--- title: "This Gadget Tells You Exactly What Allergens You’re Inhaling" description: "A new gadget uses machine learning to identify allergens — and it could eventually give you a better sense of the air you're breathing." date: "2018-11-06" modified: "2018-11-06" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/identify-allergens-ai-gadget" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "bioaerosols" - "pollen" - "the digest" - "UCLA" --- # This Gadget Tells You Exactly What Allergens You’re Inhaling ![A new gadget uses machine learning to identify pollen and spores — and it could eventually give you a better sense of the air you're breathing.]() *\Image: Ozcan Research Group/UCLA\* ## Allergic Reaction Every minute you're outside, you're likely inhaling hundreds of "bioaerosols" — pollens, spores, microbes, and other tiny objects that can cause allergic reactions. Today's best method for measuring that allergen load is decidedly low-tech — researchers catch bioaerosols in filters or spore traps and study them under a microscope to identify each one. But a [new gadget](), hacked together by UCLA researchers, uses machine learning to dramatically speed up that process. Eventually, it might even give you a better sense of the air you're breathing. ## Pollen Kingdom The UCLA researchers describe their device, which they built for less than $200 in parts, in a [new paper]() published in the journal *ACS Photonics.* Basically, the apparatus catches bioaerosols on a sticky surface and scans them with a laser and a small sensor. Then it feeds the resulting image into a neural network trained to recognize common allergens such as oak, ragweed pollen, and certain mold spores. Finally, it tells you exactly what's making you sneeze. ## Air Apparent Though promising, the UCLA prototype isn't quite ready for action. Its algorithm can only recognize five allergens, and its accuracy is a good-not-great 94 percent. But incremental improvements could result in a compelling gadget that would let you analyze the air around you — and maybe decide whether it's time to pop an antihistamine. **READ MORE:** [New Mobile Device Identifies Airborne Allergens Using Deep Learning]() \[UCLA\] ***More on allergies:*** [**The FDA Has Approved a Faster Way to Check for Allergies**]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()