Grantee Research Project Results
Mapping Air Quality with Kite-Based Sensors
EPA Grant Number: SU839465Title: Mapping Air Quality with Kite-Based Sensors
Investigators: Cairncross, Richard A. , Terranova, Brandon , Olega, Darius , Efymow, Jesse , Vanderkluysen, Loyc , Lipscomb, Myles , DeCarlo, Peter
Current Investigators: Cairncross, Richard A. , DeCarlo, Peter , Terranova, Brandon , Vanderkluysen, Loyc , Lipscomb, Myles , Olega, Darius , Efymow, Jesse , O’Dwye, Shannon , Lim, Jesse , Kloiber, Anna , Bhagwat, Atharva , Omo-Lamai, Darrell , Hudson, Kira , Reina, Nicolas , Clark, Rasheem , Patel, Mikin , Lo, James
Institution: Drexel University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019
Project Amount: $15,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2018) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality
Description:
Monitoring the concentration of environmental pollutants is critical for effective decision- making about how to improve air quality. The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) such as drones is attractive to provide detailed data about the spatial variation of air quality metrics; however, UAVs have flight times limited by battery life, public acceptance of UAVs is challenging, and there are increasingly stringent restrictions on the safe operating zones for UAVs. This project explores an alternative kite-based system for aerial monitoring of air quality. Kites have the potential to be lower cost than UAVs, require less energy to operate, and may have operational advantages such as flying at higher wind speeds and in areas inaccessible to UAVs. This project extends past work using kites for environmental monitoring by evaluating several potential improvements: (1) flight control multi-line kites to maneuver the kite precisely throughout the wind window and (2) suspension of a lightweight air sampling tube from the kite system to ground-based sensing equipment.
Objective:
The overall objective of this Phase I P3 project is design of Kite-based Environmental Monitoring and Mapping Systems (KEMMS) to enable three-dimensional mapping of environmental air quality metrics. The proposed KEMMS implements flight control of multi-line kites that allows maneuvering the kite within a three-dimensional wind window. The Phase I project will also evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of lightweight sensors mounted on a platform suspended from the kite system versus a novel method of air sampling using tubing suspended from kite tether and a pump that delivers air to heavy analytical equipment at ground level.
Approach:
During this Phase I project, prototypes of individual components of KEMMS will be designed by multiple design teams of Drexel students and will be tested for proof-of-concept at several locations in the Philadelphia region under varying wind conditions. Results from Phase I evaluation of prototypes of individual KEMMS subsystems will be used to refine the specifications and design for an integrated KEMMS project in Phase II.
The following is a list of the major KEMMS sub-systems that will be evaluated in the Phase I project:
- Lifting System: the kite provides lift that enables monitoring air quality at higher elevations. The use of quad-line kites also enables mapping out atmospheric constituents in a three- dimensional wind window downwind of the anchor point.
- Flight Control System: this project will implement flight control system that modifies tension on multiple lines and controls the kite orientation and location.
- Aerodynamically-stabilized sensor platform: lightweight sensors will be mounted on a platform suspended from the kite tether line. The platform will use microprocessors to collect data from multiple sensors.
- Air sampling system: as an alternative to air-lifting heavy or expensive air quality monitoring equipment, this project will implement a system that suspends an air sampling tube from the kite tether and then pumps air to equipment on the ground. This would enable KEMMS to monitor a much wider range of atmospheric constituents.
Expected Results:
The Phase I project will evaluate the performance of prototypes in the field, which will enable determining more accurately the required specifications for KEMMS sub-systems that will be used in the Phase II project to construct an integrated system. In Phase I, environmental air quality will focus on lightweight and inexpensive sensors elevated with the kite and heavier ground-based instrumentation available at Drexel for the air sampling system.
Contribution to Pollution Prevention or Control: Accurate data pertaining to the spatial variability of air quality is necessary for good decision- making about methods for mitigating air pollution and methods for improving air quality. The proposed KEMMS platform provides a flexible method for measuring the spatial distribution of air quality metrics that could be deployed downwind of potential point sources of emissions such power plants, waste treatment plants, and agricultural operations or distributed sources of emissions such as municipalities. The KEMMS system is envisioned as a low-cost user-friendly technique that could be used by private citizens, municipalities, companies, or organizations to obtain a more accurate estimate of local air quality issues.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 3 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Methane, natural gas, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, drones, asthma, smog, VOC, volatile organic carbon, particulates, volcanos, smokeProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.