Development of an airborne pollution measurement system

The Sky-scan Atmospheric Monitoring Instrument (SAMI) consists of a low pro-fi le, autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that provides a platform for remotely sampling airborne contaminants in real-time over large distances. In this manner, the SAMI may be used to acquire pollutant concentration at various altitudes, relevant, for example, to smokestack emissions, and in high-risk locations where conditions hazardous to humans may exist. The SAMI system employs an innovative miniaturized pollution measurement device that captures discrete gas samples at programmed intervals during flight and records the corresponding pollutant concentration using an on-board data logger. The pollution measurement device integrates seamlessly with the body of the UAV and directly interfaces with the autopilot hardware/software. The pollution measurement device draws/expels gas into/out of the sampling chamber by taking advantage of the pressure drop that naturally occurs over the surface of the aircraft. This eliminates the need for an external pump, thereby aff ording signifi cant weight and cost savings. The present thesis documents the response characteristics of the SAMI system and demonstrates the functionality of the system for the specifi c pollutant carbon monoxide (CO). The potential application is real-time monitoring of air pollution dispersion due to automobile traffic.