EME Systems, LLC

Berkeley Air Monitoring Group happily picks up its order.

Here is a paper that came out of a project in which we've been involved: http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajphr/2/6/3/index.html The researchers are studying the use of sounds to indicate the level of indoor air quality to people working, playing, etc. in a room. We developed a custom OWL3pro that connected to an off-the-shelf, high-precision particle monitor (Dylos DC1700; http://www.dylosproducts.com/). Based on the output of the Dylos monitor, the custom OWL3pro intermittently em...its a tone that is consistent with the current air quality. The tones emitted are based on the researchers' findings of what sounds convey the correct message (e.g. soft, soothing tones for good air quality, siren-like sounds for bad air quality). An LED also gives people a quick-glace understanding of the current air quality: green=good, red=bad. In addition to the real-time notifications, the OWL3pro keeps a record of the air quality data on an SD card for later analysis. In the attached photo, the custom OWL3pro is the smaller enclosure to the left, and the Dylos is on the right. Bellettiere, J. , Hughes, S. C. , Liles, S. , Boman-Davis, M. , Klepeis, N. E. , Blumberg, E. , Mills, J. , Berardi, V. , Obayashi, S. , Allen, T. T. , & Hovell, M. F. (2014). Developing and Selecting Auditory Warnings for a Real-Time Behavioral Intervention. American Journal of Public Health Research, 2(6), 232-238.

Boards galore! A batch of boards just came back from being assembled by our friends at Altest Corporation. These are "PATS+" units, destined for use in particulate monitoring around the globe.

We installed a Digi Xbee radio (ww.digi.com/xbee) on top of one of the drones being sent to India for air quality studies. The radio sends altitude, particulate levels, and - importantly - battery voltage back to the quadcopter's pilot standing on the ground. With the radio installed, the pilot knows whether to fly higher, lower, or land, in the case of a low battery. The quadcopters used in this project are the Parallax Inc. Elev-8 V2 kits (http://www.parallax.com/product/80200) and DJI Phantom (http://www.dji.com/product/phantom).

Our founder as a young mad scientist

Gian and Ajay pose in front of our newly built quad-copter.