Serinus™ equipped Google Street View cars monitor air quality in London

21 Nov 2018

Google Street View cars are monitoring air pollution in London with Acoem Serinus gas analysers on board

Acoem Australasia together with Acoem UK (formerly known as Air Monitors Ltd) are delivering a landmark air quality monitoring solution as part of Breathe London, a new C40 Cities pilot program.

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group connects 96 cities that are leading the way towards a healthier and more sustainable future.

The group, representing 700+ million citizens, is committed to delivering on the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement at a local level and cleaning the air we breathe.

The winning London C40 Cities bid by Air Monitors Ltd, EDF Europe, CERC, NPL, Cambridge University and Google Earth Outreach, comprised a network of 100 multiparameter AQMesh air quality monitors, plus operating two Google Street View cars fitted with a comprehensive suite of analysers to measure air pollution. The Google Street View cars will drive around the city almost every day for the pilot period of one year. Acoem is now the exclusive distributor for AQMesh in Australia and India.

In July 2018, the program, described by C40 Cities as “the world’s most sophisticated air quality monitoring system,” took to the streets of London with Acoem Serinus 40 gas analysers on board delivering real-time, continuous analysis of nitric oxide (NO) and total oxides of nitrogen (NOx) present in the city’s air.

The Google Street View cars will also measure meteorological and air quality parameters including temperature, humidity, pressure, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2), PM2.5 particulates, nano-particles and black carbon.

Local production, global standard

The Serinus instruments were all manufactured in India and Australia as a collaborative project between Acoem international offices. Acoem Australasia’s Research and Development team worked closely with Acoem UK to customise the Serinus firmware to ensure that the unique requirements of this vehicle-mounted monitoring solution were met.

Acoem UK is responsible for the wireless collection of data, which is automatically transmitted to its cloud-based data management system. Results are accessed by PC, tablet or smartphone, so that air quality can be consistently visualised and mapped in real time.

Locked and loaded! Inside a Google Street View car. Acoem Serinus 40 NOx gas analyser pictured bottom left.

“The Google Street View cars are taking readings every second, or every 30 metres whilst driving, helping us find pollution hot-spots, so AQMesh pods can be positioned there and in other sensitive locations, such as schools and hospitals,” commented Jim Mills, Air Monitors Ltd Founder and now Acoem consultant. “Having worked with Acoem Australasia (formerly known as Ecotech) for several decades, incorporating the Serinus 40 in this ground-breaking project was an obvious choice,” he added.

Commitment to improving air quality

“We welcome the opportunity to make a positive, long-lasting contribution to improving London’s air quality,” said Felicity Sharp, Country Operating Officer, Acoem UK. “The C40 Cities pilot is another example of the way Acoem works across geographical regions to provide environmental solutions that help solve global problems,” she added.

To learn more about the London C40 Cities air quality monitoring project, contact Jim Mills at jim.mills@acoem.com For more information about Acoem Serinus gas analysers, visit www.acoem.com or contact Keith Webster at keith.webster@acoem.com

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