AAAR 36th Annual Conference October 16 - October 20, 2017 Raleigh Convention Center Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Abstract View
Autonomous, UAV-based Sampling of NOx, O3, CO, and PM: Collaborative Innovation Between Olin College Undergraduates and Aerodyne Research Inc
ROCCO DIVERDI, Taylor Sheneman, Kyle Flores, Riley Chapman, Pratool Gadtaula, Cynthia Chen, Maximillian Schommer, John Jayne, Eben Cross, Scott Hersey, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
Abstract Number: 211 Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods
Abstract Throughout the 2016-2017 academic year, a new partnership between Olin College of Engineering and Aerodyne Research, Inc. developed an affordable, self-contained air quality monitoring instrument, called Modulair, subsequently integrating the instrument into mobile-ready sampling platforms (bicycle and UAV). The Modulair instrument is based on the same operating principles as Aerodyne’s newly-developed ARISense integrated sensor system, employing electrochemical sensors for gas-phase measurements of CO, NO, NO2, and O3 and an off-the-shelf optical particle counter for particle concentration, number, and size distribution information (0.4 < dp < 17 μm). Modulair was designed from the ground-up, with custom electronics - including a more powerful microcontroller, a fully re-designed housing and a device-specific backend with a mobile, cloud-based data management system for real-time data posting and analysis. Open source tools and software were utilized in the development of the instrument. All work was completed by a team of undergraduate students as part of the Senior Capstone Program in Engineering (SCOPE) at Olin College.
Further development of Modulair by two undergraduate research students resulted in Modulair integration into a custom-built drone sampling platform. Initial tests were run to better understand potential sampling bias due to rotors and drone communication. Design goals for the drone integration include maximizing airborne sampling time, and laying the foundation for software integration with the drone’s autopilot system to allow for autonomous plume sampling across concentration gradients.
We will present an overview of the Modulair instrument, results from benchtop and field validation, including mobile sampling in the Boston area.