Design and Characterization of an Integrated Multi-Sensor Device for Air Quality Monitoring

This paper introduces a novel mobile air quality monitoring device engineered through the integration of cutting-edge sensor technologies. Powered by a low-power ARM Cortex M4 microcontroller, the device is equipped with particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf>), and ozone (O<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</inf>) sensors, delivering real-time monitoring capabilities with superior spatial resolution compared to state-of-the-art solutions. The device embeds a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) module to transmit air quality data to a remote platform (for in-depth analysis and visualization) through a mobile phone used as a gateway. This paper analyses the device’s design, encompassing sensor selection, calibration methodologies, and data fusion and communication techniques tailored specifically for the ARM Cortex M4 architecture. The proposed system has been developed to empower citizens and involve them in large-scale air quality monitoring initiatives.