Air pollution control

Currently, air pollution in cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City is becoming serious, while the information and measures to prevent environmental pollution are either scarce or not paid due attention to. According to Yale University’s 2018 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Vietnam ranked 159 out of 180 countries by air quality and ranked 129 out of 150 countries by environmental health.

Driven by practical needs, the FIMO team and a group of students from the School of Aerospace Engineering built a network of fine dust monitoring devices using cheap sensors to provide relevant information to the community.

Mr. Ha Duc Van, FIMO’s Internet of Things team leader, said that, based on the research team’s experience in building a nationwide fine dust map from satellite images, they started with the building of a nationwide air pollution map. However, both the resolution and the accuracy of the map are pretty low, which requires additional ground data for reference. The team’s finished product is expected to provide the real-time status of air pollution in Hanoi with gradual expansion to other cities in Vietnam. This information helps managers make appropriate policies to minimize air pollution. Besides, community awareness will also be enhanced.

After 3 years of research, the group has successfully developed FairKit (FIMO Air monitoring Kit) device. This is one of the four components of the FairNet (FIMO Air Pollution Monitoring Network), including FairKit, FairServer, FairApp and FairWeb.

Installing FairKit devices in Hanoi’s 12 urban districts

As scheduled, 50 FairKit devices are being installed at 25 schools / agencies in 12 urban districts of Hanoi from March 15 to May 31, 2019. Talking about the product’s strength, Mr. Ha Van Duc said that FairKit device was calibrated with high-precision devices (hand-held devices, standardized measurement stations). The development of calibration method was implemented by a research team with in-depth knowledge of air pollution; whereas, domestic devices are installed without calibration. In using low-cost sensors, data correction is the core value to improve the quality of the product. The existing products in the world are only calibrated with the meteorological conditions in the manufacturer’s home country; thus, when brought to Vietnam, the product accuracy can be greatly reduced. In addition, the fact that the imported product is required to be adjusted every 6 months is either highly costly or infeasible.

FairKit is capable of measuring basic air quality parameters (PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO2, SO2, and O3), temperature and relative humidity. However, in the framework of this project, the device is provided with sensors to measure the parameters of two kinds of fine dust, PM2.5 and PM10, with CO parameters, temperature and relative humidity. The device uses flexible power, including solar or grid electricity. FIMO says that FairKit uses low-cost sensors but does not disclose their specific costs.

The two types of FairKit device, one for measuring indoor air quality and the other for measuring ambient air quality, differ in design due to the peculiar nature of each installation environment: indoor equipment has direct display screens for measurement parameters, while outdoor equipment is designed with a weather and physical impact protection box.

In order to enhance accuracy, FairKit applies data adjustment algorithms, tests and alignments in labs before actual installation. The staff of the schools and agencies are trained in device operating and maintaining skills by FIMO engineers. The device will be monitored on a daily basis and re-calibrated after 6 months of operation by FIMO.

The FairKit devices are automatically (wirelessly) connected to the FairNet system 24/7 to store, process data and display needed information via the FairNet website and mobile FairApp (Fair application). With FairNet and FairApp in operation, the community can update air quality information and receive real-time air pollution alerts. This information also serves as reference for environmental managers and policy makers to make more effective air pollution control decisions and solutions.

The FIMO research team is to complete the construction of intelligent algorithms to further improve the data quality towards creating Hanoi’s air pollution maps. The team will also design and build software applications to suit the user’s tastes.