An autonomous robot for air quality monitoring

Team Members:Varnavas EleftheriouMichalis Kyprianou

Ali AbdallahAndreas Howes

1. Project Scope

The project scope is to develop a system that will allow real time monitoring of the air quality including radiation levels and warn administrative personnel about the existence of any possible hazardous substances. It will be autonomous and move around the university campus both indoors and outdoors.

2. Business Plan

2.1 Business Need

The aim of the project is to provide an evolutionary solution, which will prevent problems that occur by everyday hazards. It is quite surprising that around 7 million premature deaths may be attributed to air pollution1 while others suffer from bad air quality and they do not know it. Managing multiple single space devices that monitor the air quality is extremely costly in both maintenance and usage. Our solution will allow the monitoring of multiple areas with a single autonomous robot that will be reporting to a monitoring station.

2.2 Basic System Features

Autonomous TraversalWe are suggesting the design of a robot that will be able to traverse a university campus externally and internally autonomously. The system will utilize GPS and Wi-Fi positioning for outdoor and indoor spaces.

Air Quality MonitoringIt can monitor the air quality and detect any possible radiation levels using several sensors including a Geiger counter.

Environment AdaptationThe robot can adapt to various environment types and adjust its functionalities accordingly.

Wireless Data TransmissionIt can transmit the measurements automatically through wireless connectivity over a server where administrative personnel can monitor it.

On the Spot AlertThe robot will have a speaker, which will alert people in the area of any possible hazardous chemicals found or if radiation levels are high.

2.3 Benefits

Improves the productivity of personnel Lowering the cost of products and services purchased for multiple air monitoring

systems by 60% 2

Faster Emergency Response time

1 Jaservic, T., Osseiran, N., & Thomas, G. (2014) 7 million premature deaths annually linked to air pollution, 25 March 2014, World Health Organization. Retrieved from : http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/air-pollution/en/2 Calculated Based on current expenses for CO and CO2 detectors existing in European University Cyprus.

Real Time situation assessment Exact Location of hazards Automated alarm and location guidance Increased organizational security More control, thereby lowering the risk of accidents Improved Air Quality

2.4 Strategic Goals

Reduce ExpensesOne of the goals we always bear in mind prior to thinking about developing any system, is how to reduce the price of the final product through optimization. Minimizing the total cost while maintaining the quality of a lot more expensive solution through low cost alternatives is important.

Increase Public AwarenessSince we offer a good quality product which is made with relatively cheap components, we would like to increase public awareness in the fields of air quality in public places and promote the use of the autonomous device in all kinds of environments.

3. Project Plan

The Bianco team is comprised of students of the European University Cyprus. We are all senior students in the fields of Computer Science and Computer Engineering and are interested in robotics. Moreover, we are intrigued by autonomous systems and this motivates us to delve even deeper into the robotics world.

3.1 Work packages – Tasks (See Appendix A)

Work Package 1 - Chemical Analysis [2]

Decision of the most harmful gases and components of molecules, research on the dangerous threshold of each one and decision of, chemical and non-chemical, sensors for the purpose of the project scope.

Work Package 2 - Alternative Energy Resource In Robotics Research [3]

Research in alternative and renewable energy resources that could improve the functionality of the system from 24/1 up to 24/7 and component choice based on power usage. Calculation of estimated total power consumption.

Work Package 3 - Hardware System Development [4]

Assembly of the Chassis, Servos, Casing. Creation of waterproof modification. Installation and position optimization of the sensors on the Arduino board to take the least possible space, including the assembly of the Geiger-counter. Completion allows the initiation of the programming part of the project.

Work Package 4 - Software System Development [5]

Server software development that will allow the robot to interact with the server and vice versa. Embedded software development for autonomous movement, sampling rate and environmental adaptation. Arduino programming. System Integration begins when the server and Arduino communication is established.

Work Package 5 - System Integration [6]

System Integration is the process of bringing together the component systems into one system and ensuring that the sub-systems function together as a single coherent system. Completion leads to Testing and Troubleshooting.

Work Package 6 - Testing and Troubleshooting [7]

Testing and Troubleshooting of the whole functionality of the system which will allow better optimization, system correction and improved system functionality.

Work Package 7 - Risk Assessment Analysis [8]

During this task, the team will evaluate the given risks if any and then adapt the design and implementation of the robot according to available options.

3.2 Overall Approach

We will approach the project using Rapid Prototyping methodology, which allows us to decrease the development time and at the same time allow corrections of the system. Important notable issue; Interoperability. Critical Success Factor; Time

3.4 Users Analysis

Stakeholder Interest / stake Importance

Maintenance Personnel Stakeholder MediumAdministrative Personnel Stakeholder High

3.5 Constraints – SWOT Analysis

Provided time is probably the most dangerous constraint that could affect the project. Limited Resources is the second problem that could affect the project

Strengths: we are providing an innovative solution for indoor positioning with renewable energy resources.

Weaknesses: we are competing against other universities, which have the material to test and experiment with, the labs to run simulations and students who have advanced knowledge to develop a robotic product. Our background is mostly Computer Science and Computer Engineering and not directly related to robotic research.

Opportunities: we are developing new skills in a relatively new area of technology Threats: battery power in a combination with the solar panel might be insufficient for

24/7 uptime but it lasts for at least 24/1

3.6 Risk Analysis

Risk Description

Probability 1 – 5

(1=low 5=high)

Severity 1 – 5

(1=low 5=high)

Risk Score(PxS)

Detail of action to be taken(mitigation / reduction / transfer / acceptance)

Indoor Positioning Failure 3 3 9

Transfer (In case we have indoor positioning failure using Wi-Fi, we have a backup RPLIDAR module that can be used for mapping indoor environments and allow the device to function.

Delays to hardware development 2 5 10

Mitigation (in case a deliverable delays, we will reduce the testing and troubleshoot phase accordingly in order to complete the delayed deliverable)

Delays to software development 3 5 15 Mitigation (Reduce Troubleshooting and

testing time to increase development time)

Delayed delivery from vendors 1 5 5 Acceptance (Reduce Troubleshooting and

Testing time to adjust accordingly)Delays to financial approvals impact the project

1 5 5 Transfer (We will attempt to use our personal financial budget)

3.7 Project Roles

Team Member Name Role Days per week on the project

Varnavas Eleftheriou Project Manager 7Ali Abdallah Programmer/ Interface Developer 5Andreas Howes Research Analyst/Arduino Programmer 5Michalis Kyprianou Arduino Programmer/Hardware Assembler 5

3.8 Requirements

The robot will function in a university campus and traverse the area halls and exterior area monitoring real time air quality with measurements and monitoring on the server. The server will be responsible to give a warning if a measurement of the air quality is not healthy or radiation levels are exceeded. Once a warning is triggered, the person in charge will act appropriately to ensure people are not exposed to harmful air or radiation levels. The robot will use Wi-Fi indoor positioning system to know its location in the university premises while it will use GPS signals to position itself outdoors. This allows the person in charge to know precisely in what location of the university there are harmful gases or radiation levels in case of such an event.

This project is designed for use in any large building, such as universities or companies that might require monitoring of air quality and radiation, as well as factories where air

quality is crucial such as pharmaceutical industries, or industries that have radioactive material and need radiation level monitoring in case of leaks.

4. Technical Specifications

4.1 Hardware Specifications

Arduino Uno controller Tall Chassis 4x4 Wheel Drive with one DC motor Geiger Counter Kit - Radiation Sensor MQ135 Air Quality Sensor Monoxide Combustible Gas Sensor Digital Temperature and Humidity Sensor 4x Ultrasonic sensors 1x Solar Panel 12V 900mA Laser Scanner (RPLIDAR) GPS 3x 6Volt 12Ah batteries

4.2 CAD Design

4.3 Project Budget

Part Price(Euro)

Qty

Ultrasonic sensor 3,00 4Chassis 4x4 3-in-1 Kit 360,00 1Geiger counter Kit - Radiation sensor 80,00 1Adafruit CC3000 Wi-Fi module 29,00 1MQ135 - Air quality sensor 10,00 1MQ309A – Carbon Monoxide gas sensor 5,00 1Digital temperature sensor & Humidity sensor 24,00 1Solar panel 201,00 1RPLIDAR Laser scanner 273,00 1ITEAD GPS Shield 20,00 16V 12Ah Battery 14,00 3Arduino Uno 40,00 1

Total: 1110,00

5. Conclusion

The proposed project will develop an autonomous robotic device, which will monitor several air quality hazards such as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), and radiation levels. The device will move indoors and outdoors autonomously and send sensor readings at predetermined intervals to a monitoring server through Wi-Fi communications. The monitoring station will provide a dashboard with visual information on VOCs and other robot information while providing alerts when readings pass the configured thresholds.

The robot should be able to run for 24 hours using renewable energy resources such as a solar panel when running outdoors and through power management options when the batteries are running low. The robot also adapts to changing environmental conditions and can alert people when an emergency occurs.

Our proposed system can help the employees and students of the university by alerting them when the air quality reaches dangerous levels while saving the university money from reducing the number of monitoring devices deployed in the campus.

Appendix A – Work Package Gantt Chart