pp. 2153-2171
S&M4048 Research Paper https://doi.org/10.18494/SAM5449 Published: June 10, 2025 Drone-based Air Quality Monitoring: Development and Evaluation of Low-Cost PM2.5 Sensor for Remote Environmental Assessment [PDF] Mohd Shahrul Mohd Nadzir, Utbah Rabuan, Sawal Hamid Md Ali, Jintu Borah, Shubhankar Majumdar, and Muhammad Saufy Rohmad (Received December 19, 2024; Accepted May 14, 2025) Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), low-cost air quality sensors (LCSs), particulate matters
Localized air pollution from open burning, waste disposal, and gas emissions remains difficult to monitor effectively, especially in inaccessible areas. Conventional air quality monitoring methods are often costly, stationary, and inadequate in coverage. We present AirborneSense, a novel unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based monitoring system equipped with low-cost particulate matter (PM2.5) sensors, GPS, and environmental sensors (temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure), using the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) to transmit real-time data to the cloud. The HPMA1115 PM2.5 sensor was chosen for its high accuracy, R2 > 0.7, and a calibrated RMSE of 1.98, compliant with US EPA standards. Field tests were carried out at various altitudes and locations to evaluate system accuracy and adaptability. At higher altitudes, AirborneSense demonstrated its peak sensor performance with an R2 value of 0.78, maintaining consistency with reference analyzers (R2 = 0.73). The system effectively mapped pollution, revealing elevated PM concentrations in construction zones and significantly lower levels in rural areas. The findings underscore the potential of UAV-based systems to enhance spatial and temporal environmental assessments, providing a scalable, cost-effective tool for comprehensive pollution monitoring and management.
Corresponding author: Mohd Shahrul Mohd Nadzir![]() ![]() This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Cite this article Mohd Shahrul Mohd Nadzir, Utbah Rabuan, Sawal Hamid Md Ali, Jintu Borah, Shubhankar Majumdar, and Muhammad Saufy Rohmad, Drone-based Air Quality Monitoring: Development and Evaluation of Low-Cost PM2.5 Sensor for Remote Environmental Assessment, Sens. Mater., Vol. 37, No. 6, 2025, p. 2153-2171. |