Air quality parameters measured with a novel drone payload – Air-Q-Drone

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Astrid Lampert; Dr. Birgit Wehner
• Subject Area: Measurement Systems
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 541019547

The project Air-Q-Drone (Air quality parameters measured with a novel drone payload) aims to develop and apply a commercial drone for in-situ measurement of aerosol particles and related air quality parameters. The number and mass concentration of aerosol particles affect human health and should be further reduced. The European Commission plans to tighten the existing limits for PM10 and PM2.5, bringing many communities back into the realm of exceedances. 3D measurements with high temporal and spatial resolution are needed to identify the sources of these exposures. In the context of Air-Q-Drone, commercially available measurement devices will be modified to meet the specific drone operation requirements (size, weight, power consumption). Subsequently, it will be investigated whether and how the measurements are influenced by environmental parameters such as pressure, temperature, and humidity and by the drone operation itself. These influences will be minimized as much as possible during implementation or quantified for subsequent correction. In Air-Q-Drone, a novel combination of measurement devices is used to determine the concentration of particulate matter with high temporal and spatial resolution while improving accuracy over previous measurements. Two well-characterized devices, which have not yet been used together on drones in this way, are supplemented by a low-cost sensor. This is used to estimate the error made by simple and inexpensive devices. In test operation, one focus is on minimizing environmental influences. Here, pressure, temperature, and humidity fluctuations are simulated in the laboratory, and the effects on the measurements are considered. For the field measurements, a data acquisition system is being developed that stores all data on board the drone with high resolution and transmits key parameters such as pressure, temperature, and particle concentration to the ground station via radio transmission. The information is needed for short-term flight planning and adjustment, which is possible with drones in contrast to other airborne systems. After implementing, characterizing, and optimizing the measuring devices and the complete drone system, two measurement campaigns will be conducted at the Melpitz environmental research station near Leipzig. There, a zone for flight operations (ED-R 45) is located, where the planned vertical measurements up to 500 m height can be carried out at any time. In addition to the scientific evaluation of the data regarding source attribution, one focus will be on evaluating the measurement uncertainties. These will be compared with other studies, but furthermore, the devices used in this project (well-characterized versus low-cost) will be compared concerning effort, costs, and resulting measurement uncertainty.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 2433: Metrology on flying platforms