Air quality and health effects — How can wireless sensor networks contribute? A critical review

Also in western countries, air pollution is a big health risk, additionally resulting in huge economic damage. At present, air pollution is mainly monitored with highly accurate equipment but at extremely low spatial resolution. Overcoming the disadvantage of the low spatial resolution, and building a wireless network of sensors, can open doors to new applications, both to better understand the sources and the health effects of air pollution. We review selected state-of-the-art projects to supply the reader with an overview over current applications that were enabled by the use of new sensors, wireless sensor networks (WSNWs) and information technology. We will critically asses the spatial and temporal resolution, the sensor accuracy and the results. We will show that the crucial step, that is still to be done, is the development of dependable sensors. This can enable the breakthrough of existing applications. By introducing intelligent nodes, the capabilities of the Internet of Things (IoT) can trigger new use cases. We will conclude with an outlook on our future work, by presenting novel applications to better protect citizens from the adverse health effects of air pollution and to better understand those effects. We will show that these applications require dependable sensors and WSNWs.