IBM supports "citizen scientists" with iPhone app

IBM Research Center in Almaden (where the hard drive was invented) has a new iPhone app to help people report creek and river conditions. Hear how that supports a new "citizen scientist" movement and will help fisheries and water boards better manage creek flow and pollution standards. Learn more here:


http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/water_management/article/creek_watch.html




New iPhone app brings the power of crowdsourcing to local waterways

The future of the world's water supply just might lie in the palm of your hand—and millions of other hands around the world. Creek Watch, a new iPhone application developed by IBM Research, empowers citizens worldwide to monitor their watersheds and report conditions. Every update provides vital data that local water authorities can use to track pollution, manage water resources and plan environmental programs.

Available as a free download from Apple's App Store (an Android version is under development), Creek Watch is a cinch to use. Simply stop by any waterway and, with the phone's GPS enabled, take a photo and submit three crucial pieces of data based on your observations:

* Water level (dry, some or full)
* Flow rate (still, slow or fast)
* Trash (none, some, a lot)

"That's all it takes to play your part in helping conserve and protect your local water resources," said Christine Robson, an IBM computer scientist who helped develop Creek Watch. "No expertise or training is required. This is an exercise in crowdsourcing, where every individual is encouraged to become a citizen scientist and get engaged with their environment."






Walk the dog and file a water report
Although Creek Watch can be used to report on any body of water a person encounters, it is particularly valuable for the data it can provide on smaller, less prominent waterways, which comprise a crucial portion of most watersheds but are too numerous for water boards to monitor without help.
"One of the best ways you can use Creek Watch is to make it part of your routine," Robson said. "If you regularly walk, jog or bike by a creek or stream, for instance, make a point of providing a regular report from the same spot each week. This way, you can keep the data fresh and note changes in the waterway."



Seeking smarter ways to use smartphones

By enabling countless individuals to gather and submit data, Creek Watch represents a new kind of data aggregation, analytics and visualization, and in that sense reflects many of the ways IBM is already helping clients make their businesses and industries smarter. From a research perspective, Creek Watch helps IBM Research understand how people use smartphones to gather and share information, as well as the quality of data collected this way.

The Creek Watch platform holds enormous potential for similar applications that can be used to monitor and report on just about any aspect of one’s environment: city services (report potholes, late buses), wildlife, noise pollution, air quality and global warming.