Low-Cost+Sensing+Efforts

Low-Cost Sensing by Citizens and Community Groups – Current Status and Opportunities

Timothy S. Dye, Paul T. Roberts, Alan C. Chan, and Daniel M. Alrick Sonoma Technology, Inc.

Petaluma, California

Presented to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development

Washington, D.C. November 10, 2011

910216-4276

Contact: Tim Dye 707-665-9900 [email protected]

Black Carbon Measurements (Shanghai, China)

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Personal Data Personal Understanding Personal Action

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Vision

• Technology enables citizens and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to monitor air quality using low-cost systems that produce quality data for pollutants of concern

• Data are open and freely available • Aggregation systems like AIRNow can use data to

further protect public health • When data are personal, individual actions and

behavior changes increase

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Outline of Presentation

• Background – Needs – Components to address needs

• Commercial products • Efforts (research and development and

university) • Specific project examples • Recommendations

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Background – Community Group Needs and Interests

Needs are based on feedback from community groups

• Low-cost and easy to use • Measurements of pollutants: fine particulate

matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), black carbon (BC), toxics

• Mobile sensing • Easy data handling and quality assurance • Data display system/capability

Technology •Assess current state-of-the-science •Understand and link efforts •Characterize performance of existing sensors in real-world conditions •Develop new sensor technologies •Fund & catalyze research efforts •Evaluate performance of new technologies •Develop hardware platforms for low-cost/small sensors •Develop appropriate interfaces & ergonomic properties

Usage •Identify range of applications/uses •Develop data distribution methods •Establish & develop QA/QC •Explore challenges of new data types

− mobile vs. fixed − high temporal − high spatial density

•Develop new analytic methods •Create new visualization techniques •Establish SOPs & guidance •Establish data governance & policies

Community •Establish a cooperative, participatory collaboration among

− government − non-governmental organizations − citizens

•Develop software, systems, & tools to facilitate collaboration & participation •Identify approaches for maintaining/ increasing a community of interest

Outreach & Education •Create a foundation of air quality & monitoring principles & methods •Create education curriculum & materials •Reach out to manufacturers & encourage “responsible use” •Consider creating an “Environmental Monitoring Corps”

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Background – Approaches to Low-Cost Monitoring

Disruptive Technology

Quality • Capabilities • Size • Price

AQ Instrument Manufacturers • Starting with proven technology • Lowering costs • Shrinking size

Industry, Universities, NGOs • Starting with low-cost sensors • Improving quality • Designing packaging

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Background – Instrument vs. Cost

Consumer Air Quality Instruments

Organization (EBAM)

Hobbyist/School (microAeth) Agency

(FEM)

Use

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Estimated Equipment Cost

Past 30 yrs

10 yrs 5 yrs

Goal

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Commercial Products

Company Product Size Pollutants Cost Aethlabs microAeth AE51 Handheld Black carbon Mid cost

2BTech POM Monitor 106-L

Handheld Shoebox

O3 Mid cost

Thermo Aerosol Monitor, personal DataRAM pDR-1500

Shoebox PM2.5, PM10

Mid cost

TSI DUSTTRAK™ II Aerosol Monitor

Shoebox PM1, PM2.5, PM10 Mid cost

AreaRAE Various models Handheld Shoebox

CO, carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), nitric oxide (NO), NO2

Lower cost

Aeroqual Series 200 to 500 Handheld O3, NO2, CO, CO2, H2S, SO2

Lower cost

Dräger Various models Handheld CO, CO2, NO, NO2, SO2, H2S

Low cost

Sciencescope

Logbook GLE Handheld CO Low cost

Vernier LabQuest Handheld CO2 Low cost

Sensaris Various models Handheld O3, CO, NO2, CO2 Low cost

Libelium Waspmotes Gas sensor board

Handheld O3, CO, NO2, CO2 Low cost

High cost >$10,000* Mid cost $4,000-$7,000 Lower cost $1,000-$2,000 Low cost <$1,000 *Typical AQ agency instruments

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Efforts – University Organization Capabilities/Activities

University of California, Los Angeles Center for Embedded Networked Sensing

Applications, citizen science

Carnegie Mellon Human-Computer Interaction Institute

Computer-human interaction

University of California, Berkeley Departments of Art Practice and Chemistry

Citizen engagement, greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring

University of Cincinnati Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

CO monitoring; solar power

University of Michigan Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Smart phone interfaces

University of Colorado Mechanical Engineering Department

sensor system integration and deployment

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Efforts – Government Organization Capabilities/Activities

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Mobile weather monitoring

EPA Real-time monitoring; health notification

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research and development National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Nanotechnology sensing

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Efforts – Community Groups

Organization Capabilities/Activities West Oakland Indicators Project (Oakland, CA)

Mobile PM10 monitoring

UPROSE - United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park (New York City)

Students using mobile monitors for CO, SO2, and nitrogen oxides (NOx) multiple times per week in neighborhood (schools, traffic hot spots)

Habitat Map Project (New York City)

Crowd sourcing systems (AirCasting)

WE ACT (New York City)

Black carbon monitoring funded by EPA grant; collaboration with Columbia University

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Mobile CO Monitoring

Sponsor: Intel Berkeley Details

• Measurements: CO, O3, NO2, temperature • Electrochemical sensors • Mounted on street sweepers • Pilot conducted in San Francisco (SF)

• Schedule: 2009

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Do It Yourself (DIY) Project

Sponsor: Carnegie Mellon University Details

• Electrochemical volatile organic compound (VOC) sensor

• Installed with LEDs in balloons • Published at Instructables.com

• Schedule: 2010

Stacey Kuznetsov Carnegie Mellon University

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Mobile CO Monitoring

Sponsor: City of Lake Havasu and Sonoma Technology, Inc. (STI)

Details • Measure CO on Lake Havasu • Fixed and mobile sensors • Real-time communications • Outreach to public

• Schedule: 2006–2011

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Community Group Application

Sponsor: West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project

Details • Use DUSTTRAK instruments to measure PM2.5 • Citizens walk a fixed route daily • Citizens process and quality-assure data • Use to detect hot spots • Developed innovative display software

• Schedule: 2010–2012

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European Environmental Agency (EEA) Low-Cost Sensor Evaluation

Sponsor: EEA Details

• Demonstration project • Seeking to collect data and post online

through the EEA geospatial platform by any interested parties

• Purchased five Waspmotes and sensor boards from Libelium

• Focus on ozone, CO, and CO2 • Examine how sensors perform • Discovered calibration issues

• Schedule: 2011–2012

Waspmote

Gas sensor board

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Global Ozone Project (GO3)

Sponsor: 2B Technologies and industry Details

• Comprehensive program (instrument, curriculum, social network, education)

• 30 high schools (mostly Colorado) • International sister school program

• Schedule: ongoing

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AIRNow-GO3 Pilot Project

Sponsor: EPA Details

• AIRNow ingesting GO3 data • AIRNow evaluating

– Reliability (timeliness of data delivery) – Quality (review quality control results;

compare to nearby monitors) – Value (fuse AIRNow and GO3 into maps) – Case studies (during episodes of high ozone concentrations)

• Schedule: 2011

2BTech vs. AIRNow-Tech Hourly Ozone at Rifle, CO

R2 = 0.8966

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GO3 ozone concentration (ppb)

AIRNow-GO3 Pilot Project

• Monitors (22 AIRNow sites, 11 GO3 sites) • Coverage area expands by 7% • 200,000+ more people covered

June 24, 2011 AIRNow AIRNow + GO3

Colorado

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Smartphone Application

Sponsor: University of Michigan Details

• Electronics to interface with smartphones • Uses audio jack for power and

communications • Application on smartphone processes

data, determines location, and communicates data

• Interfacing with gas sensors • Participating in pilot project in SF Bay

Area

• Schedule: 2011–2012

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Citizen Crowd Sourcing

Sponsor: Habitat Map and Google.org Details

• Developing Android application and data system

• Called “AirCasting” • Citizens can use it to broadcast information

about the air • Starting with sound; planning for pollutants

(NO2) • Focus is New York City

• Schedule: 2012

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WeatherBox Pilot

Sponsor: NOAA/National Weather Service Details

• 1,500 delivery vehicles • Measuring temperature and humidity • Developed data exchange format • Organizations involved: – Global Science and Technologies – WeatherTelematics • Schedule: 2011–2012

Technology •Assess current state-of-the-science •Understand and link efforts •Characterize performance of existing sensors in real-world conditions •Develop new sensor technologies •Fund & catalyze research efforts •Evaluate performance of new technologies •Develop hardware platforms for low-cost/small sensors •Develop appropriate interfaces & ergonomic properties

Usage •Identify range of applications/uses •Develop data distribution methods •Establish & develop QA/QC •Explore challenges of new data types

− mobile vs. fixed − high temporal − high spatial density

•Develop new analytic methods •Create new visualization techniques •Establish SOPs & guidance •Establish data governance & policies

Community •Establish a cooperative, participatory collaboration among

− government − non-governmental organizations − citizens

•Develop software, systems, & tools to facilitate collaboration & participation •Identify approaches for maintaining/ increasing a community of interest

Outreach & Education •Create a foundation of air quality & monitoring principles & methods •Create education curriculum & materials •Reach out to manufacturers & encourage “responsible use” •Consider creating an “Environmental Monitoring Corps”

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Recommendations

1. Workshop to – Understand range of efforts and interests – Coordinate and link various efforts – Engage government, university, and private sector

2. Pilot project to evaluate sensors/instruments – Examine range of different sensors/instruments – Conduct laboratory evaluation – Conduct field deployment and evaluation – Work on approach to make responsible

measurements

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Recommendations

3. Multi-Purpose Pilot Project – Test various components of citizen monitoring – Demonstrate benefit to various EPA programs

– Citizen groups/schools – Public health notification – Epidemiological research

– Use many mid-cost instruments to “simulate” a future with low-cost sensors (ozone, BC)

– Explore the challenges and opportunities to prepare for a future with many more organizations monitoring air quality

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Recommendations

3. Multi-Purpose Pilot Project (cont) – Deploy

• 100s of mid-cost instruments • Fixed and mobile • Deploy at air districts, schools and community groups

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Recommendations

3. Multi-Purpose Pilot Project (cont)

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Bakersfield Fresno

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Recommendations

3. Multi-Purpose Pilot Project (cont) – Ingest, process, QA, and redistribute data

• Use an aggregation system like AIRNow • Automatic QC/QA • Redistribute data to public, community groups, researchers

– Engage and collaborate with an epidemiological study

• Engage researchers in study design • Develop data set and ways to distribution to researchers • Examine the added value of many lower-cost, less-accurate

measurements

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An Increasing Data-Savvy Public….

“I've been thinking of building myself a little air quality indicator in my front yard... My neighbors, at least, can see what the air quality's like.” – Steve Popenoe of Fresno, CA, whose five-year-old daughter, Zoya, has respiratory problems.

Excerpted from an NPR report 10/31/11

“Having data is a better way to advocate for

public policy.” – Ana Baptista, Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC)

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