Abstract
The increasing availability of low-cost air quality sensors has led to novel sensing approaches. Distributed networks of low-cost sensors, together with data fusion and analytics, have enabled unprecedented, spatiotemporal resolution when observing the urban atmosphere. Several projects have demonstrated the potential of different approaches for high-resolution measurement networks ranging from static, low-cost sensor networks over vehicular and airborne sensing to crowdsourced measurements as well as ranging from a research-based operation to citizen science. Yet, sustaining the operation of such low-cost air quality sensor networks remains challenging because of the lack of regulatory support and the lack of an organizational framework linking these measurements to the official air quality network. This paper discusses the logical inclusion of lower-cost air quality sensors into the existing air quality network via a dynamic field calibration process, the resulting sustainable business models, and how this expansion can be self-funded.
Highlights
If the first modern, disruptive, technological revolution was the Internet, in which people were connected in unprecedented ways, the revolution, in which billions of devices are connected, has the potential to be much larger and holds the possibility of fundamentally changing how we interact with our environment
This paper outlines a standardized approach for the expansion of the existing air quality monitoring (AQM) network to include Internet of Things (IoT)-linked low-cost air quality sensors (LCS) devices, which we refer to as the Smart Air Quality Network (SAQN)
LCS Franchise Fees: Green Halo Many people want to be seen as “green.” The subset of air pollution sensor owners known as the “Green Halo” pay an annual franchise fee to be visible on the network and seen on the official air quality maps
Summary
Disruptive, technological revolution was the Internet, in which people were connected in unprecedented ways, the revolution, in which billions of devices are connected, has the potential to be much larger and holds the possibility of fundamentally changing how we interact with our environment. These new approaches offer the greatest potential benefit in urban areas where often invisible, hyperlocal air pollution can vary by more than eight times within 200 m [3] This type of personal, high-resolution air quality information is not available via the existing, official air monitoring networks whose purpose is primarily to measure regulatory pollutant limit violations. These techniques are not practical, and, in many cases, not possible with LCS, so they are dependent upon the existing air quality monitoring equipment to mimic This key problem of deployed device accuracy is recognized by many technical bodies such as the one in Europe, which is currently drafting a certification for LCS [10] and strongly recommends that sensor measurements are periodically compared sideby-side with the reference stations near the deployed location.
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