New partnership to integrate air quality sensors for smart city initiatives in the UK

EarthSense recently announced a partnership with leading UK data analytics professionals, Proximity Futures, as a Zephyr® sensor distributor. 

Proximity Futures will distribute Zephyr® air quality sensors for use by UK local authorities in their Internet of Things (IoT) networks. The data provision specialists will work across council departments - including highways, town centre planning, strategic planning, and economic and regeneration development to implement air quality networks in shopping centres and car parks in cities and towns, with a particular focus on towns in rural areas.

Measurements from the EarthSense Zephyr® sensors will be integrated with Proximity Futures’ online dashboard, Intelli-Sense, to display real-time data for local pollution levels which will be presented alongside external datasets such as footfall in town and city centres and vehicle counting in car parks. The integration of Zephyr®measurements on the dashboard allows comparisons to be made to highlight how one dataset influences the other. 

Using this data, Proximity Futures will work with local authorities to support future decisions about how to best manage footfall and vehicle numbers, and their impact on air quality levels in cities and towns. Transport departments will be able to establish how introducing timed road closures may improve air pollution levels prior to implementation, and mobility planners will gain insights into how incentivising communities to make sustainable transport decisions reduces pollution levels throughout town centres. Automated, customisable, and downloadable reports will also be available as part of the service.

Zephyr® sensors are available as standalone units or can be deployed as air quality networks around cities as mobile or static devices, delivering detailed insight into air quality at local levels or areas across whole towns and cities. Zephyr® sensors provide real-time measures for ambient pollutants including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrous oxide (NO), ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2) and particulate matter PM1, PM10 and PM2.5, along with temperature, pressure, and humidity, allowing for a detailed understanding of ambient air pollution levels and how environmental factors impact measured concentrations.

EarthSense Managing Director, Tom Hall commented on the partnership, “Having Proximity Futures on board as a Zephyr® distributor for the IoT in local authorities means a lot in terms of public health. The partnership means we can increase monitoring of air quality across the UK and gather an even better understanding of the way pollution behaves in different locations. Councils could have some of the biggest impact on ambient air quality through implementing such a variety of extensive initiatives, so it is vital we have their involvement to look at how the city behaves holistically. 

Proximity Futures’ Technical Director, Rod Rayner said “The integration of Zephyr® data on to the Intelli-Sense dashboard brings great benefits to authorities who want to look into pollution levels as it joins up communications between different departments. The better the interaction and understanding between each level of council, the quicker we can highlight the most effective ways to improve air quality levels and become a more sustainable country with healthier communities.”