500 word essay (2)

The idea of having a mobile device that is able to measure sound pollution seems like a good thing as it allows the user to have their own way of measuring sound and participating in something that could, in all, help the environment. However, there are many limitations to this that could mean that it is not successful.

Cost/availability, credibility and lack of a knowledge infrastructure all prohibit the success rate of the feature. With smartphones becoming more expensive and more clever with each upgrade, within a few years I’m sure this feature could be available on all devices. However at the I feel there are a lot of other aspects that need to be worked on before something like this is considered. Many smartphones have significant computational power, internet connectivity and integrated sensors (e.g. microphones, cameras, GPS, motion sensors) but reliability is still not a strong point of many smart phones and it could be argued that they are simply not ready for something so complex.

Although the creation of Web 2.0 has made participatory culture more prominent and people are more motivated by a desire to volunteer and be part of a community, how often would this feature actually be used? Yes, noise pollution is something that needs to be looked at and dealt with however most people with smart phones are only concerned with checking their twitter and ‘fattifying’ their faces on apps available to download in the blink of an eye.

Furthermore, once the mobile application has measured the sound and given the user an indication of the level of noise pollution, the user can then either choose to put in some ear plugs to prevent hearing damage or they can contact local authority and alert them that the level of noise pollution is too high. However, it is uncertain whether these authorities will do anything to prevent this sound pollution, therefore, not helping many other members of society.

The text states that currently only 7 smartphones are compatible with the application. This means that only people with these phones will be able to use the application, meaning not very many people will be able to have input.

After reading the text i decided to search ‘NoiseTube’ in the App store. Surprisingly I came across the exact app that the text refers to. What I had predicted was right, the app had no ratings and therefore had not been downloaded very much if at all. It stated that the research project started in 2008. Although it was good to see that the app was available on something as common as the iPhone, it simply didn’t look like the app was very popular. The day to day citizen probably wouldn’t be aware that noise pollution was such an issue let alone know there was an app to measure it.