Real-time Sound Experience Interpreted from Community Cyclists’ Air Quality Data

Abstract:

Bike Sense Louisville collected ambient temperature and volatile organic compound (VOC) readings in relation to GPS through remote sensing units given to volunteer community cyclists. The project was submitted to the city’s Commission on Public Art committee in reply to an ARTmovesLOUISVILLE initiative to address issues of multi-modal transportation in the city. The public call for art corresponded with the MOVE Louisville 2035 comprehensive initiative by the city to look forward 20 years to make Louisville more accessible and healthy for alternative modes of transportation. Bike Sense Louisville was approved and funded in December 2016 where development of the sensors and cloud database began in collaboration with engineer David Dressner.

The choice of temperature, VOCs and location was chosen in hopes to discover where Louisville cyclists are actually riding in comparison to existing bike routes, what routes and neighborhoods are experiencing higher temperatures due to the heat island effect, and how the quality of air varies across the city.

The project launched in July 2019 and ran till July 2020. The public art component involved translating the volunteer community cyclists’ incoming data into sound in real-time. The sound was played on speakers mounted on the Big Four pedestrian bridge connecting Louisville, Kentucky to Jeffersonville, Indiana. The digital tones varied according to each different sensor unit, each having their own unique 3-note chord. The tone’s length changed according to temperature, and oscillation (causing distortion) increased according to VOC readings.

I have created visualizations that are posted on the project site: https://www.bikesense.net/ . The data is also publicly available in the Louisville Data Commons, created by the University of Louisville Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute.