There is a crossroads, where Smart Places and Citizen Science collide. That's pretty much where the Prudence Avoidance project lives:
The Prudent Avoidance Device consists of a sensing apparatus worn by a participant, and a data modeling and web broadcast system for data analysis and presentation. The sensing device detects exposure to a wide range of electro-magnetic frequencies in the Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) range that are suspected of having harmful effects on human life. In laboratory and field studies, the health effects of these frequencies have not been proven to be either benign or dangerous; thus, national and international regulating agencies have suggested Prudent Avoidance of them for individuals. Without knowledge of where they exist and how they are dispersed, however, such avoidance becomes impossible. To help make such effects more evident, the Prudent Avoidance Device collects a variety of information on exposure durations and frequency levels that are then correlated with a users physical location. The data is subsequently uploaded to a publicly accessible website and presented as a kind of interactive documentary. Visitors to the web site are able to follow the lives of the participants (represented by images, geographically mapped exposure data, and correlations of exposure levels with international standards) as they navigate a public space filled with ELF emissions.
(By the by, I track way, way too many blogs and news sites, and I've got to say, man, that Anne Galloway, she sure can blog.)
