1. Abstract

Air Monsters is a toy instrument that investigates the air content in the environment that we live in with a playful approach. This is done with a three simple step process that consists of capture, analysis, and visualization. Harmful elements in the air are visualised as monsters that has a life of its own.



2. Objective

To create awareness of the pollution level present in the environment that we live in and that air that we breathe in with imaginative and simple approach that most peo-ple can relate with so as to sustain the attention span of users, and to create an in-terest to learn more about the factors contributing to the pollution.



3. Rationale

In recent years, the air pollution level has been steadily increasing especially in Asia due to its rapid transformation as a result of modernization. Various factors like indus-trial, cars, forest fires all contribute to this, intentionally or unintentionally.


However, despite all that’s going on, a large number of people remain oblivion to what’s going on or simply too busy with their lives to stop and examine their environ-ment. Through this project, I hope to trigger an interest for users to find out more about this increasingly serious issue.


Air Monsters is a toy instrument that captures the various inhabitants of the airspace in the area, which includes the pollutants and oxygen. Here the pollutants are repre-sented as monsters and all these creatures have a life of their own with certain be-haviors and distinctions.




4. Intended Outcome

Issues in air pollution over the recent years have not gone unnoticed, much re-search have been done and much have been written on topics regarding this area. The problem is, with all the research and huge amount of collected data, the general public does not really care or think about these problems that are really around them.


Air Monsters is about translating mundane data into a metaphorical represen-tations in the form of monsters, simplifying data to a lower level. When air is captured through the capturing unit and analysed, a piece of memory is also taken in that moment of time and space. Memory is also a key subject which I would like to explore in the future development in this work.
The cuteness of these monsters are certainly not a permanent feature in this proposed work, the expressions of these monsters would definitely change ac-cordingly to situations. This sort of metamorphosis would create a bigger im-pact to users who feels good looking at these monsters.
Capturing and translating air pollutants into monsters is only the first step of what could expand into a global learning community. I would like to expand this work online where captured memories can be uploaded to the internet where a habitat of monsters around the world can be observed. Exact loca-tions can be logged by gps modules and healing of the air can be possible through real life actions, no matter the amount of effect one can cause. Through this proposed work, I hope to be able to create a global awareness that people can feel more about.