As part of the Eureka Confluence programme, Bouygues Energies & Services, the Réseau National de Surveillance Aérobiologique (RNSA, France’s National Aerobiological Monitoring Network) and the startup Ōberon joined forces to create a respiratory well-being indicator. As spring returns and pollen is back, this innovative experiment is once again featured in the local press with an article in Le Progrès.
Since 2016, Lyon’s Confluence district has been involved in a programme called “Eureka Confluence”. The objective of the programme is simple: use the district as an incubator of solutions for an intelligent city that supports the health and wellbeing of its inhabitants through a range of innovations focussed on use, accessibility and sustainability.
A district-wide prevention service that addresses pollen and pollution
The starting point for Bouygues Energies & Services and its partners was the observation made by all those allergic to pollen: pollution increases their sensitivity to pollen. This prompted the idea of setting up a respiratory well-being indicator that provides simultaneous real-time exposure risk levels to pollen and fine particles at district level for the same day as well as for the subsequent two days.
As a matter of fact, small-scale exposure levels can negatively impact well-being and affect the management of possible respiratory discomfort. To meet this need, several patented micro-sensors from the CNRS and CEA, designed and brought to market by the technology startup ŌBERON, have been set up in the district.
A reliable service based on quality data
As a public health resource, the Respiratory Well-Being Indicator maintains the high quality of measurements that the National Aerobiological Monitoring Network (RNSA) has demanded since its inception, and which justifies the trust and support of the health authorities. The approval of the pollen data by a qualified authority is essential for users of the service to act with complete confidence.
Innovation for better living
This monitoring and forecasting service is aimed not only at the third of our fellow city dwellers who are allergic to pollen but also at the entire ecosystem of respiratory health stakeholders: communities, doctors, caregivers, pharmacists, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical laboratories, health authorities, etc.
The data can be consulted at: http://meteodusouffle.gq/
The indices and their forecasts are available on a half-day basis, on app and public broadcast media for individuals, and in specific formats for professionals.
La Confluence, land of innovation
This “Breathing Forecast” was winner of the [R] Challenge, an open innovation approach to air quality promoted by Greater Lyon. With the support of Lyon-Confluence and Bouygues Energies & Services, this partnership with OBERON illustrates our commitment to building high value-added services for the region, in line with the energy transition.
The Eureka Confluence project is constantly being improved by a consortium of 14 public and private partners, of which Bouygues Energies & Service is one. The “Test & Learn” approach has become its signature “Generator of urban innovation”, and health and well-being are among its most innovative ambitions.
