Poor air quality is a problem that affects 90% of the world’s population and causes seven million deaths a year. With this issue in mind, fransisco lara has created ‘reverso’, an accessory that is installed on top of public and semi-public transport vehicles in cities and is responsible for filtering the airborne particles (smog). The design seeks to generate a positive impact on the health of all the inhabitants of the city, and improve their quality of life. ‘If a single module is capable of filtering 34% more of the volume of the santiago bernabeu stadium, what would it be capable of if it were installed in the 28,482 public and semi-public transport vehicles?’ Lara asks.

55% of the harmful particles that are produced while driving come from the mechanical wear and tear of vehicles (tires, asphalt friction, and the use of brakes). Reverso aims to address this problem, which is not being solved by electric driving or combustion. The objective is ‘to achieve a 0 or negative balance of the particles emitted by vehicles while driving, i.e., to clean as much or more than they emit’, fransisco Lara explains.

Driving five hours a day, at an average speed of 30 km/h, seven days a week, a car with this device can clean up to 7,300,000 cubic meters (273 kg of particles) of a city’s air per year, which is equivalent to 34% more than the volume of the santiago bernabeu stadium in madrid. Lara suggests that reverso is installed onto public vehicles such as cabs, uber or carsharing fleets, since it would be easier to control the maintenance of the filters, past 15,000 km traveled. Even so, the system can be used in any passenger car, as it does not require any connection. just anchor it to the roof of the vehicle, like a luggage rack.