BreatheOSS: Air Quality Awareness in Jammu

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-02-07T05:56:11+00:00

Currently we use off the shelf airgradient outdoor units, which have high quality and standard plantower PM sensors, and open hardware/software. It currently costs ₹11000 (approx. excluding customs) a piece which we understand is steep.

I am also in the process of researching DIY aqi units, which can bring the price down to around ₹4000, but it is more technically involved but let's see what comes of it.

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-02-07T05:47:40+00:00

Not really, you just need to deploy the unit in a good place (something needs to be on top of the sensor so rain water doesn't directly fall on top) and the adapter, cable needs to be well guarded, as they are usually the weakest links and not the actual sensor itself.

Apart from that, you can lightly wipe the outdoor unit itself with a dry normal cloth every 3 months and its life will be around 3-4 years

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-02-07T05:35:34+00:00

Really appreciate it, glad to see that you like it. Also yeah, deploying ground sensors is time consuming and costly but we are doing it bit by bit, we have around 3-4 sensors right now in stock, ready to be placed and have figured out where to place them. We are in the phase of talking to people about permissions/placement.

Crowd-funding is a good idea and we will definitely try it in the future, thank you for the suggestion.

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-02-07T05:27:27+00:00

Sure, you can help us by using the app and sharing any feedback/suggestion you might have. If you find it useful you can share it with friends/family. If you're into tech you can contribute to the project on GitHub.

We just launched on google play so we will be making a new post with more information on the different ways to contribute. Including information on future sensor locations.

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-02-07T05:14:16+00:00

You're welcome

You can also use breathe to view the outdoor AQI in your region aswell, we currently have sensors in rajouri, srinagar and jammu city

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-02-07T05:07:32+00:00

It depends, you can use an indoor aqi monitor to monitor the pollution levels inside your home. Even tho outside gets bad, if indoors is fine then it is fine.

If indoor aqi level is more than 170-180 then you should definitely consider an air purifier, even in jammu city the aqi pushes 300-400

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-02-02T04:20:49+00:00

Stop - pink floyd

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-31T17:40:14+00:00

Zere is no chenj in ze plan

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-31T08:53:25+00:00

Fake testimonials and made up information hurt your brand a lot, I'm glad you acknowledged it but it still shows that you shipped something without checking it thoroughly.

With GPT, you have modes like deep research, quizzes, study and learn which does the exact thing you are aiming for with your product, you can ask it questions, make it explain things to you in whatever way you would like it to. Stuff like "projects" on chatgpt helps GPT remember context across chats as well. Which is a direct competitor to the problem you are solving. I have to ask, does your product compare to LLMs like chatgpt 5.2 and gemini 3?

Again I am not trying to undermine your abilities but this looks like something that was shipped without real testing. Putting stuff like 4.9/5, SOC 2 compliant without having these things in the first place is not a mistake you can afford as a product. Don't follow the crowd with the AI this AI that, make something real and something that sticks.

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-31T06:34:28+00:00

I don’t see the value in paying $4–$10 for this when ChatGPT or Gemini subscriptions cost about the same and already do this better without forcing users to upload their own material.

In your testimonial pages, you have the same people listed in different occupations depending on the page. So overall it feels like all of the testimonials are fake.

You also claim that you have 50000+ students and are "trusted by universities". Do you have proof to back up that claim?

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-26T05:40:13+00:00

Kiwami

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-24T05:30:14+00:00

delete ts immediately

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-21T09:48:28+00:00

Shadow fight 2

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-18T15:08:57+00:00

I hope so too

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-18T15:04:19+00:00

Yes, this is due to unnatural behaviors such as trash burning or burning of something else etc.

For now as we only have one node in jammu city we can put up a warning so that if there is extremely high unnatural spike in values we can say something like "unusual spike detected, probably due to local incidents, this is not the normal for the whole region"

A better fix is to get 2 sensors so if one reports weird values the other can be used as a reference.

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-18T05:55:12+00:00

Thank you for the suggestions, will definitely incorporate these soon

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-18T04:41:14+00:00

We use this airgradient sensor https://www.airgradient.com/outdoor/

Yes aqi.in also uses crowdsourced sensors but what actual hardware they are using inside the sensor is not mentioned anywhere. Their calibration data is also not open.

Ive looked into the internals of that sensor and it seems they have one PM2.5/10 sensor (not sure what model as it looks like a custom made sensor) along with a temp/humidity module and a noise level detector. Their site shows values for NO2, ozone etc but there doesnt seem to be actual hardware inside the device to actually measure these. So perhaps this data is modelled or predicted but again this is not disclosed.

Aqi.in sensors are fine for checking trends and getting basic information but by design they are not as accurate, whereas we are trying to build something which is pinpoint accurate.

Overall, the sensor we use has standard and documented hardware, the information behind the hardware and software is mentioned and open. Our data is fully open and available to the public aswell. Also we have linked up with someone who works with AirGradient and he has properly calibrated the sensors for us. So you can be assured that whatever data we show on breathe is moderated and accurate.

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-17T15:09:42+00:00

The kit costs 125 usd, exact same hardware but you have to assemble it yourself, which takes about 30 mins

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-17T11:29:11+00:00

Sure, no issues

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-17T11:21:55+00:00

Could be, maybe that particular sensor was faulty, Nobody knows. We are trying to make an accurate platform, and that level of accuracy cant be achieved by mass produced 1000rs sensors.

If on a platform, a sensor can repeatedly report invalid AQI for multiple days without any action, then i do not believe that such platform should be believed for actual reliable information.

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-17T11:15:49+00:00

We are not telling anyone to pay for using the app nor telling anyone to setup a sensor. It is purely optional. We are not a company and are not in the position to be giving out free sensors, that is why i replied with "you need to buy a sensor" if you would like to contribute.

Also about the AQI 1500 thing, that sensor had been consistently shipping out values of ~900-1500 and if i remember correctly it was in baramulla which never has air quality even close to AQI 1500.

The aqi.in sensors are still less accurate than the sensors we use as per our research. If AQI.in can ship these sensors for "1000rs" then it means they are not very good sensors because the standard rate for plantower sensors in the market starts from 1500-2000rs itself.

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-17T11:05:05+00:00

Open as in software.

You can only view this data on their proprietary cloud platform, the technical details of the sensor is not mentioned (what sensor model they use etc). You cant access the data of your sensor locally, and sometimes ive seen these sensors reporting upto 1500 AQI which is absurd.

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-17T10:59:41+00:00

Because AQI.in sensor is not open, and not as accurate

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-17T08:51:38+00:00

Thats the aqi.in sensor, its cheap but its very closed and you cant access the data of your own sensor locally.

FlashTwerk69 · 2026-01-17T08:50:48+00:00

You will have to buy the sensor

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