Background
Pesticides spraying, quarry operations, and residential and road construction projects often emit fine particles that the wind can blow into residential areas. Existing dust propagation monitoring systems are expensive to install and operate. A simpler, more affordable solution would make it possible to use this monitoring technique in a greater number of potentially hazardous situations.
Solution
Our team of researchers has developed a simple and effective remote sensing device. With a range of more than 100 m, it performs 360º scans of areas adjacent to work sites and identifies the relative concentration of particles suspended in the air to allow precise mapping of the progression of particle clouds. The system gives operators real time information on the situation and stores the data compiled for more indepth analysis later on.