AQMesh processes and stores all readings on its bespoke secure server which can be accessed by a website login or API to integrate with other systems, or it can be simple emailed to you at your preferred schedule.
The benefits of processing and managing air quality readings on a cloud server are many and covered in our other points about data reliability and security. It also means users have a great range of options for data access. An increasing number of users choose to call data from our server to their own using secure API commands, where data can be analysed, stored or published and our fast data processing supports applications which need quick delivery of local air quality information, such as fence line monitoring around plants. Secure login access offers data visualisation and the ability to change settings online, as well as data download.
The carefully developed data processing algorithms used by AQMesh are fully traceable and fixed by version number, and, unlike other systems, have been achieved with no use of machine learning or artificial intelligence.
Improvements in sensor technology and our understanding of how sensors respond in different conditions (from datasets of AQMesh pods co-located with reference stations around the world) have allowed us to make step changes in the accuracy of data. Each of these steps is released as a specific algorithm version, with a version number which is stamped onto each reading: total traceability.
The corrections which make up each algorithm use fixed equations to give total repeatability and this approach has earned the approval of senior air quality experts. This differs fundamentally from Artificial Intelligence (AI) which has its place but, in our opinion, not here. We have tried using AI and have seen how readily calculations can be led by dominant factors beneath the sensor signal, such as environmental conditions.
So what if a new algorithm is released? You have no obligation to adopt it if you are part way through a study, but every AQMesh user, no matter how old their pod, is welcome to take advantage of a new algorithm, at no charge.
Robust hardware, wireless communications and the secure AQMeshData server mean AQMesh pods can easily reconnect themselves and continue to capture data if power is ever interrupted. Faults or failures can be detected, diagnosed and resolved swiftly and remotely, without the need to visit the equipment.
A range of power sources can be used with AQMesh but whether a pod is installed with a continuous power supply, such as battery or solar with backup battery, or whether a simple 12V DC power supply is used, you can be confident that when the power comes back on, the pod will carry on where it left off, with no corruptions or failures to connect. This is not the case with all small sensor systems.
Our latest on-board firmware also allows pod firmware to be updated remotely and can be power cycled remotely should a problem occur, as well as offering a range of diagnostic information which can help identify and address local power issues.
AQMesh has been on the market and in the field since 2012, with some customers still successfully operating the exact same pods they received nine years ago.
As well as designing our product in the UK, every pod is manufactured at our UK premises. Our background is in manufacture of rugged environmental monitoring equipment and AQMesh was designed to work in any conditions. Pods have survived (and produced good data) in conditions ranging from desert to monsoon. Look at the countries where AQMesh has been used. AQMesh pods have even been in use in sulphurous volcanic areas and kept on monitoring as infrastructure corroded around them.
Our confidence in the robustness of AQMesh is reflected in the warranty we offer for pods: we expect pods to be working in the field for years and we always support and upgrade pods as long as they are in use. We are disappointed when we hear generalised expectations that small sensor systems are only expected to last for a couple of years, as this is certainly not the case with AQMesh and we can prove it.
AQMesh pods can measure just one gas or up to six gases, particles, noise and wind speed & direction. Humidity, pressure and pod temperature are always measured.
“You can measure all that with just one unit?” is a common exclamation when potential customers are presented with an AQMesh pod. It is very convenient to be able to install and manage a wide range of sensors in a single piece of hardware and maybe even more so to have access to each of those data channels, with a common time stamp, delivered together. Watch out for similar products which theoretically offer a wide range of measurements but actually are quite limited about what can be measured by a single unit.
So what is the point measuring so many pollutants? For a start, offering temperature, pressure and RH% as standard offers useful metadata, as well as environmental measurements in their own right. We regularly look at temperature measurements of co-located pods to identify local issues that may be affecting data. Although your interest may primarily be in a single measurement (such as NO2) taking other measurements alongside (such as CO2) can provide context and even insight into pollution sources to help ensure that the correct conclusion is drawn from changes in pollutant levels.
Related to this, choosing the AQMesh wind speed and direction sensor as an option provides key information alongside pollution data. Analysing pollution with reference to wind speed and direction can increase the information about local and distant sources, understanding local pollution distribution, and allow the largest possible area to be meaningfully monitored with the smallest possible number of measurements nodes.
AQMesh pods are neat, compact and easy install within just a few minutes and experienced technical staff are not required. A 90 second installation video shows just how quick it is to be up and running.
We have been up the ladders and understand that you only have two hands. A great deal of thought, experience and feedback has gone into how AQMesh is installed. We used to sell separate fittings but realised that things are often not quite what you expected on site, or that even the best laid plans can change. So we supply universal fittings which require the minimum amount of time up a ladder or on a busy street to handle. Our simple installation video shows how we recommend the pods are installed and proves that 20 pods can be successfully installed in one morning.
Obviously the battery-powered pods are easiest to install but we have also gone the extra mile on solar and DC power supply. Our solar pack is not just a solar panel: the whole optimised back-up battery and smart charging unit which supports – and tilts – the solar panel also mounts to a post with a small number of universal fittings that are supplied. We also have a video to show this, as well as an app to confirm that charging levels are correct before you leave the site.
As not all power supplies are equal, in many ways, we supply as standard a fully tested weatherproof AC to DC transformer, to ensure that the power supply reaching the equipment is as smooth as possible, allowing AQMesh to achieve the unparalleled sensitivity at single figure ppb which has been consistently demonstrated.
Of course a benefit of being able to install a pod easily is that it is equally as easy to move around, monitoring in the locations your project requires, including co-location with reference.
Have you asked exactly how other small sensor systems are installed? What tools you need? How long you will have to be up a ladder? How heavy / awkward the equipment is? Have they proven to you that it is easy?