This study tackles the urgent issue of indoor particulate matter (PM) pollutants, highlighting the critical need for efficient source localization due to its significant health risks. Moving beyond traditional constant-rate gas emission research, we explore real-world PM releases using a multi-robot system, enabling effective PM source localization in dynamically ventilated environments. Initial data collection on airflow and PM concentrations helps optimize our system for mechanical ventilation challenges. Through 90 experiments across six scenarios, we evaluate the improved whale optimization algorithm (IWOA) and improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) methods, assessing their ability to identify both constant and variable PM sources and their adaptability to different pollutants. The results show a success rate of 73.3 % for both methods in locating constant PM sources, with IPSO offering a slight edge in efficiency. Moreover, in tasks involving ethanol vapor, the methods exhibited higher success rates, indicating uniform performance across a variety of pollutants. This consistency, alongside the noted variations in success rates, is primarily attributed to the complexities of PM dispersion. Importantly, our study highlights the methods' adaptability to periodic PM sources with variable release rates, maintaining high success without extra localization steps. This research advances indoor air quality management and emphasizes the importance of flexible, effective pollutant control strategies for public health protection.
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