Japanese Hayfever Pods - Pollen Robots

If you’ve ever had the misfortune of suffering from hayfever, you know those afflicted will no just about anything to avoid the frustratingly uncomfortable symptoms.

Pod-shaped Pollen Robot are being sent out by a Tokyo weather forecasting company to monitor the levels of allergen-causing particles in the air. Their illuminated eyes may look a little creepy, but if they’re capable of doing what they promise, they could become a hayfever sufferers best friend. 200 are being sent to volunteers who have been asked to hang the pods outside their doors this spring.

Their eerie eyes do more than add character to the 1 kg, 30 centimeter orbs. The colour they radiate indicates the intensity of the spores in the air, such as the concentration of pollens from Japanese cedar and cypresses. Colour variations include white, blue, green, red and purple.

Every minute, the Pollen Robots will send out their collected data by an internet signal which communicates directly with Weathernews in Tokyo where it will be processed and the details conveyed on an online map.