Positive Technology Journal

One of the thing I hate most about living in a big city is the noise from road traffic. The most disturbing types of noise for me are (in order of irritation):

1) motorbike noise

2) emergency noise

3) noise from construction/demolition activites

In addition of being very unpleasant and harmful for our hearing system, noise can have negative impact on general health. For example, Swedish researchers have found that the exposure to even relatively low levels of noise may increase increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack and high blood pressure.

Even though we are accustomed to this background noise, we should at least be aware of how dangerous it is. Guys at WideTag have developed an iPhone/iPod touch application - WideNoise - that allows to monitor the noise level in the space surrounding the user. The noise data are collected and displayed on an online map. I think that this application could be also used by employers to monitor workplace noise.

Good job guys!