At the BSides Las Vegas hacker conference, organizers implemented a novel public health initiative they dubbed a literal “anti-virus” system. This system, however, was not designed for computers but for monitoring the risk of airborne disease transmission among human attendees. The project, named Gardendense, provided a real-time look at air quality throughout the venue.

The initiative was spearheaded by BSidesLV cofounder and network operations lead, Jack Daniel. The core of the Gardendense system was a network of 12 potted snake plants strategically placed in high-traffic areas of the conference. These were not ordinary houseplants; each was equipped with a sensor to measure ambient carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, a key indicator of ventilation quality and potential airborne pathogen concentration.

The Gardendense Project: How it Worked

The technical setup for the Gardendense project involved attaching a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32C3 microcontroller to each of the 12 snake plants. These sensors continuously measured CO2 levels in parts per million (ppm). The data was then transmitted over the conference’s Wi-Fi network to a central system. This information was made publicly available to all attendees via dashboards displayed on screens throughout the venue.

The choice of CO2 as the metric is based on the fact that higher concentrations of exhaled CO2 in an indoor space correlate with poorer ventilation. This increases the potential for transmission of airborne illnesses like Covid-19. By monitoring these levels, the conference staff could get an accurate, live assessment of air quality in different rooms.

Real-Time Data for Attendee Safety

The live dashboards allowed both organizers and attendees to see the air quality status at a glance. During the conference, the system recorded noticeable fluctuations in CO2 levels that correlated with room occupancy. For instance, data showed that the Chill Out room’s CO2 levels rose to 1,300 ppm during busy periods, while the main speaking track room reached nearly 1,700 ppm when full. The generally accepted target for good indoor air quality is to remain below 1,000 ppm.

This real-time data was actionable. When CO2 readings spiked in certain areas, conference staff were able to respond by taking measures to improve airflow. Jack Daniel noted an instance where he propped open a door to a room after observing a rise in its CO2 levels on the dashboard. This practical application of IoT technology served as a proof-of-concept for using environmental monitoring to create safer indoor environments at large-scale events.

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/this-hacker-conference-installed-a-literal-anti-virus-monitoring-system/