IoT based air pollution monitoring system architecture

Introduction: As we know air pollution is the big threat to present day environment including humans, crops, animals, cities, forests and aquatic ecosystems. Moreover it can lead to increased global warming if it is left without any control. IoT based air pollution system help us to monitor, detect and measure various pollutants present in the atmosphere. It helps to alert authorities when air quality deteriorates or goes down below a certain limit.

Air pollution system components and working

The figure depicts basic architecture of IoT based air pollution system. As shown it consists of following components which include microcontroller board, Sensors (temperature, humidity, gas), power adapter, indicators and cloud server. Let us understand how IoT based air pollution system works.

➨The main component of the system is microcontroller unit. It interfaces various sensors and LED indicators. It can be based on microcontroller units. The popular among them are ESP32, ESP8266, NodeMCU, ARM based controllers and so on. It houses wifi chip which allows connectivity with popular cloud servers. The programming can be done on desktop IDE and the program can be flashed as desired. Arduino IDE is open-source software, which is used to write and upload code to the Arduino boards.
➨Air pollution sensors used in such system include temperature/humidity sensor (e.g. DHT11), gas sensors (e.g. MQ-135), particulate matter sensors (e.g. PMS5003) , air quality sensors (e.g. Bosch BME680), CO2 sensors, NO2 sensors, Ozone sensors, SO2 sensors and so on.
➨AC/DC power adapter : It is an electrical device which obtains electricity from AC mains and converts it to DC as per requirement.
➨LED indicators : They are used for different indications as per air quality like low, medium or high.
➨Cloud servers : The popular cloud servers used for IoT applications include ThinkSpeak, Amazon Web Server (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google firebase, Blynk cloud and so on. WiFi connectivity helps to upload data from microcontroller board to cloud servers. The data can also be uploaded using other wired and wireless mediums such as fiber optic cables, cellular towers, satellites and so on.

Benefits or Advantages of air pollution monitoring system

Following are the benefits or advantages of IoT based air pollution monitoring system.
1. IoT sensors installed in the system provide real time insights into pollution levels. This helps to take prompt action by authorities as per fluctuations in the pollution.
2. IoT sensors deliver highly accurate data which ensures reliable information for decision making and policy formulation.
3. Wide installation of IoT Sensors offer extensive coverage to monitor air quality.
4. IoT based system is more cost effective to deploy and maintain over time.
5. Data collected can be accessed via web interfaces or mobile applications which helps stakeholders to access information easily.
6. It serves as early warning systems which alert authorities and public and enable them to take appropriate measures to mitigate pollution.
7. The data collected by IoT sensors help in identifying potential sources of pollution. This facilitates more effective environmental management strategies.
8. Real time data helps to raise public awareness about health risks associated which empower individuals to take precautions to protect their health.
9. This IoT air pollution monitoring system can be integrated into smart city development which facilitates to enhance overall urbal sustainability.
10. The wealth of data collected by IoT sensors can help in development of new technologies and solutions for pollution control and mitigation.

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