• The Planttes application is a citizen science project which aims to encourage people to identify and locate on a map the existence of allergy-causing plants and indicate their phenological state.
  • The application is the result of collaboration between the Point of Information on Aerobiology (PIA) and the UAB Computer Vision Centre. The project received the Environment Award 2017 of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

The Point of Information on Aerobiology (PIA) together with the UAB Computer Vision Centre have launched the Planttes application. The application was created as a citizen science tool in collaboration with students of the master's degree in design from the Barcelona School of Design.

The aim of the application is to get people involved in helping to create a map of possible allergy-causing plants in different cities and towns. It is now available on Google Play, for Android.

Planttes shows users images of some of the most important allergy-causing plants, and offers information on what their flowers and fruits look like. The system permits users to signal their location on a map (geolocation), show the plant they are looking at and whether it is without flower, forming flowers, indicating whether they are closed or opened, or if it is already producing fruits.

This information can be viewed by other users and can help them decide on the best route to take in order to avoid coming close to those plants which cause them allergies. The information is dynamic and changes from day to day, exactly as plants do.

The creators hope the initiative will be of interest to the public in general and would also like to see it become a work tool in schools, civic centres and other entities so that everyone can collaborate and promote its use. With the collaboration of so many people, the information gathered on the existence and state of allergenic plants surrounding us will be in real time. The information will accompany that which is offered by the PIA (http://lap.uab.cat/aerobiologia/en/forecast/catalunya), more detailed and of much use to those suffering from allergies. The PIA is a project created by the ICTA-UAB and the Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (BABVE).


www.planttes.com
@planttes

Codi QR Planttes a Google Play