Air Sensor Research and Reports
EPA conducts research to advance the development and application of air sensor technologies, with the goal of making them useful for a wide variety of non-regulatory applications. These include enhancing public information about air quality, understanding source emissions events, and exploring spatial and temporal air pollution variability.
Researchers are evaluating sensor technology, developing new integrated measurement solutions, applying sensors to meet specific research objectives, and exploring new strategies to analyze and interpret high time-resolution measurement data.
The objectives are to:
- Enhance current monitoring activities by states, Tribes and communities.
- Provide new air quality data at the local level and near air pollution sources.
- Improve access to air monitoring for the public interested in conducting their own air quality measurements.
- Provide new strategies to characterize air quality and air pollutant emissions.
Air Sensor Research
Researchers are evaluating sensor technology, developing new integrated measurement solutions, applying sensors to meet specific research objectives, and exploring new strategies to analyze and interpret high time-resolution measurement data.
To help those interested in using sensors as part of air monitoring projects, EPA researchers evaluate sensors for how well they measure air pollutants and how easy they are to use. Placing the sensors near a regulation grade monitor, researchers collect data on air quality with both technologies. By assessing these data collected under the same air quality and weather conditions, researchers can compare how accurate and reliable low-cost technologies are to traditional methods.
Evaluation of Emerging Air Sensor Performance
Reports and Publications
EPA regularly publishes technical reports that provide summaries of research and other findings related to air sensor technologies. Researchers also publish results of their studies in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Partnerships
EPA collaborates with numerous organizations to carry out its research priorities. Many research partnerships fall under the Federal Technology Transfer Act (FTTA) that enables EPA to collaborate on research efforts and share research materials.
Grants are an important part of EPA’s research program, including those awarded by the Science To Achieve Results (STAR) program and the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. Prize-based Challenges are also strategies to encourage innovation from the wide community toward a specific unsolved problem.