Abstract: The development of wearable sensing technologies is a great challenge which is being addressed by the Proetex FP6 project (www.proetex.org). Its main aim is the development of wearable sensors to improve the safety and efficiency of emergency personnel. This will be achieved by continuous, real-time monitoring of vital signs, posture, activity, and external hazards surrounding emergency workers. We report here the development of carbon dioxide (CO2) sensing boot by incorporating commercially available CO2 sensor with a wireless platform into the boot assembly. Carefully selected commercially available sensors have been tested. Some of the key characteristics of the selected sensors are high selectivity and sensitivity, robustness and the power demand. This paper discusses some of the results of CO2 sensor tests and sensor integration with wireless data transmission
Abstract: An autonomous environmental monitoring system
(Smart Landfill) has been constructed for the quantitative
measurement of the components of landfill gas found at borehole
wells at the perimeter of landfill sites. The main components of
landfill gas are the greenhouse gases, methane and carbon dioxide
and have been monitored in the range 0-5 % volume. This monitoring
system has not only been tested in the laboratory but has been
deployed in multiple field trials and the data collected successfully
compared with on-site monitors. This success shows the potential of
this system for application in environments where reliable gas
monitoring is crucial.
Abstract: This paper describes studies carried out to investigate
the viability of using wireless cameras as a tool in monitoring
changes in air quality. A camera is used to monitor the change in
colour of a chemically responsive polymer within view of the camera
as it is exposed to varying chemical species concentration levels. The
camera captures this image and the colour change is analyzed by
averaging the RGB values present. This novel chemical sensing
approach is compared with an established chemical sensing method
using the same chemically responsive polymer coated onto LEDs. In
this way, the concentration levels of acetic acid in the air can be
tracked using both approaches. These approaches to chemical plume
tracking have many applications for air quality monitoring.
Abstract: This paper describes the designs of a first and second
generation autonomous gas monitoring system and the successful
field trial of the final system (2nd generation). Infrared sensing
technology is used to detect and measure the greenhouse gases
methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) at point sources. The
ability to monitor real-time events is further enhanced through the
implementation of both GSM and Bluetooth technologies to
communicate these data in real-time. These systems are robust,
reliable and a necessary tool where the monitoring of gas events in
real-time are needed.
Abstract: A portable sensor for the analysis of phosphate in
aqueous samples has been developed. The sensor incorporates
microfluidic technology, colorimetric detection, and wireless
communications into a compact and rugged portable device. The
detection method used is the molybdenum yellow method, in which a
phosphate-containing sample is mixed with a reagent containing
ammonium metavanadate and ammonium molybdate in an acidic
medium. A yellow-coloured compound is generated and the
absorption of this compound is measured using a light emitting diode
(LED) light source and a photodiode detector. The absorption is
directly proportional to the phosphate concentration in the original
sample. In this paper we describe the application of this phosphate
sensor to the analysis of wastewater at a municipal wastewater
treatment plant in Co. Kildare, Ireland.