| Case
Study: Air Quality Meter for Tennessee Residents
We
just helped build launch a new website for
the Tennessee Department of Transportation,
called, ClearTheAirTN.org:
The
site is dedicated to helping "Clear
The Air," and getting the word out
about air quality, and gives tips for what
an average person can do (including idling
your car less), and offers resources for
schools, employers and commercial trucking
operators.
A
Mini-Web Application:
At
the top of the website is an air quality
meter, that allows a person to click on
their city, and then have the site display
the air quality for the day:
When
someone clicks on Chattanooga, for example,
the system then displays the air quality
for this town. The system also sets a cookie
on their computer, so when someone returns
to the site, they'll automatically see the
air quality for their selected town.
How
Did We Do This?
We
used a public database from the EPA, that
they publish several times a day in a raw
data format. We took this data feed, and
have an automated system import it into
a live database several times each day.
Then, when someone selects the city, our
system knows what information to display
in an easy-to-read graphical format.
This
type of mini-web application is useful because
it gives people a great reason to come back.
It's also relevant to the mission and purpose
of the organization.
A
future option for the air quality meter
application is to create a daily email that
sends people the air quality in their selected
town each day.
Other
Possible Applications:
Other
applications that may be useful for your
site visitors include:
- Currency
Exchange Calculator
- Carbon
Footprint Calculator
- Monthly
Payment Calculator
- Store
Locator (someone types in a zip code,
and the site finds the store closest to
their geographical location)
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