IIT Kanpur to install sensors to pinpoint pollution sources in real time across city

The system, developed under the Airavat model and linked to an intelligent decision support system, uses artificial intelligence to analyse data from the sensor network.

The city will soon be able to trace sudden spikes in air pollution to their likely source, with a network of 125 sensors installed by IIT Kanpur expected to become operational for municipal action from October.

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Unlike conventional air quality monitoring, which primarily records pollution levels, the new system will alert the Kanpur Nagar Nigam (KNN) control room when pollution rises sharply in a particular area and provide an analysis of what may have caused the increase.

The system, developed under the Airavat model and linked to an intelligent decision support system, uses artificial intelligence to analyse data from the sensor network. It can identify the likely source of pollutants, the direction in which they are drifting and the time at which they were generated, within an area of roughly one kilometre.

Prof Sachchidanand Tripathi, dean of the Kotak School of Sustainability at IIT Kanpur, said a dedicated standard operating procedure had been prepared for municipal officials so that they could respond to alerts generated by the system.

The Kanpur model is also being taken up elsewhere. Formal agreements have been signed for similar systems in Lucknow and three urban areas associated with Delhi.

Prof Tripathi also said that a separate smart urban mobility initiative is being developed for Delhi. An integrated mobile application is being developed to provide commuters with real-time, end-to-end public transport options for journeys from point A to point B on a single platform.