See what you're spouting

In the future, drivers may only have to glance at the dashboard to see the pollution spewing out of their vehicle's exhausts.

All thanks to a team from the University of Manchester that has constructed a laser measuring device capable of recording levels of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane from directly inside an exhaust.

Once optimised, the process could be incorporated into onboard diagnostic systems that would monitor emissions as vehicles drive along - and potentially help people reduce their emissions by adjusting their driving style.

Reporting in the Optical Society of America's journal Applied Optics , the academics claim this approach is faster and more sensitive than the extractive techniques normally used to monitor emissions.

In an MOT test, for example, exhaust emissions are extracted into a box while the engine is idling and the gases present are then measured.

The University of Manchester team employed a device known as a 'near-IR diode laser sensor' to measure the variation in gas concentration during changes in the operating conditions of a Rover engine, such as increasing and decreasing the throttle, adjusting the air to fuel ratio, and start-up.