Pollution monitoring using integrated sensing and communication

Abstract

There is provided a method of monitoring air pollution, the method comprising: receiving, by a receiver, a wireless communication signal; measuring, by the receiver, attenuation of a millimeter wave (mmWave) or terahertz (THz) signal in the received wireless communication signal to obtain sensed measurement data of the received wireless communication signal; processing the sensed measurement data to obtain air pollution information; and outputting a result of the acquired air pollution information.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is based on and claims priority from Indian provisional patent application No. 202321006920 filed in the Indian Patent Office on February 3, 2023, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Systems and methods consistent with example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to monitoring air pollution, and more particularly, to monitoring air pollution in an efficient and accurate manner using integrated sensing and communication. Background Art

[0004] Generally, mobile operators continue to experience huge demand for various functionalities (e.g., high-speed communications) from users of electronic devices (e.g., smartphones), driven by multimedia applications and the growing number of electronic devices connected to core networks (e.g., fifth generation new radio (5G NR) mobile networks).

[0005] Integrated sensing and communication in 5G systems, as specified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), is a 5G NR wireless communication system and infrastructure for communication to provide sensing capabilities, and sensing information that may come from RF and / or non-RF based sensors. In 5G networks, base stations are deployed by operators with radio cell plans that allow them to cover a wide area.

[0006] Air pollution monitoring is crucial for protecting public health and the environment. Air has a direct impact on health, and exposure to certain pollutants can cause a range of health problems, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other illnesses. Therefore, accurate and effective air pollution monitoring is a top priority.

[0007] Traditionally, air pollution monitoring equipment mainly includes fixed monitoring stations and mobile monitoring equipment. Currently, fixed monitoring stations are mainly divided into large fixed monitoring stations (large stations) and small monitoring stations (small stations), while mobile monitoring equipment mainly includes special atmospheric environment monitoring vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and handheld devices.

[0008] Alternatively, current air quality monitoring can also be characterized as specialized monitoring systems that use a large number of low-cost air quality monitoring sensors in public transportation or other parts of urban infrastructure. Although the former provides highly accurate air quality information, it has low spatial resolution and high deployment and maintenance costs. However, the latter has poor accuracy unless the sensors are regularly recalibrated relative to professional-grade equipment. Currently, performing sensor calibration is time-consuming and labor-intensive, which limits the scale at which these types of deployments can operate. These specialized monitoring systems are very expensive and have low spatial resolution, and the use of millions of low-cost sensors leads to poor accuracy. Therefore, as air pollution monitoring and tracking has developed, these specific problems have been encountered.

[0009] Therefore, related systems do not adequately provide an inexpensive air quality monitoring system and do not address the drawbacks of using millions of low-cost sensors across an entire city or region. Therefore, there is a need to address the above and other drawbacks and provide a useful alternative for air pollution monitoring by using base stations and user devices to monitor air pollution in an efficient and accurate manner. Summary of the Invention

[0010] Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to monitoring air pollution using attenuation of wireless communication signals. Finally, example embodiments of the present disclosure eliminate the burden of installing a large number of low-cost air quality monitoring sensors into public transportation and performing sensor calibration, which is expensive, time-consuming, and laborious.

[0011] According to an embodiment, a method is provided. The method for monitoring air pollution includes: receiving a wireless communication signal by a receiver; measuring, by the receiver, attenuation of a millimeter wave (mmWave) or terahertz (THz) signal in the received wireless communication signal to obtain sensing measurement data of the received wireless communication signal; processing the sensing measurement data to obtain air pollution information; and outputting a result of the obtained air pollution information.

[0012] According to an embodiment, a system is provided. The system can be executed by at least one memory storing instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to: receive a wireless communication signal; measure the attenuation of a millimeter wave (mmWave) or terahertz (THz) signal in the received wireless communication signal to obtain sensing measurement data of the received wireless communication signal; process the sensing measurement data to obtain air pollution information; and output a result of the obtained air pollution information.

[0013] According to an embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium is provided, on which instructions that can be executed by at least one processor are recorded, and the instructions are configured to execute a method for monitoring air pollution, the method comprising: receiving a wireless communication signal by a receiver; measuring, by the receiver, the attenuation of a millimeter wave (mmWave) or terahertz (THz) signal in the received wireless communication signal to obtain sensing measurement data of the received wireless communication signal; processing the sensing measurement data to obtain air pollution information; and outputting the result of the obtained air pollution information.

[0014] Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be achieved by practice of the embodiments presented in the disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Features, aspects, and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like elements, and wherein:

[0016] Figure 1 The 5G New Radio architecture is shown according to the prior art;

[0017] Figure 2 A system for monitoring air pollution levels using integrated sensors and communications is shown;

[0018] Figure 3 A flowchart showing method steps according to an embodiment is shown;

[0019] Figure 4 A table showing example key performance indicators (KPIs) for calculating air pollution information according to an embodiment;

[0020] Figure 5 Various components are shown according to example embodiments; and

[0021] Figure 6 Diagrams showing example components of a device are shown according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Example embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0023] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit implementation to the disclosed precise form. According to the above disclosure, modifications and variations are possible, or modifications and variations can be obtained from the practice of implementation. In addition, one or more features or components of an embodiment can be incorporated into another embodiment (or one or more features of another embodiment) or combined with another embodiment (or one or more features of another embodiment). In addition, in the flowchart and description of the operation provided below, it should be understood that one or more operations can be omitted, one or more operations can be added, one or more operations can be performed simultaneously (at least in part), and the order of one or more operations can be switched.

[0024] It is apparent that the systems and / or methods described herein can be implemented in various forms of hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual dedicated control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not a limitation of the implementation. Therefore, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods described herein are not described with reference to specific software code. It should be understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based on the description herein.

[0025] Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of possible implementations. Indeed, many of these features can be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of possible implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with all other claims in the claim set.

[0026] The elements, actions or instructions used herein should not be interpreted as being critical or necessary unless explicitly described as such. In addition, as used herein, the articles "one" and "an" are intended to include one or more items and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In the case of only one item being meant, the term "one" or similar language is used. In addition, as used herein, the terms "have", "have", "contain", "include", "comprise" etc. are intended to be open terms. In addition, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "based at least in part on", unless explicitly stated otherwise. In addition, statements such as "at least one of [A] and [B]" or "at least one of [A] or [B]" should be understood to include only A, only B, or both A and B.

[0027] Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and system for air quality monitoring using integrated sensing and communication. In particular, the present disclosure relates to tracking and monitoring air quality based on attenuation of wireless communication signals.

[0028] Furthermore, the features, advantages, and characteristics of the present disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Based on the description herein, one skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the present disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other cases, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method and system for monitoring air pollution in an efficient and accurate manner using integrated sensing and communication based on the attenuation of wireless communication signals (e.g., millimeter wave (mmWave) and terahertz (THz) frequencies used in 5G New Radio (5GNR)).

[0030] Figure 1 The 5G new radio architecture is shown according to the prior art. The relevant system may include user equipment 101A, user equipment 101B, user equipment 101C, and user equipment 101D; base station 100; core network 102; and server 103.

[0031] Figure 2 According to an embodiment, a system for monitoring air pollution information using integrated sensors and communications is shown. The system may include: user equipment 201A, user equipment 201B, user equipment 201C, user equipment 201D; base station 200; core network 102; and server 203.

[0032] refer to Figure 2, the wireless communication signal can be received by a receiver that is affected by absorption of the wireless communication signal due to air pollutants (e.g., ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM), etc.). In addition, when a receiver (which can be a transmitter (e.g., an antenna, base station 200) or user device 201A, user device 201B, user device 201C, user device 201D (e.g., a smartphone, tablet, PDA, etc.)) receives a wireless communication signal that is attenuated due to air pollutants, the receiver is able to measure the air pollution level as the air pollutant travels from the transmitter to the receiver. In particular, different air pollutants are known to absorb wireless communication signals differently due to their respective characteristic properties. Subsequently, due to the air pollutant absorption of the wireless communication signal, the wireless signal is attenuated differently. Therefore, the air pollutant reduces the strength of the wireless communication signal received by the receiver. The receiver can then store the attenuation of the wireless communication signal as sensed measurement data in a storage memory or a cloud server. The sensed measurement data can be processed by the receiver and transmitted to server 203, or can be processed by the server to obtain air pollution information. The receiver may report the air pollution information to the server 203 via the core network 102. Depending on the embodiment, the server 203 may be a data center or an application server that outputs the obtained air pollution information. The application server may be a server within the network node or an authorized third-party server that may access the obtained air pollution information (e.g., at least one of the indicators of the air quality index (AQI), information or concentration of particulate matter or pollutants in the air, etc.).

[0033] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a method for monitoring air pollution in an efficient and accurate manner using integrated sensing and communication and attenuation of wireless communication signals. Figure 3 In the embodiment, operations 301 to 302 are performed by a receiver, and operations 303 to 304 may be performed by a server, a base station, or a user equipment.

[0034] In operation 301, a wireless communication signal is received by a receiver. According to an embodiment, the wireless communication signal is a 5G communication signal, but it should be understood that one or more other embodiments are not limited thereto and can be applied to other wireless signals, such as mmWave / THz band signals. According to an embodiment, the receiver can be a user device or another device (e.g., a dedicated attenuation measurement device) that receives a wireless communication signal from a base station, or can be a base station that receives a wireless communication signal from a user device or another device. The receiver can be any device (e.g., a PDA, a computer, a tablet) that is connected to the 5GNR core network and receives or transmits a wireless communication signal to or from a base station.

[0035] In operation 302, the receiver measures the attenuation of the mmWave / THz signal in the received wireless communication signal to obtain sensing measurement data. According to an embodiment, the receiver can measure the attenuation of the mmWave / THz signal in the wireless communication signal by measuring the absorption coefficient caused by the air pollutants and then measuring the attenuation of the received mmWave / THz signal. In addition, the receiver can store the attenuation as sensing measurement data in a memory or a cloud server. Data on the absorption of mmWave / THz signals by various air pollutants are provided by public databases such as Spectraplot, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and High Resolution Transmission Molecular Absorption (HITRAN). The process of measuring attenuation can be as described in "The Effect of Major Air Pollutants on Millimeter Wave Spectra" (Durjan et al., IEEE), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0036] In operation 303, the sensory measurement data is processed by a server, a base station, a user device, or any other device (e.g., a dedicated attenuation measurement device) to obtain air pollution information (e.g., at least one of an air quality index (AQI), information or concentration of particulate matter or pollutants in the air, etc.). To this end, the receiver may output the sensory measurement data to the server at predetermined time intervals (e.g., every second or every 60 seconds) for processing. The air pollution information may be derived or determined from the measured attenuation (e.g., a lookup table or algorithm may be used to associate the measured attenuation with one or more pollutants or particulate matter). Depending on the embodiment, the sensory measurement data may be processed by the server. Alternatively, the processing may be performed within a network node (e.g., within a base station or a receiver). In addition, depending on the embodiment, the sensory measurement data may include location information corresponding to the sensory measurement data (e.g., at least one of the location of the receiver, the location of the transmitter transmitting the wireless communication signal, the path of the wireless communication signal, etc.). Depending on the embodiment, the receiver may process sensory measurement data collected from multiple different receivers or transmitted from multiple different transmitters (e.g., user devices). Furthermore, according to an embodiment, the processing may be performed by an application server that has access to the sensory measurement data measured by the receiver. For example, the application server may be an authorized third-party operator or an organization that can utilize the sensory measurement data to generate a result, the result being air pollution information based on the sensory measurement data.

[0037] In operation 304, the server obtains air pollution information via a core network (e.g., a fifth generation new radio (5GNR) mobile network) associated with the location information, and generates a result of outputting the air pollution information to the server. Alternatively, the server may be located within a network node of a default mobile service provider or network operator (e.g., within a base station). In addition, the server may be an application server of an authorized third party. According to an embodiment, the receiver may output air pollution information directly to the mobile service provider or network operator. According to an embodiment, the mobile service provider or network operator may be the default service provider of the receiver or an authorized third-party mobile service provider or network operator. A result is generated when the air pollution is output to the server. The result may include, but is not limited to, an air pollution map, pollution levels at certain locations, tracking progress of air pollution, etc. For example, based on air pollution information including location information for sensed attenuation measurements or for corresponding particle information, the server may output a visualization of the air pollution information based on the location. The server may collect air pollution information from multiple different mobile network operators, base stations, etc., and provide visualization based on the information collected from multiple sources.

[0038] Figure 4 is a table of example key performance indicators (KPIs) for calculating air pollution information. Specifically, the server can be configured to support KPI-based sensing services, for example, it can be configured to define the type of sensing service area (e.g., outdoor, indoor, etc.), confidence level (e.g., 95%), maximum range of sensing measurement data (e.g., 200 meters), maximum sensing service delay (e.g., 60 seconds), refresh rate (e.g., 1 minute), missed detection (e.g., 5%), and false alarm (e.g., 5%). Alternatively, the server can be configured to calculate other KPIs and change the values of the aforementioned KPIs to provide an accurate and effective air pollution monitoring system based on one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The server can provide the configuration to an air pollution monitoring system (e.g., a receiver), which can then perform the above operations according to the configuration.

[0039] Figure 5 is a diagram of an example environment 500 in which the systems and / or methods herein may be implemented. Figure 5 As shown, environment 500 may include user device 510, platform 520, and network 530. The devices of environment 500 may be interconnected via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections. Figure 2 Any of the functions and operations described may be replaced by Figure 5 Any combination of the elements shown may be performed.

[0040] User device 510 includes one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, and / or providing information associated with platform 520. For example, user device 510 may include a computing device (e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a handheld computer, a smart speaker, a server, etc.), a mobile phone (e.g., a smartphone, a wireless phone, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a pair of smart glasses or a smart watch), or the like. In some implementations, user device 510 can receive information from platform 520 and / or transmit information to platform 520.

[0041] The platform 520 includes one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, and / or providing information. In some implementations, the platform 520 may include a cloud server or a group of cloud servers. In some implementations, the platform 520 may be designed to be modular so that certain software components can be swapped in or out based on specific needs. In this way, the platform 520 can be easily and / or quickly reconfigured for different uses.

[0042] In some implementations, as shown, platform 520 can be hosted in a cloud computing environment 522. Notably, while the implementations described herein describe platform 520 as being hosted in a cloud computing environment 522, in some implementations, platform 520 may not be cloud-based (i.e., may be implemented outside of a cloud computing environment) or may be partially cloud-based.

[0043] Cloud computing environment 522 includes an environment hosting platform 520. Cloud computing environment 522 can provide computing, software, data access, storage, and other services without requiring end users (e.g., user devices 510) to be aware of the physical location and configuration of the system(s) and / or device(s) hosting platform 520. As shown, cloud computing environment 522 can include a group of computing resources 524 (collectively, "computing resources 524," and individually, "computing resource 524").

[0044] Computing resources 524 include one or more personal computers, clusters of computing devices, workstation computers, server devices, or other types of computing and / or communication devices. In some implementations, computing resources 524 may be host platforms 520. Cloud resources may include computing instances executed in computing resources 524, storage devices provided in computing resources 524, data transfer devices provided by computing resources 524, and the like. In some implementations, computing resources 524 may communicate with other computing resources 524 via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections.

[0045] like Figure 5As further shown in FIG, the computing resources 524 include a cloud resource group, such as one or more applications ("APP") 524-1, one or more virtual machines ("VM") 524-2, virtualized storage ("VS") 524-3, one or more hypervisors ("HYP") 524-4, etc.

[0046] Applications 524-1 include one or more software applications that can be provided to or accessed by user device 510. Applications 524-1 can eliminate the need to install and execute software applications on user device 510. For example, applications 524-1 can include software associated with platform 520 and / or any other software that can be provided via cloud computing environment 522. In some implementations, one application 524-1 can send and receive information to and from one or more other applications 524-1 via virtual machine 524-2.

[0047] The virtual machine 524-2 comprises a software implementation of a machine (e.g., a computer) that executes programs similar to physical machines. The virtual machine 524-2 can be a system virtual machine or a process virtual machine, depending on the use and correspondence of the virtual machine 524-2 to any real machine. A system virtual machine can provide a complete system platform that supports the execution of a complete operating system ("OS"). A process virtual machine can execute a single program and can support a single process. In some implementations, the virtual machine 524-2 can execute on behalf of a user (e.g., user device 510) and can manage the infrastructure of the cloud computing environment 522, such as data management, synchronization, or long-duration data transfer.

[0048] Virtualized storage 524-3 includes one or more storage systems and / or one or more devices that use virtualization technology within the storage system or device of computing resource 524. In some implementations, in the context of a storage system, the types of virtualization may include block virtualization and file virtualization. Block virtualization may refer to the extraction (or separation) of logical storage from physical storage, making it possible to access the storage system without regard to physical storage or heterogeneous structures. This separation may allow administrators of the storage system to have flexibility in how the administrator manages storage for end users. File virtualization may eliminate the dependency between data accessed at the file level and the location where the file is physically stored. This may enable optimization of storage usage, server consolidation, and / or performance of non-destructive file migration.

[0049] Hypervisor 524-4 can provide hardware virtualization technology that allows multiple operating systems (e.g., "guest operating systems") to execute concurrently on a host computer such as computing resource 524. Hypervisor 524-4 can present a virtual operating platform to the guest operating systems and can manage the execution of the guest operating systems. Multiple instances of various operating systems can share virtualized hardware resources.

[0050] The network 530 includes one or more wired and / or wireless networks. For example, the network 530 may include a cellular network (e.g., a fifth generation (5G) network, a long term evolution (LTE) network, a third generation (3G) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, etc.), a public land mobile network (PLMN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a telephone network (e.g., a public switched telephone network (PSTN)), a private network, an ad hoc network, an intranet, the Internet, a fiber-optic-based network, etc., and / or a combination of these or other types of networks.

[0051] Figure 5 The number and arrangement of devices and networks shown in FIG are provided as examples. In practice, there may be additional devices and / or networks, fewer devices and / or networks, different devices and / or networks, or different Figure 5 The devices and / or networks shown may be arranged differently. Figure 5 Two or more of the devices shown may be implemented in a single device, or Figure 5 The single device shown may be implemented as multiple distributed devices. Additionally or alternatively, a set of devices (eg, one or more devices) of environment 500 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of devices of environment 500.

[0052] Figure 6 is a diagram of example components of a device 600. Device 600 may correspond to user device 510 and / or platform 520. Figure 6 As shown, device 600 may include a bus 610 , a processor 620 , a memory 630 , a storage component 640 , an input component 650 , an output component 660 , and a communication interface 670 .

[0053] The bus 610 includes components that allow communication between components of the device 600. The processor 620 can be implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The processor 620 can be a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component. In some implementations, the processor 620 includes one or more processors that can be programmed to perform functions. The memory 630 includes a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), and / or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., flash memory, magnetic memory, and / or optical memory) that stores information and / or instructions for use by the processor 620.

[0054] The storage component 640 stores information and / or software related to the operation and use of the device 600. For example, the storage component 640 may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, and / or a solid-state disk), a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a floppy disk, a cassette tape, a magnetic tape, and / or other types of non-transitory computer-readable media, and corresponding drives. The input component 850 includes components that allow the device 600 to receive information, for example, via user input (e.g., a touch screen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, buttons, switches, and / or a microphone). Additionally or alternatively, the input component 650 may include a sensor for sensing information (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) component, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or an actuator). The output component 660 includes components that provide output information from the device 600 (e.g., a display, a speaker, and / or one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs)).

[0055] The communication interface 670 includes components similar to a transceiver (e.g., a transceiver and / or a separate receiver and transmitter) that enable the device 600 to communicate with other devices, for example, via a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections. The communication interface 670 can allow the device 600 to receive information from another device and / or provide information to another device. For example, the communication interface 670 may include an Ethernet interface, an optical interface, a coaxial interface, an infrared interface, a radio frequency (RF) interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a Wi-Fi interface, a cellular network interface, etc.

[0056] Device 600 can perform one or more processes described herein. Device 600 can perform these processes in response to processor 620 executing software instructions stored by a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as memory 630 and / or storage component 640. Computer-readable media is defined herein as a non-transitory memory device. A memory device includes memory space within a single physical storage device or memory space distributed across multiple physical storage devices.

[0057] The software instructions may be read into memory 630 and / or storage component 640 from another computer-readable medium or from another device via communication interface 670. When executed, the software instructions stored in memory 630 and / or storage component 640 may cause processor 620 to perform one or more processes described herein.

[0058] Additionally or alternatively, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to perform one or more processes described herein.Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

[0059] Figure 6The number and arrangement of components shown in FIG are provided as examples. In practice, the device 600 may include Figure 6 Additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown. Additionally or alternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of device 600 can perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components of device 600.

[0060] In an embodiment, Figure 2 and Figure 3 Any of the operations or processes can be performed by or using Figure 5 and Figure 6 It should be understood that other embodiments are not limited thereto and can be implemented in a variety of different architectures (e.g., bare metal architecture, any cloud-based architecture or deployment architecture, such as Kubernetes, Docker, OpenStack, etc.).

[0061] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations.

[0062] Some embodiments may relate to systems, methods and / or computer-readable media at any possible level of integrated technical detail. In addition, one or more of the above components may be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable medium (or multiple media) and executable by at least one processor (and / or may include at least one processor). The computer-readable medium may include a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium (or medium) having computer-readable program instructions for causing the processor to perform operations. At least one processor may be distributed across multiple devices (e.g., user equipment, base stations, and servers), and the multiple devices may respectively execute instructions stored on media similarly distributed across the multiple devices.

[0063] A computer-readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. A computer-readable storage medium can be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of computer-readable storage media includes the following: a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanical encoding device such as a punched card or a raised structure in a groove on which instructions are recorded, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. The computer-readable storage medium used herein cannot be interpreted as a transient signal itself, such as a radio wave or other freely propagating electromagnetic wave, an electromagnetic wave propagated through a waveguide or other transmission medium (e.g., a light pulse through a fiber optic cable), or an electrical signal transmitted by a wire.

[0064] The computer-readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded from a computer-readable storage medium to a corresponding computing / processing device, or downloaded to an external computer or external storage device via a network (e.g., the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, and / or a wireless network). The network can include copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmissions, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers, and / or edge servers. The network adapter card or network interface in each computing / processing device receives the computer-readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer-readable program instructions to be stored in a computer-readable storage medium within the corresponding computing / processing device.

[0065] The computer readable program code / instruction for performing an operation can be an assembly instruction, an instruction set architecture (ISA) instruction, a machine instruction, a machine-related instruction, a microcode, a firmware instruction, a state setting data, a configuration data for an integrated circuit, or a source code or an object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, wherein the programming language includes an object-oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, and a process programming language such as "C" programming language or a similar programming language. The computer readable program instruction can be executed completely on the user's computer as an independent software package, partially on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, partially on a remote computer, or completely on a remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer can be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or be connected to an external computer (for example, by using the Internet of an Internet service provider). In certain embodiments, the electronic circuit comprising, for example, a programmable logic circuit, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or a programmable logic array (PLA) can be personalized to perform aspects or operations by utilizing the state information of the computer readable program instruction to perform the computer readable program instruction.

[0066] These computer-readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, executed via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create a device for implementing the functions / actions specified in one or more blocks of the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. These computer-readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can instruct the computer, programmable data processing apparatus, and / or other device to function in a particular manner, such that the computer-readable storage medium having the instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture that includes instructions for implementing various aspects of the functions / actions specified in one or more blocks of the flowcharts and / or block diagrams.

[0067] Computer-readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device, thereby producing a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions executed on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions / actions specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0068] The flowcharts and block diagrams in the figure show the possible implementation architecture, functions, and operations of the system, method, and computer-readable medium according to various embodiments. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagram can represent (multiple) microservices, modules, segments, or instruction portions, which include one or more executable instructions for implementing (multiple) specified logical functions. The method, computer system, and computer-readable medium may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged differently from those depicted in the figure. In some alternative implementations, the functions indicated in the blocks may not occur in the order indicated in the figure. For example, two blocks shown in succession can actually be executed simultaneously or substantially simultaneously depending on the functions involved, or these blocks can sometimes be executed in the opposite order. It should also be noted that each block in the block diagram and / or flowchart illustration and the combination of blocks in the block diagram and / or flowchart illustration can be implemented by a dedicated hardware-based system that performs a specified function or action or executes a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0069] Obviously, the systems and / or methods described herein can be implemented in various forms of hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual dedicated control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not a limitation of implementation. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code - it being understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based on the description herein.

[0070] Various further respective aspects and features of embodiments of the present disclosure may be defined by the following clauses:

[0071] Clause [1]: A method for monitoring air pollution, the method comprising: receiving a wireless communication signal by a receiver; measuring, by the receiver, the attenuation of a millimeter wave (mmWave) or terahertz (THz) signal in the received wireless communication signal to obtain sensing measurement data of the received wireless communication signal; processing the sensing measurement data to obtain air pollution information; and outputting a result of the obtained air pollution information.

[0072] Clause [2]: A method according to clause [1], wherein the output comprises: transmitting air pollution information to a server; analyzing, by the server, a plurality of air pollution information obtained by measuring attenuation of mmWave or THz signals in a plurality of wireless communication signals; and generating a report on air pollution based on the analysis.

[0073] Clause [3]: A method according to any one of clauses [1] to [2], wherein: the receiver is a user equipment receiving wireless communication signals from a base station; or the receiver is a base station receiving wireless communication signals from the user equipment.

[0074] Clause [4]: A method according to any of clauses [1] to [3], wherein the processing comprises processing the sensory measurement data by the receiver to obtain air pollution information.

[0075] Clause [5]: A method according to any one of clauses [1] to [4], wherein the processing comprises: transmitting, by the receiver, the sensed measurement data to a server; and processing, by the server, the sensed measurement data to obtain the air pollution information.

[0076] Clause [6]: The method of clause [5], wherein: the transmitting comprises transmitting the plurality of sensory measurement data to the server at predetermined time intervals; and the processing by the server comprises the server processing the plurality of sensory measurement data to obtain air pollution information.

[0077] Clause [7]: A method according to any one of clauses [1] to [6], wherein: the processing includes processing a plurality of sensing measurement data obtained by measuring the attenuation of mmWave or THz signals in a plurality of wireless communication signals to obtain air pollution information; and the plurality of wireless communication signals are transmitted by a plurality of user devices to a base station that measures the attenuation, or by a base station to a plurality of user devices that measures the attenuation.

[0078] Clause [8]: A method according to any one of clauses [1] to [7], wherein the sensing measurement data includes a measurement of attenuation, and at least one of the position information corresponding to the sensing measurement data and the path of the wireless communication signal.

[0079] Clause [9]: A system for monitoring air pollution, the system comprising: at least one memory storing instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to: receive a wireless communication signal; measure the attenuation of a millimeter wave (mmWave) or terahertz (THz) signal in the received wireless communication signal to obtain sensing measurement data of the received wireless communication signal; process the sensing measurement data to obtain air pollution information; and output a result of the obtained air pollution information.

[0080] Clause

[10] : A system according to clause [9], wherein at least one processor is further configured to execute instructions to output a result by: analyzing a plurality of air pollution information obtained by measuring the attenuation of mmWave or THz signals in a plurality of wireless communication signals; and generating a report on air pollution based on the analysis.

[0081] Clause

[11] : A system according to any of clauses [9] to

[10] , wherein: wireless communication signals are received from a base station by a user equipment performing measurements; or wireless communication signals are received from a user equipment by a base station performing measurements.

[0082] Clause

[12] : A system according to any of clauses [9] to

[11] , wherein at least one processor is further configured to execute instructions to: process a plurality of sensing measurement data obtained by measuring attenuation of mmWave or THz signals in a plurality of wireless communication signals to obtain air pollution information.

[0083] Clause

[13] : A system according to clause

[12] , wherein: the plurality of wireless communication signals are transmitted by the plurality of user devices to a base station that measures attenuation, or are transmitted by the base station to the plurality of user devices that measures attenuation.

[0084] Clause

[14] : A system according to any of clauses [9] to

[13] , wherein the sensing measurement data includes a measurement of attenuation, and at least one of the position information corresponding to the sensing measurement data and the path of the wireless communication signal.

[0085] Clause

[15] : At least one non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having instructions recorded thereon, the instructions being executable by at least one processor to perform a method for monitoring air pollution, the method comprising: receiving a wireless communication signal by a receiver; measuring, by the receiver, the attenuation of a millimeter wave (mmWave) or terahertz (THz) signal in the received wireless communication signal to obtain sensing measurement data of the received wireless communication signal; processing the sensing measurement data to obtain air pollution information; and outputting a result of the obtained air pollution information.

[0086] Clause

[16] : At least one non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to clause

[15] , wherein the output comprises: analyzing a plurality of air pollution information obtained by measuring the attenuation of mmWave or THz signals in a plurality of wireless communication signals; and generating a report on air pollution based on the analysis.

[0087] Clause

[17] : At least one non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to any one of clauses

[15] to

[16] , wherein: the receiver is a user device that receives wireless communication signals from a base station; or the receiver is a base station that receives wireless communication signals from the user device.

[0088] Clause

[18] : At least one non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to any one of clauses

[15] to

[17] , wherein the processing comprises: processing a plurality of sensing measurement data obtained by measuring attenuation of mmWave or THz signals in a plurality of wireless communication signals to obtain air pollution information.

[0089] Clause

[19] : At least one non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to any one of clauses

[15] to

[18] , wherein the plurality of wireless communication signals are transmitted by a plurality of user devices to a base station that measures attenuation, or are transmitted by a base station to a plurality of user devices that measures attenuation.

[0090] Clause

[20] : At least one non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to any one of clauses

[15] to

[19] , wherein the sensing measurement data includes a measurement of attenuation, and at least one piece of location information corresponding to the sensing measurement data and a path of the wireless communication signal.

[0091] It will be appreciated that many modifications and variations of the disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings. It will be apparent that, within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure may be practiced in ways other than as specifically described herein.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring air pollution, the method comprising: receiving a wireless communication signal by a receiver; measuring, by the receiver, the attenuation of a millimeter wave (mmWave) or terahertz (THz) signal in the received wireless communication signal to obtain sensing measurement data of the received wireless communication signal; processing the sensing measurement data to obtain air pollution information; as well as The obtained air pollution information result is output.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the output comprises: transmitting the air pollution information to a server; analyzing, by the server, a plurality of air pollution information obtained by measuring attenuation of mmWave or THz signals in a plurality of wireless communication signals; as well as A report on air pollution is generated based on the analysis.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The receiver is a user equipment that receives the wireless communication signal from the base station; or The receiver is the base station that receives the wireless communication signal from the user equipment. The method of claim 1 , wherein the processing comprises processing, by the receiver, the sensory measurement data to obtain the air pollution information.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the processing comprises: transmitting the sensing measurement data to a server by the receiver; as well as The server processes the sensory measurement data to obtain the air pollution information.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The transmitting comprises transmitting a plurality of sensing measurement data to the server at predetermined time intervals; and The processing by the server includes processing, by the server, the plurality of sensory measurement data to obtain the air pollution information.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The processing includes processing a plurality of sensing measurement data obtained by measuring attenuation of mmWave or THz signals in a plurality of wireless communication signals to obtain the air pollution information; and The plurality of wireless communication signals are transmitted by a plurality of user equipments to a base station that measures the attenuation, or are transmitted by the base station to the plurality of user equipments that measure the attenuation. 8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensing measurement data comprises a measurement of the attenuation, and at least one of position information corresponding to the sensing measurement data and a path of the wireless communication signal.

9. A system for monitoring air pollution, the system comprising: at least one memory storing instructions; as well as at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to: receiving wireless communication signals; measuring the attenuation of a millimeter wave (mmWave) or terahertz (THz) signal in the received wireless communication signal to obtain sensing measurement data of the received wireless communication signal; processing the sensing measurement data to obtain air pollution information; as well as The obtained air pollution information result is output.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to output the result by: analyzing a plurality of air pollution information obtained by measuring attenuation of mmWave or THz signals among a plurality of wireless communication signals; and A report on air pollution is generated based on the analysis.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein: The wireless communication signal is received by the user equipment performing the measurement from a base station; or The wireless communication signal is received from the user equipment by the base station performing the measurement.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to: A plurality of sensing measurement data obtained by measuring the attenuation of mmWave or THz signals in a plurality of wireless communication signals are processed to obtain the air pollution information.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein: The plurality of wireless communication signals are transmitted by a plurality of user equipments to a base station that measures the attenuation, or are transmitted by the base station to the plurality of user equipments that measure the attenuation.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the sensing measurement data includes a measurement of the attenuation, and at least one of position information corresponding to the sensing measurement data and a path of the wireless communication signal.

15. At least one non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having instructions recorded thereon, the instructions being executable by at least one processor to perform a method for monitoring air pollution, the method comprising: receiving a wireless communication signal by a receiver; measuring, by the receiver, the attenuation of a millimeter wave (mmWave) or terahertz (THz) signal in the received wireless communication signal to obtain sensing measurement data of the received wireless communication signal; processing the sensing measurement data to obtain air pollution information; as well as The obtained air pollution information result is output.

16. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 15, wherein the output comprises: Analyzing a plurality of air pollution information obtained by measuring attenuation of mmWave or THz signals in a plurality of wireless communication signals; as well as A report on air pollution is generated based on the analysis.

17. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 15, wherein: The receiver is a user equipment that receives the wireless communication signal from the base station; or The receiver is the base station that receives the wireless communication signal from the user equipment.

18. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 15, wherein the processing comprises: A plurality of sensing measurement data obtained by measuring the attenuation of mmWave or THz signals in a plurality of wireless communication signals are processed to obtain the air pollution information.

19. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 18, wherein the plurality of wireless communication signals are transmitted by a plurality of user devices to a base station that measures the attenuation, or are transmitted by the base station to the plurality of user devices that measure the attenuation.

20. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 15, wherein the sensing measurement data includes a measurement of the attenuation, and at least one of position information corresponding to the sensing measurement data and a path of the wireless communication signal.

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