New hyperlocal air quality monitoring technologies help people find ways to breath fresh.
According to the reports by WHO (World Health Organization), seven millions people are dying due to the health risks caused by air pollution. In the cities where population is polarized, the quality of air has been deteriorating drastically due to unsustainable policies in transportation, energy, industry and waste management.
The quality of air is measured by the factor called Air Quality Index (AQI), which can be figured out at Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) stations. But, the limited number of AQMs are unable to provide necessary statistics about the quality of air at a given place. As the technology is advancing, and so do the methods of acquiring data about the quality of air.
The new system to measure the AQI is based on the IoT and electrochemical sensors. These technologies monitor the quality of air by analyzing the characteristics like pollution, pollens and toxin contained by the environment in a given region. This accurate information helps in understanding the root cause and preventive measures of several lung disorders in the people. With this system, people can take necessary actions, when they realize that the QAI is not optimum in their locale.
People might say, ‘I’m not going to travel there today and expose myself to that substance. People planning vacations might decide ‘I want to go to Nashville or Louisville but that’s a bad area for my specific condition. Instead, I’ll go somewhere else. - Dr. Catherine Grossman, associate professor of internal medicine and pulmonary disease at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.
Challenges faced by the current AQMs:
There are several challenges faced by the current AQMs. These systems are neither portable nor scalable. Also, they cannot project real-time data to the authorities. Suppose that the QAI has fallen down at a given location. It takes three to four hours by the time the authorities get updated with the issue. Hence, it results in loss, which is addressed by the new and updates systems.
New systems to measure AQI:
The new AQM systems measurements include a new parameter called Particulate Matter (PM) along with the current parameters pollen, chemical pollution and other toxins. These systems measure all of the four parameters in terms of city blocks rather than large regions that the current AQMs do. The new systems have upgraded to measure the pollution in terms of part per billion (ppb) instead of the conventional parts per million (ppm).
With the new systems connected to the IoT, the data acquisition and analyzing will be very easy. Also, the authorities can be updates with the quality of area over several blocks of a city on real-time basis. The new generation AQI tools are capable of collecting hyperlocal data so that the people can schedule their activities based upon the QAI to be least affected by air pollution.
As a part of erecting smart cities, Bosch has introduced Micro-Climate Monitoring System (MCMS), which is under real-time testing in New Delhi, Oakland and California. With the MCMSs, the builders, city planners, factory owners and other branches related to geographical development of a city can specify the areas where it safe for civilians to reside in order to live a pollution-free life. This is how scientists are reinventing cities as "Smart Cities".
 |
| Bosch’s Micro-Climate Monitoring System (MCMS) |
0 comments:
Post a Comment