Can data reliability of low-cost sensor devices for indoor air particulate matter monitoring be improved?-An approach using machine learning

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2022

Authors

Chojer, H (Author) Other; Branco, PTBS (Author) FEUP; Martins, FG (Author) FEUP; Alvim-Ferraz, MCM (Author) Other; Sousa, SIV (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Atmospheric Environment

Vol. 286

ISSN: 1352-2310

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus

Associated Projects

ALiCE - ALiCE - Laboratório Associado em Engenharia Química

LEPABE - Financiamento Plurianual 2020-2023 da Unidade de I&D LEPABE - Laboratório de Engenharia de Processos, Ambiente, Biotecnologia e Energia

SENSINAIR - Sensores de baixo custo como ferramenta para redução da poluição do ar em infantários e escolas primárias – impacto na asma infantil

2SMART - 2SMART - engineered Smart materials for Smart citizens

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00W-VVP

DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.119251

Abstract (EN): Poor indoor air quality has adverse health impacts. Children are considered a risk group, and they spend a significant time indoors at home and in schools. Air quality monitoring has traditionally been limited due to the cost and size of the monitoring stations. Recent advancements in low-cost sensors technology allow for economical, scalable and real-time monitoring, which is especially helpful in monitoring air quality in indoor environments, as they are prone to sudden peaks in pollutant concentrations. However, data reliability is still a considerable challenge to overcome in low-cost sensors technology. Thus, following a monitoring campaign in a nursery and primary school in Porto urban area, the present study analyzed the performance of three commercially available low-cost IoT devices for indoor air quality monitoring in real-world against a research-grade device used as a reference and developed regression models to improve their reliability. This paper also presents the developed on-field calibration models via machine learning technique using multiple linear regression, support vector regression, and gradient boosting regression algorithms and focuses on particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM10) data collected by the devices. The performance evaluation results showed poor detection of particulates in classrooms by the low-cost devices compared to the reference. The on-field calibration algorithms showed a considerable improvement in all three devices' accuracy (reaching up to R2 > 0.9) for the light scattering technology based particulate matter sensors. The results also show the different performance of low-cost devices in the lunchroom compared to the classrooms of the same school building, indicating the need for calibration in different microenvironments.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 11