This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic.(March 2018) |
The Air Quality Egg (AQE) is an Internet of Things platform and hobbyist device for crowdsourced citizen monitoring of airborne pollutants. The device won widespread recognition when it was named one of the best projects on Kickstarter in 2012, [1] and has been featured in a variety of media outlets. [2] Data from each device is uploaded to Xively and published on the Air Quality Egg website. [3] The device can be used with 3rd-party mobile apps such as Acculation's AQCalc. [4]
Version 2 of the AQE is a single unit, Wi-Fi connected device which can be configured using a cell phone. It has two variants; indoor and outdoor. The device can be fitted with sensors for CO2, NO2, SO2, ozone, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and particulates (PM10, PM2.5 and PM1.0). The particulate sensors can detect particles as small as 0.3 μm (microns), using two Plantower PMS5003 laser sensors.
The PM2.5 measurements of the AQE version 2 had an R2 correlation factor of 0.79 to 0.85 with a professional reference sensor, in a field test run by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. (An R2 of 1 indicates perfect correlation, whereas 0 indicates a complete lack of correlation). [5]
The AQE grew out of Internet of Things meetup groups in New York City and Amsterdam, led by Pachube evangelist Ed Borden. The concept was conceived at a Parsons/New School hackathon. It is manufactured and sold by the start-up company WickedDevice LLC in Ithaca, NY. [6] [7] The name "Air Quality Egg" was created by company co-founder Dirk Swart. [8]
Originally, there were two versions of the device: an Arduino shield for use by hobbyists, and a more consumer-ready "hobbyist kit" device. The latter consists of two identical-looking plastic enclosures resembling white eggs. The base unit is connected to the user's Ethernet LAN connection. A second unit monitors NO2 and CO levels and reports these readings every few minutes to the base unit via a custom wireless protocol. The base unit reports these readings to Xively and the AQE website. Add-ons are available for purchase on the website, that add PM2.5 dust, Ozone, and VOC sensors. [6]
Despite being labelled a not-consumer-ready "hobbyist" device by the manufacturer, [6] the AQE is one of the few de facto commercially available, comprehensive Internet of Things pollution monitors on the US market. [4]
A number of competing devices have been announced, such as Chemisense Wearable [9] and Foobot [10] (formerly Alima).
Another US crowdsourced air quality monitoring device is CitizenSensor, but it is listed an outgoing project, DIY, and not available for purchase. [11]
A comprehensive Internet of Things air pollution monitoring device is China's iKair (pronounced "I Care"), but it has a closed, proprietary platform rather than the AQE's open source hardware and open data design. [12] [13]
In 2014, IBM announced a partnership with the government of China for analytics software to process data from pollution sensors. [14]
Home automation or domotics is building automation for a home. A home automation system will monitor and/or control home attributes such as lighting, climate, entertainment systems, and appliances. It may also include home security such as access control and alarm systems.
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) refer to networks of spatially dispersed and dedicated sensors that monitor and record the physical conditions of the environment and forward the collected data to a central location. WSNs can measure environmental conditions such as temperature, sound, pollution levels, humidity and wind.
The U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards are limits on atmospheric concentration of six pollutants that cause smog, acid rain, and other health hazards. Established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under authority of the Clean Air Act, NAAQS is applied for outdoor air throughout the country.
An air quality index (AQI) is an indicator developed by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become. As air pollution levels rise, so does the AQI, along with the associated public health risk. Children, the elderly and individuals with respiratory or cardiovascular problems are typically the first groups affected by poor air quality. When the AQI is high, governmental bodies generally encourage people to reduce physical activity outdoors, or even avoid going out altogether. When wildfires result in a high AQI, the use of a mask outdoors and an air purifier indoors are also encouraged.
Citizen science is research conducted with participation from the general public, or amateur/nonprofessional researchers or participants for science, social science and many other disciplines. There are variations in the exact definition of citizen science, with different individuals and organizations having their own specific interpretations of what citizen science encompasses. Citizen science is used in a wide range of areas of study including ecology, biology and conservation, health and medical research, astronomy, media and communications and information science.
The Air Pollution Index is a simple and generalized way to describe the air quality, which is used in Malaysia. It is calculated from several sets of air pollution data and was formerly used in mainland China and Hong Kong. In mainland China the API was replaced by an updated air quality index in early 2012 and on 30 December 2013 Hong Kong moved to a health based index.
The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) is a type of air quality index used in Singapore, which is a number used to indicate the level of pollutants in air. Initially PSI was based on five air pollutants, but since 1 April 2014 it has also included fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
Pollution in China is one aspect of the broader topic of environmental issues in China. Various forms of pollution have increased as China has industrialised, which has caused widespread environmental health problems.
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances called pollutants in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. It is also the contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment either by chemical, physical, or biological agents that alters the natural features of the atmosphere. There are many different types of air pollutants, such as gases, particulates, and biological molecules. Air pollution can cause diseases, allergies, and even death to humans; it can also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and crops, and may damage the natural environment or built environment. Air pollution can be caused by both human activities and natural phenomena.
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials into the atmosphere, causing harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damaging ecosystems. Air pollution can cause health problems including, but not limited to, infections, behavioral changes, cancer, organ failure, and premature death. These health effects are not equally distributed across the U.S. population; there are demographic disparities by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and education. Air pollution can derive from natural sources, or anthropogenic sources. Anthropogenic air pollution has affected the United States since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
Air Pollution in Mexico City has been of concern to the city's population and health officials for decades. In the 20th century, Mexico City's population rapidly increased as industrialization brought thousands of migrants from all over the world. Such a rapid and unexpected growth led to the UN declaring Mexico City as the most polluted city in the world in 1992. This was partly due to Mexico City's high altitude, which causes its oxygen levels to be 25% lower. Carbon-based fuels also do not combust completely. Other factors include the proliferation of vehicles, rapid industrial growth, and the population boom. The Mexican government has several active plans to reduce emission levels which require citizen participation, vehicular restrictions, increase of green areas, and expanded bicycle accessibility.
Air pollution is the release of pollutants into the air that are detrimental to human health and the Earth. In Canada, air pollution is regulated by standards set by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME), an inter-governmental body of federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for the environment. Air pollution from the United States and to lesser extent Canada; caused by metal smelting, coal-burning for utilities, and vehicle emissions has resulted in acid rain, has severely impacted Canadian waterways, forest growth, and agricultural productivity.
The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is a scale designed in Canada to help understand the impact of air quality on health. It is a health protection tool used to make decisions to reduce short-term exposure to air pollution by adjusting activity levels during increased levels of air pollution. The Air Quality Health Index also provides advice on how to improve air quality by proposing behavioral change to reduce the environmental footprint. This index pays particular attention to people who are sensitive to air pollution. It provides them with advice on how to protect their health during air quality levels associated with low, moderate, high and very high health risks.
NODE+ is a first-generation handheld sensor measuring 1 inch in diameter and 3.75 inches wide that communicates wirelessly through low-energy Bluetooth 4.0 with Apple iOS devices.
Pristina, the capital of the Republic of Kosovo, is the country's most populated city with more than 200,000 inhabitants. Its air pollution level rivals big cities like Beijing, Mumbai and New Delhi. The main sources of Pristina's air pollution include power plants emissions during energy production, household emissions as well as its heavy traffic.
Air pollution measurement is the process of collecting and measuring the components of air pollution, notably gases and particulates. The earliest devices used to measure pollution include rain gauges, Ringelmann charts for measuring smoke, and simple soot and dust collectors known as deposit gauges. Modern air pollution measurement is largely automated and carried out using many different devices and techniques. These range from simple absorbent test tubes known as diffusion tubes through to highly sophisticated chemical and physical sensors that give almost real-time pollution measurements, which are used to generate air quality indexes.
Safecast is an international, volunteer-centered organization devoted to open citizen science for environmental monitoring. Safecast was established by Sean Bonner, Pieter Franken, and Joi Ito shortly after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan, following the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011 and manages a global open data network for ionizing radiation and air quality monitoring.
Air pollution in Taiwan is mostly derived from sources of domestic combustion, primarily the burning of fossil fuels. Taiwan's topography has been noted to be a contributing factor to its air pollution problem, leading to poor dispersal and trapping pollutants. Taipei, Taiwan's capital and largest city for example, is surrounded by mountains, and other industrial centers along the northern and western coasts of Taiwan are surrounded by high mountains.
A land use regression model is an algorithm often used for analyzing pollution, particularly in densely populated areas.
A diffusion tube is a scientific device that passively samples the concentration of one or more gases in the air, commonly used to monitor average air pollution levels over a period ranging from days to about a month. Diffusion tubes are widely used by local authorities for monitoring air quality in urban areas, in citizen science pollution-monitoring projects carried out by community groups and schools, and in indoor environments such as mines and museums.