The Use of Low-Cost Air Quality Sensors and Sensor Networks for Understanding Air Pollutant Levels and Human Health Impacts

英国每年的空气污染影响相当于约3万人死亡，因此空气污染是一个紧迫的研究领域。该项目利用低成本的便携式传感器网络，以远超现有参考仪器的空间和时间分辨率记录空气质量数据。最值得注意的是，正在进行的“呼吸伦敦”研究将对整个城市的100个传感器进行分析，并深入了解重大政策决策的影响，例如新冠肺炎封锁和超低排放区（ULEZ）的引入。值得注意的是，这套数据包括二氧化碳的测量值，从而能够计算排放指数，以校正诸如计量学等外在因素对污染物水平的影响。重要的挑战仍然是完善传感器校准协议和纠正数据伪影，从这项研究中学习将适用于传感器网络的未来实现。除了大规模的户外数据收集，可比技术可以提供更个性化的暴露数据。个人空气质量监测器记录个人每天暴露于污染的情况，以及与其位置和活动水平有关的数据。这一信息有助于更准确地估计人口不同部分的个人剂量。在其他地方，室内通风可以通过传感器测量二氧化碳和颗粒物（PM）水平来评估，并解决了当前新冠肺炎大流行期间的一个关键问题。

With an annual UK impact equivalent to around 30,000 deaths, air pollution is a pressing area of research. This project utilises low-cost portable sensor networks to record air quality data at a spatial and temporal resolution far beyond that of existing reference instruments. Most notably, the ongoing Breathe London study, with 100 sensors across the city, will be analysed and provide insight into the impact of major policy decisions, such as the Covid-19 lockdown and introduction of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). Significantly, this data set includes measurements of CO2 enabling calculation of emission indices to correct for the effects of extrinsic factors such as metrology on pollutant levels. Important challenges remain to refine the sensor calibration protocol and correct for data artifacts, and learnings from this study will be applicable to future implementations of the sensor network.Alongside large-scale outdoor data collection, comparable technologies can offer more individualised exposure data. Personal air quality monitors record an individual's everyday exposure to pollution, alongside data relating to their location and activity levels. This information leads to a more accurate estimate of individual dose in different sections of the population. Elsewhere, indoor ventilation can be assessed through sensor measurements of levels of CO2 and particulate matter (PM), and addresses a critical question during the current Covid-19 pandemic.