CHEARIA is a collaborative activity between Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK) of Trento, the local environmental protection agency (APPA) and several high schools of the Trentino-Alto Adige Region, as part of the national training program “work-based learning”. The program was mainly focused on the development of chemoresistive gas sensor arrays produced at FBK, and their use to monitor the city air quality. More details about the entire project can be found elsewhere:
https://fbkjunior.fbk.eu/projects/detail/che-ariaa-s-2018-2019/
Within the project a several systems have been designed and produced in order to adress different applications of air polution monitoring.
Streets
One group of the students involved in the project was assigned to monitor air pollution on the streets. For this purpose, small autonomous portable boards were created, containing the following onboard components:
- Gas sensor for air monitoring
- Multiple sensors for environmental monitoring (pressure, temperature, humidity)
- GPS modules for tracking the board’s position and time
- Data loggers
With these boards, the students could move around the city on foot, by bike, or by public transport to gather measurements of air quality. The acquired data were then combined and thoroughly analyzed first by the students and later with the assistance of senior research staff.
City
While the information gathered by portable sensors provides an idea of the air quality throughout the day, in order to obtain more precise information, gas sensors were installed in local centers for ambient monitoring, managed by the local environmental protection agency. These centers also provide reference measurements for various gases and pollutants using more comprehensive techniques.
The monitoring solution consists of a closed chamber with multiple sensors, front-end electronics that manage the sensors’ operation, and a computer responsible for data acquisition and uploading to the cloud.
A dedicated server with a database provides long-term data storage and access for data visualization. Currently, more than ten air monitoring stations are in use, gathering data in several cities across Italy.
