:00:00. > :00:31.This week is the BBC's So I Can Breathe season,
:00:32. > :00:33.looking at ways to tackle air pollution around the world.
:00:34. > :00:37.We are out on the streets of London to test a new camera
:00:38. > :00:41.It has a particular sensitivity to a range of gases
:00:42. > :00:43.which are invisible to the human eye.
:00:44. > :00:47.The camera is supposed to be used by experts who know
:00:48. > :00:48.what they're looking for in the numbers
:00:49. > :00:52.and colours that they see and it's really supposed to be used
:00:53. > :00:58.in industrial locations as well, where you are looking for gas leaks.
:00:59. > :01:01.But, I must say, even here I can see sprays
:01:02. > :01:04.coming from some of the exhaust pipes through this camera
:01:05. > :01:17.Now, if you want to tackle air pollution problems across a city,
:01:18. > :01:20.you have to know where the pollution is coming from
:01:21. > :01:27.That is something that Mark Cieslak has been investigating.
:01:28. > :01:29.Poor air quality, as a result of pollution,
:01:30. > :01:34.poses a serious risk to public health.
:01:35. > :01:39.The Global Burden of Disease data now suggests that a lack of
:01:40. > :01:42.clean air is the third leading cause of death in the world
:01:43. > :01:45.after high blood pressure and smoking.
:01:46. > :01:48.But whether it triggers allergies or asthma,
:01:49. > :01:51.understanding the exact challenges pollution causes,
:01:52. > :02:02.The more precise the information is, the better we can come up
:02:03. > :02:08.We can identify areas where there are particular problems.
:02:09. > :02:11.Action to gather that even more precise data about pollution
:02:12. > :02:18.is being taken on the other side of the Atlantic, in Chicago.
:02:19. > :02:20.Because of Chicago's location in the Midwest
:02:21. > :02:22.and the fact that it is a large city,
:02:23. > :02:26.it is something of a transport hub for road, rail and air travellers.
:02:27. > :02:28.All those different types of vehicles
:02:29. > :02:34.don't do the city's air quality any favours.
:02:35. > :02:37.Here, a system is being installed which has been dubbed
:02:38. > :02:44.It is called the Array of Things, and when it is completed
:02:45. > :02:46.it will be a citywide network of sensors, or nodes,
:02:47. > :02:50.The array will monitor a variety of different things,
:02:51. > :02:53.from traffic levels to local climate as well as monitoring
:02:54. > :02:59.Eventually, all of the data the Array gathers will be
:03:00. > :03:11.made available online for anybody to use.
:03:12. > :03:15.We have come just outside of Chicago to the Argonne National Laboratory.
:03:16. > :03:17.It is part of the US Department of Energy
:03:18. > :03:26.and is the birthplace of the Array of Things.
:03:27. > :03:34.The donor is really into air quality, so they are really excited.
:03:35. > :03:38.Here, the team behind the array continue to refine the sensor boxes
:03:39. > :03:41.and the technology they contain, liaising with city officials
:03:42. > :03:45.and arranging the continued roll-out of the network across the city.
:03:46. > :03:50.This is the guts, if you like, of the Array of Things nodes.
:03:51. > :03:53.Which part here is the air quality sensor?
:03:54. > :03:58.Each one here is a specific cell attuned to a specific
:03:59. > :04:02.This a ozone, this is a sulphur dioxide sensor.
:04:03. > :04:09.Nitrogen dioxide sensor and there's a token reducing gases.
:04:10. > :04:13.Installation of the array began towards the end of 2016.
:04:14. > :04:18.By the end of 2018, 500 nodes are planned for the network,
:04:19. > :04:22.spread across different parts of the city.
:04:23. > :04:24.Charlie Catlett is the Array of Things project lead.
:04:25. > :04:32.of some of the city's earlier sensor sites.
:04:33. > :04:35.So, Charlie, this is the site of one of your first sensors,
:04:36. > :04:43.This one here does the air quality, not just the general air quality
:04:44. > :04:48.but this one will tell us seven different gases and so that means
:04:49. > :04:51.we can say, well, this one is reading this gas
:04:52. > :04:53.particularly high and we know that that that is associated
:04:54. > :04:59.The new ones that we are putting in, we have added a new sensor
:05:00. > :05:03.What we can do with this particle sensor is we can look
:05:04. > :05:05.at the very fine particles that are measured
:05:06. > :05:10.The smaller particles are the ones you cannot see
:05:11. > :05:13.but they are really the most dangerous one.
:05:14. > :05:16.They will go straight into your bloodstream.
:05:17. > :05:19.The large ones are what triggers allergies.
:05:20. > :05:22.So if you are somebody that's got allergies related to asthma,
:05:23. > :05:26.you will be able to use the data from these nodes to look at pollen
:05:27. > :05:30.across the city and you might decide to change your cycle route you take
:05:31. > :05:33.to school or work, based on maybe where the pollen concentration
:05:34. > :05:40.Chicago is not alone when it comes to pollution monitoring.
:05:41. > :05:43.For example, in London, we there's a system called Nowcast,
:05:44. > :05:47.which combines historical pollution data with current pollution
:05:48. > :05:49.measurements to provide an hourly update of pollution levels
:05:50. > :06:00.Array of Things nodes have been installed in other US cities
:06:01. > :06:03.with one in Seattle and another in Denver and there is interest
:06:04. > :06:06.in the system internationally as well.
:06:07. > :06:10.The data generated by the Array of Things will be used
:06:11. > :06:13.by researchers, scientists and healthcare professionals to get
:06:14. > :06:19.a better picture of the effects of poor air quality and pollution.
:06:20. > :06:22.When it comes to turning this information into action,
:06:23. > :06:32.Brennna Berman and Tom Schenk both work for the city of Chicago
:06:33. > :06:36.and are figuring out how the Array of Things can help the city
:06:37. > :06:43.We have pockets of increased rates of asthma among our children that
:06:44. > :06:48.doctors have known about for quite some time but they do not have a lot
:06:49. > :06:51.of information about why they happen in certain areas of the city.
:06:52. > :06:55.The role of the Array of Things is really to help us understand
:06:56. > :06:57.the patterns and issues with air quality in Chicago
:06:58. > :07:00.at a detailed level because you cannot fix a problem
:07:01. > :07:02.if you cannot define it and understand it.
:07:03. > :07:05.We might be thinking about how heavy pollutant vehicles can
:07:06. > :07:10.The City of Chicago has installed hundreds of miles of bike lanes,
:07:11. > :07:13.across the city of Chicago but there is some very clear
:07:14. > :07:16.research showing that inhaling diesel fumes,
:07:17. > :07:18.especially by cyclists as they are riding alongs traffic,
:07:19. > :07:23.So it really helps us picture and take a good look
:07:24. > :07:26.at where the bike avenues are and how that corresponds
:07:27. > :07:32.If you have a school or another sort of vulnerable location very close
:07:33. > :07:36.to an area that has increased air quality challenges,
:07:37. > :07:40.the data from the Array of Things will give us the ability to define
:07:41. > :07:44.A good example here in Chicago will actucally be the very quickly
:07:45. > :07:47.growing neighbourhood on the west side.
:07:48. > :07:49.It has quickly evolved into one of our trendiest residential
:07:50. > :07:57.But it is also crisscrossed by any number of street level railroads.
:07:58. > :08:01.By looking at data, by using this data such as the Array of Things,
:08:02. > :08:04.we are going to be able to make thos decisions more confidently
:08:05. > :08:08.and we are going to know that better than in fact many other cities
:08:09. > :08:12.have the ability to know that, because of the data that we look at.
:08:13. > :08:15.Here, the technology clearly has a role to play in the fight
:08:16. > :08:18.But the big pollution-busting powers lay with local
:08:19. > :08:33.Back in London, I'm checking out a pollution monitoring device
:08:34. > :08:42.With this water tank, they can launch their prototype.
:08:43. > :08:46.Oops, I knocked a thing into your tank.
:08:47. > :08:50.They even have their own wind tunnel.
:08:51. > :08:53.Imperial College's AquaMAV is a drone that can fly
:08:54. > :08:59.through the air, dive into the water and then leap out again.
:09:00. > :09:05.All the while, gathering data to give us a greater understanding
:09:06. > :09:09.of pollution levels above and below the surface.
:09:10. > :09:17.The plan is to release a swarm of them into an area of concern.
:09:18. > :09:19.This is our response to extreme environments or post-disaster
:09:20. > :09:24.applications such as after floods, toxic spills, or oil spills,
:09:25. > :09:31.There are different classes of applications and capability to do
:09:32. > :09:36.sampling with an automated, low-cost tool brings an enormous
:09:37. > :09:39.value compared to many other methods such as the human
:09:40. > :09:48.going there with a full protective suit.
:09:49. > :09:52.I was going to say, we have seen a lot of aquatic robots and we have
:09:53. > :09:56.It never occurred to me that is quite difficult to get
:09:57. > :09:59.an underwater robot over great distances quickly and,
:10:00. > :10:09.So, yes, we will just dive it in the water and then dive it out
:10:10. > :10:13.In some applications it is not even accessible through the water,
:10:14. > :10:16.in floods or floating ice, you may not get there via water.
:10:17. > :10:20.On the other side, an aerial beacon may not be able to get
:10:21. > :10:22.the information that local people need, so combining
:10:23. > :10:28.During a dive, the AquaMAV fills with water and then by releasing
:10:29. > :10:33.carbon dioxide from its on-board gas chamber it forces the water back out
:10:34. > :10:37.as a high-powered jet which thrusts the drone back upwards,
:10:38. > :10:43.And then the wings unfold and it comes out of the water and it
:10:44. > :10:48.beautifully becomes this flying birdlike thing.
:10:49. > :10:55.That was a very romantic description.
:10:56. > :10:59.Now you know how romantic I am and what I get excited about.
:11:00. > :11:02.There is a beautiful part of it which makes it elegant.
:11:03. > :11:05.And elegance in nature that makes it effective as well.
:11:06. > :11:08.Having the folding wings might look beautiful but for us it allows us
:11:09. > :11:11.to reduce the drag that it would experience as it dives
:11:12. > :11:15.in the water and allows it to dive more deeply,
:11:16. > :11:25.as well as protecting the wings on impact.
:11:26. > :11:35.The use it for the short cut to click. Join us on Twitter for laser
:11:36. > :11:45.tech news and behind the scenes gossip. Next week join us for two
:11:46. > :11:48.special clicks from India. Thank you for watching. See you then.