Smartphone Solutions for Citizen-Centered Risk Monitoring in Environmental Disaster Situations

Abstract

Through an analysis of three case studies, this chapter proposes a new kind of democratic risk communication that can be realized through environmental sensing by citizens with smartphones, and considers the challenges involved. The three case studies, which the authors have implemented in the society, are as follows: (1) The Pocket Geiger (Pokéga) is a radiation sensor for citizens developed immediately after the Fukushima nuclear accident. More than 100,000 Pokéga units have been produced under an open source license. (2) The Unreal iSOTOPE is a mobile simulator developed for training Japanese law enforcement agencies during radiation disasters. (3) The Pocket PM2.5 Sensor visualizes the distribution of invisible air pollutants indoors and outdoors. It is particularly useful for fieldwork in developing countries where environmental assessments are inadequate.