Reducing Indoor Air Pollution with the Smarter Home Indoor Air Quality Monitor System

Applied Nanodetectors has developed a smarter home-based indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring system that can detect adverse levels of pollution, identify the pollution sources, and provide actionable suggestions to help people improve IAQ. This essentially means that this unit monitors the quality of the air in households while allowing the user to visualise the pollution and harmful chemicals around them in order for them to make a conscious decision to improve it, in so doing, reducing the environmental risk.

The importance of air quality in the household is notable for many reasons and calls for an effective monitoring process. On average, people spend around 90% of their time indoors where the daily exposure of indoor pollutants are 10 times higher than outdoor concentrations. Younger children and older adults are greatly affected by this as they spend more time indoors. There is significant evidence that shows exposure to indoor air pollutions can irritate the lungs and aggravate asthma symptoms in children. It is estimated that 20% of the population suffers from respiratory diseases and other allergic diseases as a result of substances found in indoor environments

The unique augmented reality (AR) visualisations of the Smarter Home Indoor Air Quality Monitor System will alert users to take action and safeguard their health. The AR application is a transformative and innovative way for the user to visualise IAQ in their home and to raise awareness of the issues, thereby improving comfort and health.

Indoor sources of pollution stem greatly from combustion sources, namely tobacco, wood, coal heating, cooking appliances, and fireplaces which release harmful by-products such as carbon monoxide directly into the indoor environment. Not to mention cleaning supplies, paints, and insecticides that introduce many other dangerous chemicals into the indoor air that have been linked to an increase in cancer occurrences in the population. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that 3.8 million people a year die prematurely from illnesses accredited to the household air pollution.

Smarter Home Indoor Air Quality Monitor System uses AI prediction to identify these pollution spikes found in households anywhere in the world. The monitoring system uses machine learning techniques to analyse the sensor data to accurately predict an increase in pollution levels and identify the potential cause. Applied Nanodetectors has developed a nanosensors platform that can monitor a multitude of gases simultaneously (up to 16 gases) with high accuracy and high sensitivity (ppt levels).

IAQ is one of the leading environmental risks that affect people’s health, comfort and overall well-being. Using this new system will enable users to correlate household tasks to pollution risks and take action to reduce it. We, at Applied Nanodetectors, believe this will lead to behavioural changes and a positive response to mitigate IAQ that effects the everyday household’s health.