One of the major concerns during any winter season is the quality of indoor air. Since most of us have to shut our windows and turn on the heater to protect against the cold, the quality of indoor air suffers greatly. Such unclean air leads to an increased chance of respiratory and other illnesses during winters. To prevent these problems and to promote healthy indoor environment, cloud-giant IBM has partnered with a wellness, real estate and technology firm called Delos.
Under the terms of this partnership, Delos will tap into IBM’s Watson and its cloud infrastructure to understand the impact of indoor environment on human health. Specifically, it will create cognitive computing-based apps with Watson and Bluemix platform to give construction engineers and architects an insight into the existing problem, and may also provide solutions that can be incorporated in the design and construction of homes and offices. Through these apps, both companies want to drive home the point that a healthy indoor environment is essential for better living and working conditions. Already, many companies find it difficult to handle the low productivity and frequent sick leaves during the winter season, so they are sure to take steps to reduce this absenteeism and increase productivity.
Are you’re wondering why IBM chose Delos for this partnership? Well, for starters, Delos is already in the process of collecting massive amounts of data, to understand the relationship that exists between indoor air quality and health. So, in this sense, IBM is simply providing the right technology to help Delos make sense of the data they have collected. In many ways, it’s a natural partnership because IBM has the perfect platform and technological tools to help Delos identify the right patterns from its vast data. In addition to its own data, Delos is also tapping into the database of Mayo Clinic to fill in any gaps that may arise.
Delos has already setup a Wellness Lab in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, to simulate a wide-variety of indoor environments in real-time. it has setup sensors in homes and offices across different cities in the US to give its scientists and researchers greater access into everyday conditions. With this information, researchers can identify the impact of different aspects such as indoor light, optimal temperature, acoustics, dust levels, and more, on the health of those living in these conditions.
With IBM’s Watson and Bluemix, Delos can also look into the historical data, including the many studies that have been done in this regard. Eventually, it can combine all this information to understand what impacts indoor air, and in turn, what effect it has on human beings.
This partnership is a classic example of IT application, where the advancements we have made are used to improve our own well-being. Though this is not the first experiment of its kind, the fact that it taps into so many sources of information and uses advanced technology, makes it truly unique.
It won’t be long before we start breathing healthy air – even during winters!
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