluted areas.

In fact, as a result of different traffic and ventilation conditions, the air quality can vary widely from one street to another in dense urban cities like Hong Kong. The PRAISE-HK app maps air quality variation down to individual streets, allowing users to proactively plan their time and activities and reducing exposure from high pollution.

While air pollution is still a major environmental and health concern in Hong Kong, Prof. Alexis Lau of HKUST Division of Environment and Sustainability, and PRAISE-HK Principal Investigator, said “Many people believed that there is not much that can do to reduce their exposure to air pollutants. This is no longer true!”

By empowering the public with personalized air quality information, Lau believes PRAISE-HK can lead to a perception change in air pollution exposure, and can also drive behavior change in the public. “We have entered the Artificial Intelligence era. We could and we should combine innovations and new technologies to solutions for a smarter and healthier living style,” Lau added.

PRAISE-HK is fully funded by the HSBC 150th Anniversary Charity Programme. Mr. Patrick Humphris, Head of Communications, Asia-Pacific, HSBC, said, “At HSBC, we have a long tradition of supporting the communities we serve, particularly here in Hong Kong. The integration of smart-city technologies into our lives will create smarter, healthier places to live and work. PRAISE-HK raises the profile of air pollution as a serious health hazard but also gives us the tools to manage our exposure. The real-time air quality data on the app will help us to protect our children, elderly and other vulnerable individuals. I am delighted that HSBC has supported HKUST’s work to develop this app through our 150th Anniversary Charity Programme.”

PRAISE-HK App Features:

1, Home screen (front) The “home screen” shows Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) of the user’s GPS-identified roadside location. Users can click the blinking health bubble to check the corresponding health advice.

2, Home screen (back) Users can click the AQHI disc to show detailed pollutant composition with their attributed “percentage short-term added health risk” (&AR). Users can swipe the blinking forecast band to check the next 48-hour forecast at that particular location.

3, Air Quality Map Users can access the “Street Level Air Quality Map” by tapping the “location icon” on the home screen, or via the side menu accessed from the hamburger menu icon on top left.

4, Bookmark page Users can bookmark personal locations and find out their current and predicted air quality with a single tap.

5, Forecast videos “Forecast Videos” page shows the varying air quality over four spatial scales. The animation illustrates the interactions between pollutant emissions (over land areas) and their transport by the weather systems.

[Visit website for details: http://praise.ust.hk/index.php/about-praise/#app-instruction]

Download PRAISE-HK app:

- App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/praise-hk/id1441509846?mt=8 

- Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=hkust.praise 

- App promo: http://bit.ly/PRAISE-HK-App-promo 

- App features: http://praise.ust.hk/index.php/about-praise/#app-instruction 

Download the following press materials via http://bit.ly/190621HKUST_PC:

- Bilingual press release

- English brochure

- PRAISE-HK App interface images

- Launching Ceremony event photos

About Institute for the Environment: (IENV)

Institute for the Environment (IENV) is an interdisciplinary research institute of HKUST that promotes and conducts research aimed at improving the environment of Hong Kong, the Pearl River Delta (Greater Bay Area), and beyond. It has a solid track record in conducting air quality related studies in Hong Kong and the region. Its research findings have been adopted in many different ways in the policy making process both locally and regionally. IENV has gained tremendous support from the University on our research work and facilities (including the Atmospheric Research Center established in Guangdong in 2006). It collaborates with a variety of stakeholders, including academic, industrial and environmental non-governmental partners. It will continue to stretch our collaborative efforts and build cross-border synergies with mainland institutions for a greener and healthier Greater Bay Area.

PRAISE-HK website: http://praise.ust.hk 

PRAISE-HK project promo (part 1): https://youtu.be/3U3kXlKAKHo 

PRAISE-HK project promo (part 2): https://youtu.be/kKMEYX8-p1s

Media Enquiries:

Ms. Rae Leung, Communications Manager (Environment)

Institute for the Environment, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Office: +852 2358 8064

Email: raeleung@ust.hk

新聞稿：香港科技大學流動應用程式 PRAISE-HK發佈實時街道空氣質素數據 減少空氣污染對個人健康威脅

[2019年6月21日] 香港：香港科技大學環境研究所今日推出嶄新的流動應用程式 PRAISE-HK，旨在減少空氣污染對用戶的個人健康威脅。PRAISE-HK 全名是「個人化實時空氣污染風險信息系統 」(英文：Personalized Real-time Air-quality Informatics System for Exposure – Hong Kong)，將有助香港成為世界級的智慧健康城市。PRAISE-HK 是滙豐150週年慈善計劃自2016年11月起資助，為期五年的項目，流動應用程式和系統分三個階段推進：

1. 第一階段 - 今日發表的應用程式以高解析度（達2米至20米）的街道級別地圖提供室外空氣質素資訊；
2. 第二階段 - 全面整合空氣污染對個人健康威脅的資訊，追踪個人由室內至室外（包括於交通工具內）所接觸空氣污染水平；
3. 第三階段 - 完成互動應用程式及系統，根據個人對空氣污染的反應提供健康預測警報。

什麼是PRAISE-HK？

PRAISE-HK是一款智慧城市應用程式，提供最先進的街道級別實時空氣質素和健康風險信息和48小時空氣質素預報。PRAISE-HK 顯示「空氣質素健康指數」（AQHI）以及由四種空氣污染物：二氧化氮（NO2）、臭氧（O3）、懸浮粒子（PM10 和PM2.5)）和二氧化硫（SO2） 所導致入院的個別健康風險增幅總和 (%AR)。

用戶可在 PRAISE-HK 應用程式獲取上述的實用資訊，然後採取相應措施，減少短期曝露於空氣污染物的風險，對空氣污染物敏感的人士會大大受益於此程式。

PRAISE-HK應用程式是由香港科技大學環境研究所開發的全新系統，項目由跨學科專家領導，其高精準度可歸功於以下重要技術：

1. 空氣質素和大氣模型 - 用作分析和預測空氣質素，理解以下現象：鄰近地區和香港釋放的排放物分散情況，以及相關的複雜光化作用；從建築物密度及其「街道峽谷」看城市形態對當地污染物擴散的影響。系統能繪製出高密度（細緻達2米至20米）空氣質素預測圖，標示污染黑點和更佳空氣質素區域；整合模擬和測量的濃度數據確保預報的準確性。
2. 交通模型 - 顯示來自3萬多個路段的路邊空氣污染的重要數據。團隊率先開發了全港首個微觀交通活動模型，其高端技術能夠捕捉400萬部交通工具的日常活動模式，涵括所有公共交通及私家車使用方法的模式。該模型產生詳盡的交通動態模式，用作估算路邊排放量。
3. 傳感器技術 - 採用精細的硬件設計和運算方法以達致良好性能表現，達到能夠準確地在複雜的微環境進行空氣質素監測的要求。
4. 大數據 - 填補各方面的數據不足（例如交通速度變化及特殊交通事故等數據），以提高PRAISE-HK的整體準確性及實時表現；
5. 空氣質素曝露科學 - 評估個人在不同時間及地點接觸各類空氣污染物的比例和相關的健康影響；以及
6. 流動通訊系統技術 - 識別用戶不論在室外還是室內的位置、身處哪類建築物或交通工具，以便 PRAISE-HK 系統分析用戶身處位置週邊的空氣質素。

為何選用 PRAISE-HK？

過去幾年，香港的空氣污染問題有顯著改善，但仍未達到世界衛生組織的空氣質素指引之標準。香港政府的空氣質素監測網絡，現時共有16個固定站點，用作測量不同地區的平均空氣質素。但由於監測站的數目有限，無法精細顯示街道之間的空氣質素變化和差別，這可能令人誤以為整個城市的空氣質素近乎沒有變化，市民亦難有方案以避開高度污染的地區。

但事實上，如香港這類高密度城市，由於交通流量和市區的通風情況不同，街道與街道之間的空氣質素差異可以是很大的。 PRAISE-HK 應用程式將仔細至可顯示街道間的空氣質素差異呈現眼前，讓用戶能夠及早規劃他們的時間和活動，減少面對高污染空氣帶來的風險。

今天，空氣污染依然是香港的主要環境及健康問題。香港科技大學環境及可持續發展部劉啟漢教授是 PRAISE-HK 的首席研究員。劉教授表示：「許多人仍然認為可以減少接觸空氣污染物的可行性並不大，這是不對的！」

劉教授認為 PRAISE-HK 為公眾所提供的個人化空氣質素資訊，可以改變人們對於難以控制接觸空氣污染的既定想法，亦能促使個人在生活規劃上的改變，以減少接觸接觸空氣污染，改善健康。劉教授績稱：「我們已步入人工智能的時代，我們能夠亦需要結合創新意念和科技，實現更具智慧和更健康的生活方式。 」

PRAISE-HK是滙豐150週年慈善計劃全力支持的項目。滙豐企業傳訊部（亞太區）主管韓智韜（Patrick Humphris）先生表示：「一直以來，滙豐與香港社群互相支持、共同成長。透過滙豐150週年慈善計劃，我們很高興見到香港科技大學研發的項目，幫助社區各階層人士。PRAISE-HK應用程式，不但提醒大家空氣污染對健康的威脅，更重要是，我們可以利用這個工具，知道四周空氣污染的情況，例如實時空氣質量數據，從而作出適當的調整，保障身邊每個人的健康。我們期待，更多智慧城市相關的科技融入生活，進一步改善居住和工作的環境。」

PRAISE-HK應用程式功能：

1,「主屏幕」顯示用戶GPS識別的路邊位置之「空氣質素健康指數」（AQHI）。用戶可以點擊閃爍的對話氣泡查閱健康建議。

2, 用戶點擊AQHI圓形報告板，將會顯示詳細的污染物成分及其「短期健康風險增幅」（%AR ）。用戶可以滑動閃爍的預測橫條，了解特定位置的未來48小時預報。

3, 用戶點擊主屏幕上的位置圖標或點擊左上方的菜單圖標，選取「空氣質素街道圖」了解街道級別的空氣質素 。

4, 用戶可以為個人位置添加書籤，日後只需點擊一下即可查找即時和預測的空氣質素。

5, 「預測短片」頁面顯示四個不同空間比例呈現的空氣質素。短片說明污染物排放（來自陸地）與氣象環境影響下的流動情況。

[瀏覽網站了解詳情： http//praise.ust.hk/index.php/about-praise/#app-instruction]

下載 PRAISE-HK 應用程式：

• App Store (蘋果)： https://apps.apple.com/us/app/praise-hk/id1441509846
• Google Play：           https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=hkust.praise
• App promo：            http://bit.ly/PRAISE-HK-App-promo）
• 應用程式功能：     http://praise.ust.hk/index.php/about-praise/#app-instruction

新聞材料下載連結：http://bit.ly/190621HKUST_PC

• 雙語新聞稿
• 英文版宣傳小冊子
• PRAISE-HK 應用程式界面圖片
• 6月21日發佈會活動照片

關於香港科技大學環境研究所（IENV）：

環境研究所（IENV）是香港科技大學的一個跨學科研究機構，致力改善香港、珠江三角洲（大灣區）及以外的環境。環境研究所在香港和地區性的空氣質素研究方面取得彪炳的成就，研究所之研究成果在本地和區域政策制定過程中常被採用。研究所的研究工作和設施皆獲大學鼎力支持，早在2006年已於廣東建立大氣研究中心。研究所致力與社會的不同持份者合作，包括學術界、工業界和環境界別的非政府合作夥伴。研究所將繼續拓展與各界的合作，並將繼續與中國內地機構進行跨境協作，攜手建設更環保更健康的大灣區。

PRAISE-HK 網站： http//praise.ust.hk

PRAISE-HK 宣傳片（第1部分）：https://youtu.be/3U3kXlKAKHo

PRAISE-HK 項目介紹短片（第2部分）： https//youtu.be/kKMEYX8-p1s

媒體查詢：

香港科技大學環境研究所　傳訊經理梁姿韻小姐

辦公室電話：  +852 2358 8064

手機： +852 9102 7099

電郵： raeleung@ust.hk

Media Coverage 媒體報導

• 19.06.24 – AM730 – 實時空氣質素分析準確逾9成 科大推《PRAISE-HK》手機App
• 19.06.24 – OpenGov Asia – New HKUST app helps people deal with air pollution
• 19.06.24 – Lion Rock Daily – 科大推實時街道空氣質素程式
• 19.06.22 – RTHK (News) – New app gives clear view of street-level pollution (Eng radio)
• 19.06.22 – Modia – 【智慧城市論壇】科大環境研究所實時分析空氣質素 準確度逾90%
• 19.06.22 – Modia – 【PRAISE-HK】從戶外到室內推測污染物 選擇健康路徑
• 19.06.22 – Modia – PRAISE-HK流動應用程式 準確預測空氣質素
• 19.06.21 – HK01 – 科大研發評測空氣污染風險手機程式 可提供空氣質素較佳行走路線
• 19.06.21 – Hong Kong Economic Times – 科大環境研究所籌備兩年 推實時空氣質素監測程式
• 19.06.21 – Hong Kong Economic Journal – 科大推檢測空氣污染App 滙豐有份資助
• 19.06.21 – Hong Kong Economic Journal – 科大空氣質素App出行避污染
• 19.06.21 – on.cc – 科大推空氣污染App 用家可自選清新路線
• 19.06.21 – on.cc – 滙豐贊助「空氣質素分析App」出爐 教你「兜路行」

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