Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- Scroll through Kickstarter , and you 'll get a kick out the sheer variety of projects with tin cups in hand . A documentary about the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game , a zombie board game , even a sprouting pencil -- all are looking for handouts via the popular crowd-funded site . But one project in particular caught our attention in the CNN newsroom . Called `` Float , '' it gives Beijing residents the tools to measure air quality for themselves with pollution-sensing kites . Kites have been flown for recreation , sport and art . But for environmental monitoring ? It is the tethered aircraft that got the best of Charlie Brown , and it 's now tracking air quality that 's among the worst in the world . `` There 's a long tradition of kite flying and kite making in China , '' says Xiaowei Wang , a masters candidate at the Harvard School of Graduate Design and one of the co-creators of Float . `` There 's a large group of enthusiasts , and we really wanted to tap into this existing group of people excited about kites . '' Float raised over US $ 4,500 on Kickstarter to hold workshops for Beijing residents to learn how to build and fly pollution-sensing kites . Among those taking part , 40-to-70-year-old Chinese workers and retirees who enjoy flying kites -- including a 72-year-old kitemaster . Blog : Clearing the air in China . The kites are equipped with small modules that detect carbon monoxide , volatile organic compounds ( VOC ) and particulate matter . Air quality levels are displayed through LED lights that change in color -- from hot pink ( which represents the worst air quality ) to green ( which signifies the best ) . All data from the flight is stored on an SD card . Xiaowei and her team have held two workshops and a group kite flight in the evening to create a sparkling web of glowing crafts . Float is keen to highlight the visual and sensory experience of their project with Xiaowei telling me , `` From the ground looking up , it 's like a kite flash mob because the sky is full of all these kites . '' But a constellation of pollution-sensors in the sky is more than public art or a reboot of a popular pastime . In China , it can be a political challenge . In June , a senior Chinese official demanded that foreign embassies stop issuing air pollution readings . Citing the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations , Deputy Environment Minister Wu Xiaoqing said foreign embassy pollution readings were illegal . U.S. readings challenge China 's smog claims . Though Wu did not name any countries in particular , it was seen as throw-down directed at America 's diplomatic missions which post hourly air quality readings via Twitter for Beijing , Shanghai and Guangzhou . The U.S. readings , which frequently rate Beijing 's air as `` unhealthy , '' are widely viewed as reliable alternatives to China 's own monitoring reports . China may say only it has the right to monitor its air pollution . But Float has untethered China 's official grip on air quality data with its high-flying sensors . And they know it . On its Kickstarter page , Float acknowledges the politically sensitive nature of its project . The team writes : `` Urban air quality is a serious issue that affects rapidly industrializing cities globally , and within Beijing as the capital of China , it is an issue kept quiet by the government under fear of criticism and protest from the public . '' Xiaowei insists their project is not seen as threatening , and looks forward to future workshops in Beijing next summer . And with a smile , Xiaowei tells me : `` It 's hard to imagine the government getting upset with a group of retired guys who enjoy flying kites . ''
Float gives Beijing residents the tools to monitor air quality for themselves with pollution - detection kites . Air quality is politically - sensitive in China , with official statistics not considered accurate . Kites equipped with sensors that detect carbon monoxide , volatile organic compounds , particulates . Float : Urban air quality is a serious issue that threatens rapidly growing cities globally .