Low-cost Sensors for Exposure and Health Science: How It Started, How It’s Going

JOHN VOLCKENS, Colorado State University

     Abstract Number: 313
     Working Group: Invited by Conference Chair

Abstract
Over the past decade, low-cost sensor technologies have become widely popular for quantifying outdoor levels of fine particulate matter. The size, cost, and connectedness of these technologies, along with a renaissance of data science, have enabled measurements at unprecedented scale: from the personal level (what are YOU breathing in?) to a global network of connected devices (e.g., PurpleAir). With air pollution now recognized as the leading environmental cause for premature disease and death across the planet, the need for monitoring is greater than ever. As a result, these sensors show promise for enhancing public health research and practice, whether it be for exposure monitoring, epidemiology, environmental justice, or citizen science. Their application in resource-limited environments is a particularly attractive feature.

The rapid rise of low-cost sensor technologies brings questions about utility, performance and reliability, the future of R&D in this space, and their place in the research community. This plenary will review the state-of-the science of low-cost aerosol sensors (and related technologies), with a focus on public and environmental health. I will discuss their history, their strengths & limitations, their use and misuse, and their prospects for enabling research and discovery in support of public health in the 21st century. I will cover topics ranging from Mie scattering and optics, to global health and air pollution-related disease, calibration, personal exposure, precision medicine, market forces, microelectronics, machine learning, memes, and more!