IIT Kanpur & Ericsson team up to monitor the rising pollution levels in Delhi

Delhi has always been at the top of the pollution radar. It’s of course because of factors like too many vehicles, the massive population levels, ineffective pollution management amidst other reasons! The need of the hour is to monitor the rise and development of pollutants in the city and to devise ways to minimize it.

Along similar lines, we have news which is making us aware about the occurrences in the city, in terms of air contamination and steps being undertaken by the authorities.

What’s the News?

Heeding to the needs of the capital, IIT Kanpur and Ericsson have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deploy a NB-IoT based sensor network to monitor air pollution in Delhi.

As part of this official agreement, Ericsson will implement locally-developed air quality sensors that are capable of sharing and monitoring environmental data at defined time intervals. This will lead to an in-depth analysis of the collected data from different locales of the city. The results will be further shared with local authorities and other key stakeholders in the venture, on a periodic basis to keep everyone in the loop.

According to various sources, these will be "India’s first NB-IoT based low cost Particulate Matter sensors" and the gathered information will be of crucial help in addressing pollution issues.

This partnership also includes working with community-based organizations to raise awareness regarding air pollution and it’ll create a dialogue on how to reduce it.

Nitin Bansal, head of Ericsson India, stated that the NB-IoT based-sensors would be placed at strategic locations in the city. "The sensors are automated and will relay information on defined time intervals, providing data on pollution levels, sources and locations in a sustainable and cost-efficient way," he mentioned.

This step is actually making us heave sighs of relief since we, Delhizens, know that the pollution quandary in the city is taking our breath away and we don’t mean it in a good way! With this step, we can only hope for the best and do our part to slash the causes.