Mobile Sensor Network for Urban Contamination Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing environmental monitoring systems using wireless sensor networks are limited in their ability to provide comprehensive coverage of contamination levels in urban and rural areas, as they rely on fixed sensors that cannot detect all types of contamination, such as odors and falling ash, and rely on unreliable user-reported data from social platforms.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize a network of mobile electronic devices equipped with environmental sensors, which transmit data through a delay-tolerant network (DTN) to a server for processing using big data and machine learning algorithms, combining data from sensors, users, and open data sources to provide real-time, comprehensive contamination level reports.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If fixed wireless sensors are used for environmental monitoring, then the system structure is simple and cost-effective, but the spatial coverage is incomplete and cannot detect all contamination types
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from fixed stationary sensors to mobile sensors mounted on vehicles and handheld devices. This dynamic deployment allows the sensing network to move throughout the monitoring area, achieving complete spatial coverage while maintaining system simplicity through the use of standard mobile platforms rather than complex infrastructure.
2Measurement precision
If electronic sensors are used for contamination detection, then measurement capability is provided for physical-chemical parameters, but certain contamination types such as odors and falling ash cannot be detected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges electronic sensor data with citizen-reported observations from mobile devices. This combination allows the system to detect both measurable physical-chemical parameters through sensors and qualitative contamination types like odors and falling ash through user reports, achieving comprehensive contamination type coverage while maintaining precise electronic measurement capabilities.
3Quantity of substance
If user-reported data from social platforms is used, then additional information sources are available, but data reliability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where citizen reports are cross-validated with sensor measurements and other user observations. The system provides feedback to users about the reliability of their reports and uses aggregated feedback to improve detection algorithms, thereby maintaining diverse information sources while significantly improving data reliability through systematic validation.
4Area of stationary object
If mobile devices with sensors are deployed throughout the area, then spatial coverage and contamination type detection are improved, but network connectivity and data transmission reliability become challenges
Solution Approach 1:
The patent prepares for potential connectivity failures by implementing local data caching and storage on mobile devices. Data is buffered locally and automatically transmitted when connectivity is restored, ensuring that spatial coverage capabilities are maintained even during network outages and that data transmission reliability is preserved through redundant transmission attempts.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for determining the level of contamination in cities comprising the steps of providing a server, transmitting information from users which report contamination issues by means of a mobile electronic device to the server, providing a wireless sensor network (WSN) for measuring level of contamination, obtaining measured data tagged with a geo-reference tag and a time stamp, and configured for supporting delay-tolerant communications transmitting data measured from sensors to the server, processing data measured and information from users by using big data and machine learning algorithms, and providing reports on contamination levels; and a system for collecting and processing environmental information comprising at least one mobile electronic device, including at least one environmental sensor, at least one wireless communication interface, a geo-location unit, and a storage unit; at least one communication gateway and at least a server for storing and processing the information obtained.