Air Quality and Lifespan

Think about the last three years of your life. Chances are, some pretty amazing things happened--maybe you got married; had a kid; graduated; obtained an amazing job; moved, traveled to a different country; or read a book that changed your worldview.

Unfortunately, air pollution consistently robs people of these experiences. According to a 2015 Times of India article, bad air quality can shorten one's life by three years. In the words of the article, "compliance with air quality standards can save up to 2.1 billion life years in India." If thinking of individual milestones isn't enough, just imagine what the nation could do with that many productive years. Instead, India trades all of it for higher health care costs in the form of cancers, respiratory infections, and asthma.

Strong economic growth may be measured by a healthy balance sheet, but too often this comes at the expense of a healthy population. As stated in the post:

"India's focus is necessarily on growth. But for too long the conventional definition of growth has ignored the health consequences of air pollution," said Michael Greenstone. "The study shows that air pollution retards growth by causing people to die prematurely. Other studies have also shown that air pollution reduces productivity at work, increases incidence of sick days, and raises health care expenses that could be devoted to other goods."

And the first step to combatting air pollution? Air quality monitoring stations. Most experts (including the ones in the article) agree that this is essential to understanding the scope and severity of India's ever-growing air problem. Without data, air pollution remains the white (or smog-tinged gray) elephant in the room: everyone knows it's a problem, but nobody wants to address it. And without cold, concrete evidence, the country can continue its denial.

Why care about air? Because three years of your life depend on it.

"Is Chennai an Invisible Gas Chamber?"

A brilliant The Times of India article was published on February 23rd titled, "Is Chennai an Invisible Gas Chamber?" In it, the writer discusses the myriad of problems plaguing India's 4th largest city. Notable quotes include:

"Thanks to outdated technology, Chennai's denizens are in the dark about the alarming levels of pollutants in the air they breathe. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board's long-pending proposal to set up advanced Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring machines and a mobile monitoring system has been gathering dust."

"Among the eight air quality monitoring stations in Chennai, only two (Adyar and Anna Nagar) are equipped to measure particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometres. Which means we are unaware of the levels of pollutants that cause the maximum damage. Moreover, the monitoring stations are only capable of generating data based on 24-hour averages instead of a minute-by-minute basis, which would tell planners about the impact different activities have on the environment. The 8 monitoring stations in use are operated only twice a week, giving data that is skewed. "

 "Experts say the city needs at least 75 state-of-the-art monitoring stations, especially since it has grown from 174sq.km to 426sq.km after an expansion to include new suburban zones in 2011."

"The last five years, say doctors, have witnessed at least a 30% rise in respiratory diseases."

"Also, as most areas with high pollution remain unmonitored, planners have no way to tell how they should tackle the problem."

"To monitor air quality , says a former pollution board official, "Chennai needs a monitoring station every 5sq.km.Through monitoring, we can map out high-pollution areas so that they can be improved by limiting vehicular traffic and prohibiting industrial activity ." 

 The goal of Leapsense is to tackle the above noted issues: lack of measuring, lack of public awareness, and an inability to make decisions due to inadequacy of data. 

What is Particulate Matter?

Particulate matter is the main unit of measurement for air pollution. There are two types--PM10 and PM2.5--named as such because of the particle's size in microns. These particulate matters are not visible with the naked eye. To give perspective, a grain of fine beach sand has a micron diameter of 90. 

While particulate matter concentration contributes to a sunset's dusky orange and pink hue, it also plays a role in a host of other ailments including lung cancer and strokes. Look at the infographic below to learn more about PM10 and PM2.5:

Why Care About Air

Few of us focus on the air we breathe, yet it is as critical to our health as the water we drink and the food we eat. This section of the blog features all of the reasons why you should care about air.

What is particulate matter?

Is Chennai an Invisible Gas Chamber?

Air pollution and its effect on health

Pollution levels in India

Key determinants of air pollution

Ways to reduce air pollution

How to lobby for cleaner air

Designing a Sensor: Developing Requirements

Designing a sensor is easily the most challenging, time-consuming part of this project. It might also be the most costly based on the R&D required. This blog post isn't going to go into the nitty gritty technical requirements of a sensor (sorry to all tech lovers out there), but it does discuss the overview for laypeople trying to understand the device's basic parameters.

If you're still keen on learning the nuts and bolts of such a device, that'll come later once we unveil the gist of the blueprint itself.

Size
Most air quality sensors are large pieces of machinery, resembling the size and look of a backup power generator. This is to keep them well-insulated from the elements, and because of the large quantity of data it collects. It may also house the data collection device itself, thus increasing its bulk substantially. The method of collection used by these pieces also require significantly more parts.

LeapSense, however, is developing a much smaller sensor--think the size of your internet modem at home. The size reduction is achievable for a few reasons; for one, LeapSense is not interested in collecting many of the data pieces obtained from larger devices. Our collection method uses much lighter, nimble inputs (optical).

Detection
Air quality sensors measure a variety of units, including O3, CO, PM10, and PM2.5. The LeapSense device will focus on detecting PM10 and PM2.5, as these are the particulate matters most relevant to traffic congestion, health problems, and industrial output (ie, the issues we wish to solve). When discussing "air pollution" as a topic, this is usually understood to mean a region's PM10 and 2.5 levels.

Power Requirements
The sensor will function using a combination of renewable batteries and solar power. With a quality lithium battery, the charge may last between 6 months and 2 years. Its solar power device will then kick in to recharge the battery--this means that little, if any deployment will be necessary for the purpose of regenerating the unit's power. Solar power is an excellent choice for Chennai given its consistently sunny weather.

Packaging
Perhaps surprisingly, packaging is as important as the device itself. It must protect the unit but not impinge on its readability--a tough balance from an engineering standpoint. Packaging must also be done to withstand the city's heat, notorious dust and humidity. LeapSense hasn't yet appointed a materials engineer, but we're keen on merging their expertise with that of our existing team's.

Data Frequency
This requirement relates to how often the sensor should transmit feedback: twice a minute? Every hour? twice a day? Twice a week? Once a month? The more frequent the better, but this has to be balanced with the power requirements and ease of data transmission. The frequency should give insight about how pollution levels change with seasonality, weather patterns, traffic, and wind speed.

Because LeapSense is focusing on hyper-local, specific data collection, our device will ideally collect readings every ten minutes. This frequency will provide crucial information such as the best days to venture outdoors, the Chennai weather most conducive to clean air, and it can also inform citizens if routine events are occurring that cause a spike in pollution (such as garbage burning).

Data Transmission
This requirement is all about getting the sensor readings from the unit translated and sent into an easily understood format. Achieving this requires installing wireless capability into every sensor unit and will happen through analog digital converters sending the information to the GPRS backhaul.

GPS
In order to deploy sensors across the city, each unit must be equipped with a GPS functionality. Otherwise, determining the source of the readings is impossible. GPS is also useful if the device has been removed but is still transmitting info, as may be the case in the event of theft or even innocuous maintenance. Anyone analyzing the data can check the location if the sensor is transmitting data highly inconsistent with previous readings. If the GPS coordinates differ, then the data may be tossed out and the results won't interfere with the pool.

Cost
The range of cost is as varied for sensors as it is cars. The variability is based on similar criteria, too: quality of parts, durability, functionality, and use. Some air quality sensors act like military-grade Hummers--they are industrial, high-use, bulky, exceptionally precise, capable of performing a variety of functions, expensive, and high-tech. Others are like a Honda, where they are mass-produced, simple in its functionality (getting from point A to point B), low-cost, light weight, and produced for the masses.

In terms of the sensor we're designing, it's very much aligned with the Honda functionality (or Toyota, Maruti, Ford, VW, or whatever other car brand one wishes to insert into this analogy). Low-cost is a critical aspect of the LeapSense device. The figure we have in mind is $100 per device. We know this is not at all achievable in the prototype and testing phase, but can be achieved through high volume manufacturing.

Maintenance
The device should be low-maintenance. With so many sensors deployed throughout the city, it's important that the device can be left alone for months--even years--without requiring removal either for power regeneration, parts/packaging failure, or data transmission errors. Quality of inputs, long-lasting power sources, and secure deployment will no doubt assist with low maintenance. 

About LeapSense

LeapSense is all about data. Why? Because data empowers, informs, and shapes decision-making at the highest levels of governments and civic society. We decided to start with data collection in Chennai, India: it's a bustling, vibrant city undergoing many strains common to developing cities. Issues include air pollution, water sanitation, trash collection, electricity shortages, and malnutrition. Tackling these problems requires comprehending the scope; and we believe data is crucial to understanding the magnitude of these issues.

At present, Chennai's data collection methods are either primitive, under-resourced, or lacking altogether. LeapSense wants to revolutionize the landscape by developing low-cost wireless sensors to deploy across the city. The location depends on the need: an air quality sensor, for example, may be deployed on light posts, whereas a water pollution detection sensor may be placed on the boats of fishermen. These custom-designed sensors will provide real-time, hyper-local data to the end user. Who might the end user be? Well, it could be anyone--a government body, an NGO, healthcare official, a corporation, or even an individual.

LeapSense's pilot initiative starts with air pollution. At present, we're working with experts across the globe to develop a sensor capable of detecting particulate matter. By leveraging our on-the-ground partnerships, we will then deploy these sensors in key parts of the city to understand pollution levels occuring in the city's hot spots. Once the data is collected, it will be given to third parties that will use the data to create positive change in the field.

To learn more about the team behind LeapSense, please visit our website.

LeapSense Air Quality Roadmap

Below is our Care About Air campaign's project roadmap. One goal of this blog is to keep everyone informed of our journey as we leap from arrow to arrow.

Check out our posts of the path thus far:

1) Design a Sensor

• Find technical air quality experts
• Develop technical requirements
• Align requirements with govt/city air sensors
• Determine and source parts
• Assess cost and feasibility
• Draft budget based on scale/quantity
• Assemble prototype
• Solidify prototype blueprint and go to step 2

2) Test the Sensor

• Distribute prototype to local air sensor experts
• Revise based on feedback
• Test durability in local conditions
• Determine sensor breaking points and casing requirements
• Measure accuracy by deploying next to city air sensors
• Test transmission of data
• Redesign prototype and blueprints based on findings in step 2

3) Determine Locations

• Choose 3 neighborhoods ranging in exposure to pollution
• Pick high congestion points such as busy intersections, landfills, etc
• Consider industrial locations for sensors
• Contrast with low-pollution areas (parks, oceans, etc)
• Determine number of sensors needed to get accurate sample size
• Devise scale and rollout plan
• Order based on required sample size and rollout plan

4) Deploy Sensors

• Obtain permission from public officials and private citizens
• Determine sensor attachment methods
• Assess best spots for low theft, damage, and best reading
• Train and recruit volunteers on affixing sensors
• Create map and plot sensor points on Google Maps Engine
• Draft maintenance and checkup schedule based on sensor durability
• Cross-check maintenance requirement with budget

5) Collect Data

• Identify cloud-based, high storage database
• Devise data output/frequency schedule
• Align schedule with expert opinion and protocol
• Flag any sensors transmitting data with significant deviation
• Remove and inspect sensors in question
• Perform backend maintenance on data collecting units
• Outsource data analyzation to third parties such as universities

6) Distribute Data

• Give to researchers, students, and professors
• Collate data for use in reports, visual aids, and public info campaigns
• Develop partnerships with third parties
• Highlight partnerships and seek grants and continued funding
• Devise possible commercial applications for project sustainability
• Host air quality awareness campaigns among public
• "Adopt a Sensor" program
• Assess project longevity and timeline based on third-party interest and funding