Monitoring stations to be installed in MUV project pilot cities
The Mobility Urban Values (MUV) project is developing monitoring stations that will be deployed in each of its six pilot cities in March 2019.
The purpose of these stations is twofold. The first is to measure air quality and sound levels in pilot city neighbourhoods.
Although official air quality measuring stations exist in most of the cities, the data they collect is only really relevant to areas in close proximity to the stations.
Therefore, factors and locations of importance to citizens are not always covered. That is where the MUV stations come in.
Whilst cheaper sensors mean the quality of the measurements is not comparable with those from official stations, the quality data is high enough to gain an initial understanding of the situation. This can be used as the basis for further action together with citizens.
To gauge air quality, a dust (PM) sensor, a NO2 (nitrogen dioxide)sensor, and an O3 (ozone) are used, whilst sound levels are also measured (in dB). The design is modular, meaning not all sensors need to be present should a community not want to use a particular one.
The second role is that of measuring proximity. The proximity sensor supports 'check-ins' at specific places. To do so, it is necessary to have a device with near-field communication enabled and to be close to the sensor (a couple of cm away).
This functionality supports the gamification elements in MUV, such as giving points if a MUVer visits a particular shop or goes to a social meeting point such as a library.
The monitoring stations send data to the MUV platform where the data is stored. This data can also be visualised on a web page.
The project is also experimenting with ways to visualise air quality at the station themselves in an understandable way, such as a model based on the idea of lungs breathing air (as depicted in the image above).
The idea is also being explored to conduct traffic measurements using a camera.
Read more about MUV here.
