ARIA

Air quality and pollution sources detection system
June 2018 - Turin, Italy
Academic Project

ARIA is a project developed by a group of international PhD and MBA students. It is the winner of the program Innovation for Change 2018, an initiative organized by Politecnico di Torino, Collège des Ingénieurs and CERN, which aims to find innovative solutions to global issues, according to an entrepreneurial startup program that uses breakthrough technologies. Every year, it is estimated that air pollution kills more than 3 million people worldwide. Urbanization trends will make this problem even more serious, increasing deaths by 50% in 2040. ARIA provides real-time data about air pollution through a network of movable sensors installed on public transportation all over the city. PM2.5 and PM10 results are interpolated with data collected from satellites, such as ground temperature, weather conditions and traffic. A fluid dynamic, machine learning algorithm matches and processes the information. The result of the analysis is not only the detailed and real-time measurements of air pollutants, but especially the recognition of their sources. Municipalities and institutions can use the data to design solutions to improve air quality, as a basis for complex decision making under critical conditions, such as pollution peaks. Information may also be available to insurances, real estate companies and energy providers. Private citizens, sportsmen and sensible groups are given the possibility to consult a basic database about real-time air pollution in their area. In the long term, ARIA will be able to provide tailor-made, data-driven consultancy to municipalities and institutions, playing a crucial role in the smart management of future cities.