Air quality flight test using a Zeppelin platform
Air pollution is a known global threat, and today a lot more people are aware and concerned about the negative health effects of it. However, there are also other invisible threats in the air such as deadly gases that misuse our atmosphere and can harm us. If we could see or feel them, we would surely alarm the warning bell about the bad air quality. But is that enough?
What if we could monitor them and make these gases visible? Well imagine a high-tech dog that flies like an eagle sniffing trough the air, detecting a whole range of gases and pollutants. To make sense of the collected data, we would need satellites and a fixed high-performance air sampling sensor that can measure these gases.
That is the FLAIR research project. A Consortium with seven different participants, from five countries in Europe, including Senseair. The project started in 2016 and is co-funded by the European Unions’ Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. Within this project Senseair integrated an existing high-performance sensor with multi-pass absorption cell technology into the total optical and gas sampling systems that resulted in a user friendly device. With the project deadline this year, 2020, it is time for an update on its progress.
We are pleased to reveal that FLAIR Consortium successfully performed its first flying test using a Zeppelin platform. This initial test was conducted to validate the system functionality of FLAIR and was overseen by scientists from EMPA and CSEM. When flying above a controlled release area, high concentration of methane was detected and the results are being evaluated at the moment. Stay tuned!
For more information and updates about the FLAIR research project, please click on the link below to visit the website.
There is also a documentary showing the people behind FLAIR and their passion to solve and important problem – Better air quality. Please have a look and share.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_JUkMY_FMY
FLAIR project is an initiative of the Photonics Public Private Partnership co-funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 732968.