Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Systems (ICAIS-2021)

IEEE Xplore Part Number: CFP21OAB-ART; ISBN: 978-1-7281-9537-7

Smart Embedded Framework using Arduino and IoT

for Real-Time Noise and Air Pollution Monitoring
and Alert system
2021 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Systems (ICAIS) | 978-1-7281-9537-7/20/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ICAIS50930.2021.9396041

Janeera.D.A Poovizhi.H Sheik Haseena.S.S Nivetha.S

Assistant Professor, Department of ECE, Sri Department of ECE, Sri Department of ECE, Sri
Department of ECE, Sri Krishna College of Krishna College of Krishna College of
Krishna College of Engineering and Engineering and Engineering and
Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore Technology, Coimbatore Technology, Coimbatore
Technology, Coimbatore 18euec514@skcet.ac.in 18euec520@skcet.ac.in 18euec512@skcet.ac
janeera@skcet.ac.in

Abstract— With rapid increase in human population, loggers manually visited the site for data collection in
industrialization, infrastructural developments, vehicles and traditional techniques for comparison and analysis of the
utilization of fossil fuels, climate change, noise, water and air information. This technique is time consuming and inefficient
pollution and other environmental issues are increasing [6]. This paper introduces a monitoring system that enables
drastically. To ensure healthy living and a better future, it is continuous monitoring and checking the air and sound quality
essential to monitor these issues and provide solutions to and reports the respected authorities if the pollution goes
overcome them. The smart sensor networks that combine beyond the nominal level. An array of sensors are used for
electronics, wireless communication and computer sciences is an detecting noise pollution and for monitoring the level of
emerging field of research that can contribute towards
concentration of harmful gases like Sulphur dioxide and carbon
monitoring noise and air pollution level. This paper provides a
solution for noise and air pollution level monitoring in any area
dioxide that pollutes the environment [7]. Data monitored from
of interest using wireless embedded computing system. All the IoT sensors are constantly transmitted to the
devices in the system inclusive of ESP8266, Xmega 2560, sound microcontroller.
sensor, dust, gas, humidity and temperature sensor as well as Wi- The output from the sensors is stored in the cloud
Fi are connected via Internet of Things (IoT). ThingSpeak environment and made available for remote users. It is also
environment is used for recording the collected sound and air possible to perform comparison with custom made algorithms
quality information. Alert is sent to the authorities whenever the and previously stored data from the cloud. This paper provides
pollution exceeds a certain set limit.
the procedure involved in construction of the prototype model
Keywords— Internet of Things, Arduino, Embedded system, for controlling noise and air contamination and alerting the
ThingSpeak, Sound Sensor, WiFi authorities when the threshold level increases so that the
necessary action can be taken at the earliest possible time and
the situation may be restrained.
I. INTRODUCTION
People are exposed to various health concerns with the II. LITERATURE REVIEW
increasing noise and air pollution. Noise and air pollution is
mainly caused by growing industrialization and urbanization. Various environmental parameters are monitored and
Excessive utilization of energy resources and gases like NO2, considered in most pollution monitoring systems in today’s
NO, SO2, CO2 and so on are some of the significant sources scenario. Several researches have made remarkable
for air pollution. Traditional ways of pollution monitoring was contribution in this domain [8]. Commercial meters such as
a tedious and inefficient task [1].With the advancements in ForbixSemicon, Amprobe, Fluke and so on are available in the
technology, several new techniques are introduced for fast and market for detection of leakage of gases like LPG, carbon
efficient pollution monitoring. Internet of Things (IoT) monoxide and carbon dioxide. For monitoring air quality and
technology provides promising opportunities in this domain. It noise pollution level, several systems based on Geographic
enables data exchange between the electrical and electronic Information System (GIS) [6], Global System for Mobile
appliances, internet and humans with the help of numerous Communication (GSM) [7] and Wireless Sensor Network
sensors. Low cost, efficiency and feasibility contributes to the (WSN) [9] technologies are proposed by many researchers.
success of IoT [2]. However, based on its intended function, every technology has
certain limitations.
Noise and air pollution are the major constituents that
impose adverse effects on human health and the environment. The pinpoints of pollution in specific areas can be monitored
[3-5] It is essential to monitor and control such pollution. Data using GIS based system. It comprises of a memory buffer,
mobile unit, sensors, microcontroller and internet connectivity

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 Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Systems (ICAIS-2021)
IEEE Xplore Part Number: CFP21OAB-ART; ISBN: 978-1-7281-9537-7

through web server for collection of data from multiple transmitting this information to a remote location. The buzzer
locations with information regarding time of the day and alerts whenever air pollution is detected. Continuous blinking
coordinates [6]. In a closed space and time, readings are of LED is used to notify increase in noise pollution.
averaged for a specific location. The source of pollution in any
area can be represented accurately using the Global Positioning This system assists the authorities as well as the public to
System (GPS) [10] module. A General Packet Radio Service view the information regarding pollution and contribute
(GPRS) [11] connection is used for periodic transmission of towards controlling it at their possible level. This helps in
the recorded data to a computer. With the acceptance of the building a stronger community and a better planet. Similar
user, a dedicated website displays the recorded data. digital devices are installed on ambulances. Significant energy
cost can be reduced as the energy consumption modules are
available in the system and low power sensors and hardware
III. PROPOSED SYSTEM modules are used. In order to provide practical and flexible
Arduino Uno processor is used in the proposed noise and communication, the IoT based system design is used in the
air pollution monitoring system with IoT. Port 9600 is used for hardware architecture. The basic electrical data can be used for
providing a 5V DC power supply to the Arduino board. Sound detecting issues related to the hardware connectivity. Trained
and gas sensors are used for continuously monitoring the noise or qualified professionals are not required for using this device
and air pollution level. Data picked by these sensors are as it is user friendly and the data can be read by common man.
provided to the Arduino and are continuously displayed on the Wi-Fi module enable quick data transmission over long
LCD. Pins 2-5, 11 and 12 of the Arduino board are connected distances and ease of data access.
to the LCD display. The output is displayed in an analog
format if the pollution exceeds a set limit. The 3.3 Volts pin on IV. HARDWARE AND INTERFACING
the Arduino board is connected to the Wi-Fi (nRF24L01)
module. The sensor based information is transmitted to the Wi- This section discusses the interfacing of hardware and
software models in the proposed system. Figure 2 represents
Fi module for communicating with the respective authorities.
Figure 1 provides a simulated architecture of the proposed the prototype of the proposed system. The ESP8266 wi-fi
noise and air pollution monitoring system. module is connected to Arduino. It requires a voltage of 3.3V
for functioning. Chip power-down (CH_PD) and VCC of the
wi-fi module are connected to the 3.3V pin on Arduino. The
RX pin of the Wi-Fi module also requires 3.3V operational
SOUND SENSOR
LCD MODULE
voltage. However, when directly connected to the Arduino
board, it does not communicate information. Due to this
GAS SENSOR reason, the 5V in Arduino is converted into 3.3V using a
voltage divider module. For this purpose, three resistors are
connected in series to form the required circuit. Pin 10 on
Arduino is connected to the TX pin of ESP8266 module and
pin 9 of Arduino is connected to the RX pin of the wi-fi
module through resistors.

POWER SUPPLY
WI-FI MODULE

ARDUNIO

Fig. 1 Proposed Noise and Air Pollution Monitoring System

Architecture
This model is designed exclusively for monitoring and
evaluating the level of noise pollution and air quality to satisfy
the need of the community in any specific area using IoT.
Harmful compounds and gases like carbon monoxide,
hazardous gases, alcohol, butane, propane, methane and so on
are monitored in the atmosphere using the gas sensor. The
sound sensor tracks the level of noise in the environment. The
air pollution data is gathered by an MQ135 sensor and the
noise level is captured by the sound metal module [12]. The
sensors continuously interact and transmit the obtained data to
the Arduino processor [13-15]. A wi-fi modem is installed for Fig. 2 Interfacing of components

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 Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Systems (ICAIS-2021)
IEEE Xplore Part Number: CFP21OAB-ART; ISBN: 978-1-7281-9537-7

Internet and Wi-Fi access is provided to the project

using the ESP8266 module. The device is of low cost and adds
huge benefits to the system. It is one of the most prominent
devices in the IoT platform that can communicate with almost
any microcontroller. MQ135 air quality sensor is connected to
Arduino. The sensor’s VCC and ground pins are connected to
the 5V and ground pins of the Arduino processor respectively.
Further, the sensor’s analog pin is connected to Arduino’s A0
pin. A buzzer is connected to the 8th pin of Arduino for
providing alert when the level of air pollution crosses the
predefined threshold value. CO2, smoke, benzene, NOx, NH2
and some other gases can be sensed by the MQ135 sensors
which make it a perfect choice for air quality monitoring.
The level of pollution is measured in terms of parts per million
(PPM) by the gas sensor. The data is obtained as voltage level
by the MQ135 gas sensor. This data is transmitted to the (a)
Arduino processor where it is converted into PPM using the
MQ135 sensor library. This sensor can detect pollution in the
range of 10-10,000 PPM. 350PPM is designated as the safe
level of air quality. During initial test conditions, the sensor
provided a value of 90PPM when there was no gases detected.
Sensor value beyond 1000PPM is set as harmful and toxic. At
this level, people are affected by stuffy, stale and stagnant air
causing drowsiness and headaches. When the level exceeds
beyond 2000PPM, several diseases and increased heart rate
may occur. The LCD displays “Gas Level Normal” when the
sensor value is less than 1000PPM. The buzzer alerts when
this value goes beyond 1000PPM and the LCD displays “Gas
Level High”. Further, if the level reaches beyond 2000PPM,
the buzzer alert continues and the LCD displays “Gas Level
Dangerous”.
The system continuously monitors the sound level
and reports it to the Arduino processor. This enables (b)
monitoring noise pollution near no honking areas, hospitals
and schools. Elevated sound levels causes negative
psychological and physical health consequences leading to
sleep disturbances, annoyance, ischemic heart diseases,
hypertension, tinnitus and hearing impairment. The average
noise level permitted for residential areas in 50 dB. When the
level reaches beyond this threshold, the LED blinks
continuously and information is transmitted to the LCD
display as well as to the respective authorities to take
necessary action.

V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The module is tested before implementing the prototype
for making necessary modifications and ensuring the system
to be error free. Several test conditions are set and the system
is exposed to multiple air and noise pollution environments. (c)
The users test the reports for ensuring the ease of access and Fig. 3 IoT environment representing (a) high noise
user friendliness of the device. Figure 3 represents the pollution level, (b) high air pollution level and (c) No
indication of high noise pollution level, high air pollution level noise or air pollution
and no noise or air pollution using IoT based ThingSpeak
environment. Data is gathered from entirely different devices that serve
a single purpose and interest. Further, this information is

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 Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Systems (ICAIS-2021)
IEEE Xplore Part Number: CFP21OAB-ART; ISBN: 978-1-7281-9537-7

transmitted to an online server mechanically. The data all seasons and time of the year. These noise and air quality is
regarding variation in air pollution and sound intensity is analyzed over a period of 12 months at a small area for testing
tracked and monitored online through the ThingSpeak purpose in the Kuniamuthur region in Coimbatore district,
environment from remote location as well as the LCD display Tamil Nadu and the average readings are as represented in the
at the area of installation. The information from the following graph. Due to continuous monitoring, the local
surroundings is collected and analysed using the sensors. Air community could come forward to reduce the level of
quality is categorized as fresh air when it is less than 500PPM, pollution to a large extent. During the months of May-July
poor air when it is between 1000 to 2000PPM and dangerous 2020, the pollution level is low due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
when it is beyond 2000PPM. Similarly, sound quality is However, planting of more trees and other environment
acceptable when it is less than 50dB and poor when it reaches friendly and awareness activities were taken place in this
beyond this level. Figure 4 represents the display of air and region thereby helping in community towards building and a
noise level in the LCD interface connected to the Arduino better environment in the region.
module.
1200 70

60
1000

50
800

40

PPM

dB
600
30

400
20

200
10

0 0

20
20

20
20

21
0
0
20

20

21
0

t- 2
-2

l-2
r-2

-2
b-

p-

c-

b-
g-

v-
n-

n-
ar

ay

Ju

Oc
Ap

De
No
Fe

Se

Fe
Au
Ju

Ja
M

M
Time of the year

Air Quality in PPM Sound Quality in dB

Fig. 5 Pollution reduction over a duration of 12 months

VI. CONCLUSION
The common issue of environmental pollution is
addressed in this paper in an easy and efficient manner. The
system enables continuous monitoring and storing of data with
respect to air and sound quality. This data is displayed visually
through ThingSpeak environment and LCD display. Warning
alerts are provided when the level of pollution reaches beyond
a threshold value. Highly polluted areas, industries, hospital
environment, residential areas, areas with heavy traffic,
hospitals and several other organizations may be benefited by
this system. The cost friendliness, efficiency, low power, fast
data transfer and user friendliness are the major benefits of
this model. It can be installed in any place. The internet
interface enables real time monitoring and analysis of this data
even from remote environment. Future work is focused
towards installing multiple prototypes and testing the
efficiency as well as commercializing this project as a product.
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 Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Systems (ICAIS-2021)
IEEE Xplore Part Number: CFP21OAB-ART; ISBN: 978-1-7281-9537-7

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