Exploring The Role of UAVs in Combating Air Pollution: Applications and Impact
Exploring The Role of UAVs in Combating Air Pollution: Applications and Impact
Volume 9, Issue 10, October – 2024 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165 https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/IJISRT24OCT625
Exploring the Role of UAVs in Combating
Air Pollution: Applications and Impact
Soham Roy1; Dev Arun2; Vihaan D. Parekh3
GEMS Modern Academy, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Abstract:- As environmental concerns are on the rise with major disadvantage: they can only remove chemicals and
the advent of pollution in metropolitan cities, Unmanned other dirt before it has been emitted into the environment;
Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology has the potential to this is because the devices require pollutants to be gathered
mitigate air pollution through a variety of applications. and contained before they can be removed.
This paper aims to shed light on the practical benefits of
integrating UAVs into pollution management strategies. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology has
gained popularity over the years and has been used for air
Keywords:- UAV, Drones, Air Pollution Control, quality monitoring. Concentrations of chemicals like CO2,
Environmental Monitoring, Emission Reduction, Sustainable CH4, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been
Logistics, Pollution Detection, Eco-Friendly Technology, successfully measured (Alvear et al., 2017; Babaan et al.
Real-Time Air Quality Monitoring, Green Transportation, 2018, Berman et al. 2012; Fladeland et al. 2011; Gu et al.
Clean Energy Solutions, Environmental Impact Of Uavs. 2018, Illingworth et al. 2014, Ruiz-Jimenez et al. 2019).
Over the years, several uses of UAV technology can be seen.
I. INTRODUCTION For context, UAV vision-guided aerial-ground air quality
sensing system, to monitor and forecast AQI distributions in
Pollution is a detrimental issue around the world and spatial-temporal perspectives has been developed by Yang et
exists in various types. It is prevalent in various metropolitan al. (2019). Air quality monitoring and forecasting was
areas such as London, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata. performed using the fusion of haze images taken by the UAV
Around 4.2 million deaths take place each year due to heart and AQI data was collected by a 3D wireless sensor network
disease, respiratory diseases, and cancer. (Babaan et al. 2018). Additionally, Malaver et al. explored
the possibility of flying a UAV as part of a solarpowered
Air pollution can be divided into two forms, the first wireless network system to monitor the behavior of
and most abundant being gaseous. These can include greenhouse gases, using solar energy to solve power
particulate matter, ozone, carbon monoxide, and carbon consumption issues that affect the UAV's payload and its
dioxide. The second being water-based pollution, which can flight time.
be caused by various accidents such as oil spills and marine
dumping. So far, the latest solutions include the deployment of
massive sensors in the city. As these sensors are fixed they
Specifically, particulate matter is comprised of can only capture data with low spatial resolutions and cannot
microscopic particles/liquid droplets that contain acids, easily track the change of air pollution in the vicinity.
metals, or soil particles. Exposure to ozone (O3) can cause Vehicle-based sampling systems have improved coverage
respiratory issues, aggravating diseases such as asthma. but they are limited by factors such as site access,
Carbon monoxide (CO) combines with hemoglobin in our topography, and a proper connection to the source.
blood to form oxyhemoglobin, thereby diminishing the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are becoming more and
oxygen-carrying capacity of blood cells. Additionally, large more popular due to their ability to produce a high spatial
concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere can lead to global resolution. Recent advancements in UAV research have
warming, as seen with the melting of ice caps in Antarctica. proven them to be a low cost solution for examining lower-
In humans, CO2 can cause cardiac arrhythmias, seizures, and lying areas.
apoxia.
Environmental drones (E-drones) are autonomous
Multiple countries around the world have standardized drones used to detect and monitor air pollution, as well as
methods to gauge the amount of air pollution present in the their mitigation at higher altitudes in specific regions. It
surrounding area. For instance, Canada uses the Air Quality produces Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) maps of the
Health Index (AQHI) to report the degree of pollution in regions it covers for longterm analysis.
different regions. On the other hand, London, and Indian
states like Mumbai, New Delhi, and Kolkata use the Air In this paper written by Singh, Atul P. et al. the drone
Quality Index (AQI). Land–use zoning has been used to prototype consists of a fan and wings filled with abatement
isolate human activities that can cause air pollution from the chemicals. It will be controlled by a remote control and will
rest of the population. While Pollution Control Devices contain 20-25 liters of water. It will also contain a sensor that
(PCD) have been used to destroy contaminants, they have a measures the Air Quality Index (AQI) of the surrounding
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Volume 9, Issue 10, October – 2024 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165 https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/IJISRT24OCT625
area. The materials used include purified water, negative It will contain two core air pollution sensors, a
ionizers, a titanium oxide plate, and a UV lager cleaner. The particulate matter sensor, and a nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
chemicals used have a low half-life and are strong oxidizing sensor. The PM sensor contains an integrated data
agents, allowing them to rapidly neutralize the particulate acquisition module that will send the data to the ground
matter in the air. The purified water can dissipate larger dust station. The NO2 sensor is an electrode gas sensor that
particles in the air. The oxygen atoms present in the water transforms the analog impulses into digital data that can be
can react with pollutants such as SO2 and NO2 to form interpreted.
H2SO4 and HNO3 respectively. The remote control will
allow it to lower lying areas such as industrial areas and For the Data fusion, its job is to integrate the UAV’s
chimneys. A thin film of activated carbon will surround the geolocation data, time data, and sensor data. The flight
walls of the drone to ensure that any pollutant it absorbs will controller will provide the geolocation data to the module.
not cause it to fall to the ground. Each data source contains a data servlet that will run inside
the data fusion module. One servlet reads the GPS data from
Below is a Sketch of the Proposed Prototype: the flight controller, while the other servlet reads data from
the air pollutant sensors. Three data source servlet programs
run in the OCC to collect data from the PM sensor, NO2
sensor and flight controller.
II. MATERIALS
Using the research picked up by Rohi, Godall, et al.
2020, the E-drone has a base station where environmental
data is acquired. The station contains a solar panel with
power connections running down the side to provide a
continuous power supply during data acquisition.
E-Drone Specifications:
Chassis: Carbon fiber chassis, offering a lightweight yet
robust frame.
Power Supply: 11.1V, 3200 mAh lithium polymer battery
provides reliable, long-lasting electrical power.
Fig 1: Prototype of the Drone Setup to Control the Air Motors: 4 brushless motors coupled with 10x5 inch
Pollutants propellers to provide efficient thrust and maneuverability.
Electronic Speed Controllers (ESC): One for each motor,
Using Gu, Qijun, et al. 2018 Modular design, the facilitating precise control over motor speed.
system consists of the UAV and a ground station. The UAV Development Board: Utilized for programming
will integrate all the data from the onboard sensors and autonomous surveillance tasks.
provide the geo-location of the data in real-time. It will also Gyrometer: Ensures stability during takeoff, landing, and
contain a data acquisition (DA) module, and a data fusion aerial patrols.
(DF) module. A flight plan will be provided to the UAV
Altitude Sensor: Measures the drone's altitude to aid in-
beforehand which will direct it.
flight navigation.
GPS: Provides location tracking for accurate positioning.
Xbee: Enables a wireless connection to a host computer
up to a distance of 15.5 km using a 2.1dB antenna,
facilitating remote control and data transmission.
Ultrasound Sensor: Enhances safety by detecting
obstacles and enabling avoidance maneuvers. Air
Pollution Sensors: Equipped with individual gas sensors
for each pollutant, allowing environmental monitoring
with pre-set threshold values for alerts.
An in-Depth Description of the E-Drone Specifications:
Chassis: Constructed of lightweight carbon fiber, the
drone’s chassis is able to support a multitude of devices
such as a
Fig 2: A simple Chart to Explain the Functioning of the Power Supply Unit (PSU), sensors, and modules. The
UAV System chassis itself weighs 460 grams, and its dimensions are
550mm x
IJISRT24OCT625 www.ijisrt.com 1200
Volume 9, Issue 10, October – 2024 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165 https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/IJISRT24OCT625
550mm. The finished prototype model, with all to go to a particular height to and gather pollution
components attached, weighed approximately 1500 information.
grams. Xbee: An Xbee Pro 900HP wireless module is used to
Brushless motors: 4 motors convert the power supplied carry out communication between the E-drone and
by the computer at the remote base station of the host PC. It has
PSU (lithium-ion battery) to mechanical power, thereby a 2.1 dB antenna, which enables it to create a wireless
spinning the propellors for flight. connection between the drone and the PC where its range
Propellors: 4 propellors mounted onto the brushless is up to 15.5 km. With a high gain antenna, this range is
motors, with dimensions of 10 x 5 inches each. increased to 45km.
Electronic Speed Controllers (ESC): Specifically, the Ultrasound Sensor: The HC-SRO4 ultrasound sensor is
speed of the motors was varied using ESCs. Four of the installed on the anterior side of the E-drone system and is
ESCs are applied for tasks such as obstacle detection and
connected to the Lithium Polymer battery and each ESC avoidance. If the sensor detects an obstacle less than
was connected to a motor. 35cm in front of it during flight, it takes a detour to avoid
Development board: The E-drone system was then crashing into said obstacle.
programmed using the Arduino Uno Rev 3 to provide the Air Pollution Sensors: The primary method through
system with the necessary autonomous navigation. which the E-drone is able to quantify levels of air
Gyrometer: A GY-521 gyrometer is used to stabilize the pollution is through the use of gas sensors depicted in
drone during takeoff and landing, additionally providing Figure 2 It shows that the concentrations of each of the
acceleration, orientation, and gyrometric data native to air pollutants are measured separately and with distinct
the system sensors. Figure 3 below contains pictures of the gas
Altitude Sensor: The BMP085 was used to find the sensors that were used to take measurements of CO2, CO,
barometric altitude of the drone. The drone was designed NH3, SO2, PM. O3 and NO2 in the E-drone system.
Fig 3: E-Drone System
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Volume 9, Issue 10, October – 2024 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165 https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/IJISRT24OCT625
III. EXPERIMENT AND DATA ANALYSIS IV. CONCLUSION
The first test involved studying the air pollution Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones can be used to a
gradient in a busy highway, the highway had a daily traffic great extent in combating air pollution. In their various
count of about 55000 vehicles. The UAV departed 100 m operational uses from environmental sensing to greener
away from the highway and flew an 800 m path supply chains, UAVs present unique solutions to some of the
perpendicular to the highway. biggest environmental issues of the current generation.
Because of the ability to efficiently gather data in distant or
The second test was the increase in air pollution with inaccessible locations and the ability to lessen reliance on
distance from a highway intersection. This site was located conventional transportation sources that contribute to air
at the junction of two principal roads (daily traffic volume = pollution, UAVs can help to cogently and non-cogently
157,000 and 137,000). The UAV took off from a position decrease emissions and enhance air quality. However, there
10m away from one highway and flew a straight line of 500m are many issues associated with the use of UAVs in
parallel to another highway. environmental sectors at large. The challenges include;
technical barriers, legal frameworks, and infrastructure in
The third test was designed to check the air pollution order to enhance the use of UAVs in pollution control.
gradient in proximity to a truck stop. It was the largest local However, it must be also noted that the potential of UAVs in
truck stop in this region and located near an interstate terms of minimizing air pollution is still colossal. So as
highway (AADT = 36,000). The UAV departed 200 m away technology develops and legal requirements change UAVs
from the board of the stop and flew a 1000 m path. will become an essential part of our fight for a cleaner planet.
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