Japanese company Up-Frontier has developed an iPhone application that will provide a pollen forecast for individuals prone to allergies and hay fever. Through working with the Japan Weather Association and their Weather API, the application can access the latest pollen count on their iPhone. The information can even be shared with friends on Twitter.
Cleverly named 'Pollen Radar', the app is currently available in the app store for 115 yen (or approximately US$1.25).
This is a promising example of the sort of applications that can be developed when organizations take a more open approach to releasing their data. Like most countries Japan is slow getting on the open data bandwagon, but it's good to see steps like this being made.
For people who do suffer from hay fever the release of this application is very timely, of course, as spring is almost upon us. It will certainly be useful to be able to access the latest pollen counts from a mobile device. In Japan, it could help people decide whether to take a walk outside if the pollen count is not too bad, or opt for public transportation if it is.
Source: Up Frontier press release (Japanese)