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Machine Learning and Low-Cost Devices to Democratise Air Pollution Monitoring

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed an inexpensive air sensor calibration that uses Machine Learning techniques to improve the accuracy of measuring air pollution. With the release of a cheap mobile air pollution detector, the general population can contribute significantly to monitoring air quality.

According to the WHO, air pollution causes over 4 million yearly fatalities. It is a severe issue for public health, yet it isn’t often monitored closely. To enlist more individuals in the cause, the researchers at MIT develop the Flatburn detector.

“We want groups of concerned people or individuals all over the world to be able to evaluate their own levels of air pollution, pinpoint its causes, and work in concert with government agencies and other relevant parties to improve the quality of the air,” said Carlo Ratti, head of MIT’s Senseable City Lab.

The Flatburn gadget is a component of the City Scanner initiative, which use mobile technology to get insight into urban life. According to Fabio Duarte, chief research scientist of Senseable City Lab, the original idea and remains the project’s goal was to democratise environmental data. ” We’d like everyone to be able to evaluate information and interact with citizens and officials,” he underlined.

The open-source detector may be 3D-printed or assembled from low-cost components. Now that it has been thoroughly tried and tested compared to existing state-of-the-art machines, the researchers are making all their findings public, including instructions on constructing the device, running the programme, and deciphering the results.

Simone Mora, a research scientist at Senseable City Lab and co-author of a newly published paper detailing the scanner’s testing process explained that they have been doing several pilots around the world.

“We have since refined a set of prototypes, with hardware, software, and rules, to make sure the data we gain are robust from an ecological science point of view,” he elaborated.

Around 2017, MIT researchers began prototyping a mobile pollution detector, first intended for use on garbage trucks in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The sensors may be charged via USB or solar panel, and they retain data on an internal memory card that can be accessed through the internet.

The latest research phase has been putting the devices through their paces in New York City and Greater Boston, comparing them against established pollution detection infrastructure to determine their efficacy. For four weeks in 2021, researchers in New York employed five detectors to capture 1.6 million data points, which they compared with input from state officials. The group used mobile sensors in Boston, comparing the performance of the Flatburn devices to that of a state-of-the-art system by Tufts University and a state agency.

Both nitrogen dioxide and acceptable particulate matter concentrations were measured over a 10-meter radius using identical detectors. Often connected with combustion processes like those seen in power plants, internal combustion engines in automobiles, and fires, “fine matter” refers to tiny particles.

The research team’s development found that Flatburn devices can produce reliable results. Lower concentrations of fine particulate matter can be detected and estimated with mobile detectors than the devices currently in use. But it only happened with a strong enough correlation, with adjustments for weather conditions and other factors.

However, the study did show that the devices will have a six-month functioning life if used in a mobile situation, such as atop vehicles. However, they also found some problems that users of Flatburn detectors can encounter. Among these are “drift,” the slow but steady change in the detector’s readings over time, and “ageing,” or the more fundamental decline in a unit’s physical state.

Researchers are confident that the devices will perform well, so they’ve released Flatburn as an open-source utility with detailed instructions. It includes advice on analysing the data alongside government representatives and locals to influence policy.

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Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

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CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

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Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

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SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

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HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

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IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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