UC3M creates prototype for remote traffic-pollution-detection system

Sept. 16, 2013
Madrid, Spain--A group of research centers and companies in which the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) participates has created the first infrared (IR) and remote system able to detect pollutants from cars on highways up to three lanes on a side.

Madrid, Spain--A group of research centers and companies in which the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) participates has created the first infrared (IR) and remote system able to detect pollutants from cars on highways up to three lanes on a side. Their goal is to be able to conduct a global test of automobile emissions.

The prototype, which is developed and ready to be marketed, can make an intelligent measure of highway traffic by collecting real-time data on traffic density, emissions, and consumption associated with each vehicle, along with weather conditions. With this information, the impact of traffic on the environment can be analyzed. It detects excess pollutants from each vehicle, say its creators, who work within the framework of the INNPACTO project, led by the company Technet and employing researchers from CIEMAT, the company Tevaseñal, and the UC3M.

Narrowband-filter wheel

The prototype developed in the Infrared Lab of the UC3M is based on the modification of an IR multispectral imaging camera with narrowband interference filters. “These filters are located in a wheel that turns at a high speed in front of the detector and they provide consecutive images of the same scene on different bands, which allows for remote detection of some unburned gases (CO2, CO, and hydrocarbons),” explains Fernando López, head of the UC3M’s Infrared Lab, where he has also overseen the creation of software for measuring gas concentrations.

About 5% of vehicles are responsible for more than 90% of toxic emissions. With the new system, it can be determined which vehicle types pollute more; policies that facilitate their identification can then be created. the UC3M scientists say that with this approach, not only would traffic emissions (CO2, CO, NOx, HC, and PM) be reduced, but energy efficiency would likely increase as well, given that a decrease of emissions always implies less consumption. In addition, measures for optimizing consumption and emissions could be adopted, like varying speed limits on high capacity roads that enter and exit big cities.

According to its creators, the device is the only prototype on the market capable of measuring the emissions of each vehicle circulating on a high-capacity road (one that has more than two lanes). To test the effectiveness of the system, the researchers recently carried out a final demonstration on the A6 highway near Madrid, installing equipment that measured the concentrations of pollutants coming from all the vehicles on the road.

Several companies have already have expressed interest in the project.

Source: http://www.uc3m.es/portal/page/portal/actualidad_cientifica/noticias/Pollution_Detection

About the Author

John Wallace | Senior Technical Editor (1998-2022)

John Wallace was with Laser Focus World for nearly 25 years, retiring in late June 2022. He obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and physics at Rutgers University and a master's in optical engineering at the University of Rochester. Before becoming an editor, John worked as an engineer at RCA, Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and GCA Corporation.

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