CUP Undergraduate Research
Date of Award
Spring 4-1-2019
Document Type
Thesis
College
College of Arts & Sciences
Department
Math & Science
Degree Name
Biology, BA
First Advisor
Matthew Wise, Ph.D.
Abstract
The traditional method of measuring air quality uses large immobile sensors. These sensors can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. If small, low-cost sensors are proven reliable then they can be attached to a drone for air quality management. The K30 Carbon Dioxide sensor from CO2Meter.com was used for testing. The BME280 sensor from Adafruit was used to measure humidity and temperature. A Raspberry Pi was used as an electronic controller and the programming was written in Python. After testing was completed, the K30 Carbon Dioxide sensor was found inadequate for atmospheric testing. The BME280 was determined effective for air quality sensing as long as the relative humidity was below 75%.