A new captive balloon concept that informs
city dwellers on the air quality they are breathing
Aérophile is a French company which has just installed an entirely new captive balloon concept in Paris, one that has no equivalent anywhere in the world.
This larger-than-life tourist attraction takes on a civic angle by becoming an unheard-of, spectacular means of information on air quality.
For the first time ever worldwide, air can be seen
Using a revolutionary lighting system, the balloon now informs city dwellers in real time on atmospheric pollution, via two distinct indexes:
-Ambient air quality, reflected through general illumination of the balloon using three projectors located upon the envelope’s equatorial plane, with better night time visibility.
-Air quality near major traffic arteries, using a high-power rotating laser beam that sweeps the envelope’s southern tropical plane.
In Paris, data is collected by sensors set up by “Airparif” in several spots throughout the City (data complies with the new European index developed for the CITEAIR project and currently used by about thirty large cities.)
Collected indices highlight the quantity of the three most harmful contaminants (Nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particles) found in the atmosphere, according to the following colour coding: red for highly polluted air, orange for polluted, yellow for mediocre, light green for clean and green for very clean.
This new concept, visible at over 20 kilometres, can easily be duplicated in other world capital cities.
Aérophile’s balloons: an operation that is simple, safe and ecological
Filled with 6,000 cubic metres of helium and tethered to the ground with a movable cable controlled by hydroelectric winch, balloons designed by Aérophile are totally ecological. Based on the Archimedes principle, they can lift up to 30 passengers (about 2.5 tonnes), free of any noise and shaking, to an altitude of 150 metres (or 300 metres as in Dubai) above the city.
Aérophile designs products that comply with the highest quality and safety standards. Acknowledged for its expertise, the company has already sold its balloons in about twenty countries (Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cambodia, China, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United States and Turkey) and installed them on some prestigious sites:
- Europe’s largest Amusement Park at Disneyland Resort Paris
- China’s largest Amusement Park at Ocean Park in Hong Kong
- Major cities such as Paris, Berlin, Singapore, Dubai, Istanbul and more
- Major cultural or natural sites such as Angkor Vat in Cambodia or Great Park in California.
Aérophile: the captive balloon world leader
Having received several awards (Young European Entrepreneur Prize for the founders, Grand Prize for Innovation in 2000), Aérophile devotes a significant part of its financial means to research and development for the continued improvement of existing balloons and the creation of new products. A number of patents are thus registered on a regular basis.
Aérophile constructs the balloons and sells them to third parties, or operates them directly.
The company will be attending the following trade shows:
- IAAPA Asia in Macau (China) in July (Booth 1115)
- IAAPA Europe in Munich (Germany) in October
- and IAAPA World in Orlando (USA) in November (Booth 3033)
