Pigeon blog is a bioart project by Beatriz Da Costa that attempts to retrieve and map accurate air pollution data by attaching air quality sensors to the backs of homing pigeons. The data was then distributed to a map that showed flight paths as well as changes in air quality. The project was launched to bring more awareness to the issue of air pollution in southern California, as well as to inspire more people to take science into their own hands with DIY tech and grassroots activism.
I found that this project was one of the closest things in my cmu education so far that matched up with the prompt of experimental capture, and what I like most about this project is that the choice to use pigeons is incredibly important to the data collection. Their mobility through cities and forgiving nature as trainable animals makes them the perfect vehicle for the air quality sensors, whereas other means would be too slow or call attention to themselves.
