AR Pollution Project

The AR Pollution Project was a web-based experiment that used augmented reality to display realtime pollution levels in different locations, including the user's current location.

The project used the Ambee Air Quality API to gather air quality data from around the world. The aim was to make pollution levels feel more tangible by presenting them through an interactive spatial experience rather than a flat data view.

AR support was available on compatible Android devices through WebXR. For non-AR devices, the project also included a fallback experience so the core idea remained accessible even when AR was not available.

The team consisted of myself as lead developer and one other person who acted as producer and artist. The project had a deliberately simple visual design, so the technical focus was on the AR integration, API-driven data and fallback behaviour.

Technical Overview

Object-Oriented Programming and Entity-Component-System Architecture

This experience used an Object-Oriented Programming and Entity-Component-System style architecture. This allowed reusable systems and presentation logic to be composed cleanly while keeping rendering, interaction and data behaviour separated.

The approach was useful for handling the AR presentation layer alongside the non-AR fallback without tightly coupling every part of the experience together.

Ambee API

The AR Pollution Project used Ambee's Air Quality API to gather realtime air quality data from around the world, including the user's current location.

The API provided the environmental data that powered the experience, allowing users to compare pollution levels across different places and understand the data through a more visual, interactive format.

AR Integration and Fallback

The AR feature used WebXR on compatible Android devices to visualise pollution data spatially. This gave the experience a more immersive quality and helped connect the abstract data to the user's physical environment.

A fallback mode was also provided for devices without AR support. This meant the project could still be used across a wider range of browsers and devices, rather than only working for users with compatible Android hardware.