Wiseair, the sensors that monitor smog in cities
[ad_1]
February 2019. Four engineering students from Politecnico di Milano begin to take seriously a theme that in Lombardy, as well as in the entire Po Valley, lived on their own skin. The air quality problem. Hard to measure. Complicated to monitor. They, Paolo Barbato, Carlo Alberto Gaetaniello, Andrea Bassi And Fulvio Bambusi, then 24 years old, first made it the subject of study. Then a solution that has become a company. They called her wiseair. A startup that developed a own technology to monitor the air quality through sensors. Because to solve a problem you need data. And without data and precise sensor measurements, it is practically impossible to find a solution.
“The lack of data stems from the hyper-local nature of the air pollution phenomenon,” he explains Paolo Barbato, now Chief Executive Officer of Wiseair. The nature of this phenomenon is “capable of varying within the same city due to multiple factors” and the problem “therefore cannot be addressed exclusively with the help of data from government exchanges”. Those who currently monitor the air in our cities. This is where the heart of the company lies. And it is here that what is still his motto was born: “A problem you cannot measure is a problem you cannot solve”. Because precisely those who, to date, are called to take measures to protect the health of citizens they have no idea of the extent of the problem in their own territory, they argue. “At Wiseair we strongly believe that data is the starting point for trying to solve the problem ofair pollution“, Barbato still thinks.
The file
Legambiente data: “Chronic smog emergency in 13 Italian cities”
The project begins to take shape. From university to activism, then the company. Wiseair starts with bottom-up initiatives. The founders provide sensors and data directly to citizens with the aim of reaching a dialogue with the administrations. More sensors, in more parts of the city, more data to monitor air quality, this is the principle that guides them.
“We deployed sensors to Milan, Turin, Rome And Bari creating communities of active and passionate citizens but in the meantime we also understood that in order to generate impact and therefore start making our technology concretely available to local communities, we had to dialogue directly with the administrations”, says Barbato. “Citizens and their well-being remain our focus and the return of data into their hands and their involvement in the initiatives are part of every project launched with the over 50 municipalities that currently work with us”, he adds.
Pollution
76% of our urban centers are outlawed with respect to fine dust limits
by Cristina Nadotti
The company takes shape. And life. They participate in the Techstars acceleration program in Turin in 2021. The same year they close a one million euro investment round led by Novum Capital Partner. In the meantime, the project to make citizens and institutions dialogue through air data becomes an even more precise business idea. First the founders think of producing and distributing smart vases by creating networks of citizens in support of science as widespread as possible. Then comes Covid, the pandemic, and bottlenecks in the supply network. Production becomes more difficult. And Wiseair sheds its skin.
Today the company’s main product is an air quality monitoring kit that it sells directly to local governments. Sensors designed to adapt to any environment that can be installed in any position. A solar panel guarantees them energy independence. And data transmission always enabled by wireless technologies. A control panel completes the picture. So as to allow administrations and citizens to understand the air they breathe. And, if necessary, behave accordingly by making accurate decisions.
Other projects are in the field: “In addition to the service for the Municipalities, we have developed a second business line. Wiseair Workplace Mobility, our service for the management and optimization of sustainable corporate mobility”. The company grows. And now it is able to walk on its own legs: “In 2022 we have achieved an important goal of consolidating the b2g market (business to government, ed), exceeding the threshold of 50 customers throughout Italy and tripling the annual recurring revenue”. A university project that eventually managed to become an entrepreneurial reality. The last loan in March: 200 thousand euros from a group of 24 entrepreneurs The latest confirmation that from a university project Wiseair has now become a full-fledged company.
[ad_2]
Source link
