IoT based air quality monitoring system using wireless sensors deployed in public bus services

Abstract

The ambient air quality monitoring network involves the measurement of a number of air pollutants at various locations in the city so as to maintain a sustainable air quality. It is the need of hour to monitor air quality in order to reduce air pollution. Exposure to air pollution can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, which is estimated to be the cause for 620,000 early deaths in 2010, and the impact on health due to air pollution in India has been calculated at 3 percent of its GDP. In recent years, air pollution has acquired critical dimensions and the air quality in most cities that monitor outdoor air pollution fail to meet WHO guidelines for safe levels. Air pollution is a major environmental change that causes many hazardous effects on human beings which need to be controlled. With the advancements in technology, several innovations have been made in the field of communications that are transitioning to the Internet of Things (IoT). In this domain, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are one of those independent sensing devices to monitor physical and environmental conditions along with thousands of applications in other fields. In this paper, we are proposing the deployment of WSN sensor nodes in public transport buses for the constant monitoring of air pollution. The data regarding the air pollution particles such as emissions, smoke, and other pollutants will be collected via sensors on the public transport bus and the data will be aggregated and transmitted to the nearest sink node. Using the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) the collected data will be uploaded on the cloud server also called as the IoT cloud where a large amount of the data is stored. This data can then be accessed at any point to analyze and accurate measures can be taken to map the air pollution.