Monica is born at Enea di Portici, the first electronic nose that finds traces of pollutants
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Monica has a nose for pollution and smog. It's a electronic nose which detects traces of pollutants. Indeed, Monica is a nose. A electrical device that measures pollution levels in our cities and it will allow us to personally participate in one more sustainable mobility.
"Monica", in fact, indicates the more complex device of "Cooperative Monitoring of Air Quality“, A constant observation that makes it possible to identify an alternative route to the smog-filled streets, to reduce exposure to pollutants (and not add others).
The new platform - developed in the Research Center ENEA of Portici and recently presented in Cambridge on the occasion of the National Sensors Conference and the meeting on new technologies dedicated to air quality monitoring - consists of a portable multisensory system based on open source paradigms, a real “electronic nose” able to support the information coming from the monitoring stations installed in the city.
And that's how Monica's main feature, as we read in communique, is to "allow citizens a more conscious and participatory approach to the problem of monitoring air quality in the city, as well as personal exposure, to encourage virtuous behavior for more sustainable mobility".
The device is lightweight, makers-friendly and low-cost. It can be easily mounted on a backpack or installed on the handlebar of a bicycle. During a ride or a walk, therefore, we will know how many poisons and how many pollutants fill the air and our lungs. It will be Monica to make a survey, but to communicate the data will be aWhatsapp previously installed on the smartphone and interacting with the electronic nose.
Monica is part of a broader experience gained in Portici on other types of "electronic noses", equipped with ever greater capabilities and able to operate in various sectors, starting with the first system developed for volcanic gas monitoring, passing through applications to the first wireless control units for air quality monitoring to arrive at applications useful foraviation industry.
Finally, the Monica prototype is developed as part of the Integrated Environmental Monitoring System called Simona and was partially funded by the POR-Campania program. "The sensor will be subjected to a calibration and validation process to increase its precision in the measurements for a quantitative evaluation as well," concludes Enea.
Germana Carillo
Photo: Enea
READ also:
- China: anti-smog drones arrive to fight pollution
- Dangerous smog even below EU limits: increases the risk of heart attack by 12%
