1. An autonomous robot for air quality monitoring
Team Members:
Varnavas Eleftheriou
Michalis Kyprianou
Ali Abdallah
Andreas Howes

2. 1. Project Scope
The project scope is to develop a system that will allow real time monitoring of the air
quality including radiation levels and warn administrative personnel about the existence
of any possible hazardous substances. It will be autonomous and move around the
university campus both indoors and outdoors.
2. Business Plan
2.1 Business Need
The aim of the project is to provide an evolutionary solution, which will prevent problems
that occur by everyday hazards. It is quite surprising that around 7 million premature
deaths may be attributed to air pollution1 while others suffer from bad air quality and
they do not know it. Managing multiple single space devices that monitor the air quality
is extremely costly in both maintenance and usage. Our solution will allow the
monitoring of multiple areas with a single autonomous robot that will be reporting to a
monitoring station.
2.2 Basic System Features
 Autonomous Traversal
We are suggesting the design of a robot that will be able to traverse a university
campus externally and internally autonomously. The system will utilize GPS and Wi-
Fi positioning for outdoor and indoor spaces.
 Air Quality Monitoring
It can monitor the air quality and detect any possible radiation levels using several
sensors including a Geiger counter.
 Environment Adaptation
The robot can adapt to various environment types and adjust its functionalities
accordingly.
 Wireless Data Transmission
It can transmit the measurements automatically through wireless connectivity over a
server where administrative personnel can monitor it.
 On the Spot Alert
The robot will have a speaker, which will alert people in the area of any possible
hazardous chemicals found or if radiation levels are high.
2.3 Benefits
 Improves the productivity of personnel
 Lowering the cost of products and services purchased for multiple air monitoring
systems by 60% 2
1 Jaservic,T., Osseiran,N., & Thomas, G. (2014) 7 million prematuredeaths annually linked to air pollution,25
March 2014,World Health Organization. Retrieved from :
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/air-pollution/en/
2 Calculated Based on current expenses for CO and CO2 detectors exi stingin European University Cyprus.

3.  Faster Emergency Response time
 Real Time situation assessment
 Exact Location of hazards
 Automated alarm and location guidance
 Increased organizational security
 More control, thereby lowering the risk of accidents
 Improved Air Quality
2.4 Strategic Goals
 Reduce Expenses
One of the goals we always bear in mind prior to thinking about developing any
system, is how to reduce the price of the final product through optimization.
Minimizing the total cost while maintaining the quality of a lot more expensive
solution through low cost alternatives is important.
 Increase Public Awareness
Since we offer a good quality product which is made with relatively cheap
components, we would like to increase public awareness in the fields of air quality in
public places and promote the use of the autonomous device in all kinds of
environments.
3. Project Plan
The Bianco team is comprised of students of the European University Cyprus. We are
all senior students in the fields of Computer Science and Computer Engineering and are
interested in robotics. Moreover, we are intrigued by autonomous systems and this
motivates us to delve even deeper into the robotics world.
3.1 Work packages – Tasks (See Appendix A)
 Work Package 1 - Chemical Analysis [2]
Decision of the most harmful gases and components of molecules, research on the
dangerous threshold of each one and decision of, chemical and non-chemical,
sensors for the purpose of the project scope.
 Work Package 2 - Alternative Energy Resource In Robotics Research [3]
Research in alternative and renewable energy resources that could improve the
functionality of the system from 24/1 up to 24/7 and component choice based on
power usage. Calculation of estimated total power consumption.
 Work Package 3 - Hardware System Development [4]
Assembly of the Chassis, Servos, Casing. Creation of waterproof modification.
Installation and position optimization of the sensors on the Arduino board to take the
least possible space, including the assembly of the Geiger-counter. Completion
allows the initiation of the programming part of the project.
 Work Package 4 - Software System Development [5]
Server software development that will allow the robot to interact with the server and
vice versa. Embedded software development for autonomous movement, sampling

4. rate and environmental adaptation. Arduino programming. System Integration begins
when the server and Arduino communication is established.
 Work Package 5 - System Integration [6]
System Integration is the process of bringing together the component systems into
one system and ensuring that the sub-systems function together as a single
coherent system. Completion leads to Testing and Troubleshooting.
 Work Package 6 - Testing and Troubleshooting [7]
Testing and Troubleshooting of the whole functionality of the system which will allow
better optimization, system correction and improved system functionality.
 Work Package 7 - Risk Assessment Analysis [8]
During this task, the team will evaluate the given risks if any and then adapt the
design and implementation of the robot according to available options.
3.2 Overall Approach
We will approach the project using Rapid Prototyping methodology, which allows us to
decrease the development time and at the same time allow corrections of the system.
Important notable issue; Interoperability. Critical Success Factor; Time
3.4 Users Analysis
Stakeholder Interest / stake Importance
Maintenance Personnel Stakeholder Medium
Administrative Personnel Stakeholder High
3.5 Constraints – SWOT Analysis
Provided time is probably the most dangerous constraint that could affect the project.
Limited Resources is the second problem that could affect the project
 Strengths: we are providing an innovative solution for indoor positioning with
renewable energy resources.
 Weaknesses: we are competing against other universities, which have the material
to test and experiment with, the labs to run simulations and students who have
advanced knowledge to develop a robotic product. Our background is mostly
Computer Science and Computer Engineering and not directly related to robotic
research.
 Opportunities: we are developing new skills in a relatively new area of technology
 Threats: battery power in a combination with the solar panel might be insufficient for
24/7 uptime but it lasts for at least 24/1

5. 3.6 Risk Analysis
Risk Description
Probability
1 – 5
(1=low
5=high)
Severity
1 – 5
(1=low
5=high)
Risk
Score
(PxS)
Detail of action to be taken
(mitigation / reduction / transfer / acceptance)
Indoor Positioning
Failure
3 3 9
Transfer (In case we have indoor positioning
failure using Wi-Fi, we have a backup
RPLIDAR module that can be used for
mapping indoor environments and allow the
device to function.
Delays to hardware
development
2 5 10
Mitigation (in case a deliverable delays, we
will reduce the testing and troubleshoot
phase accordingly in order to complete the
delayed deliverable)
Delays to software
development
3 5 15
Mitigation (Reduce Troubleshooting and
testing time to increase development time)
Delayed delivery
from vendors
1 5 5
Acceptance (Reduce Troubleshooting and
Testing time to adjust accordingly)
Delays to financial
approvals impact
the project
1 5 5
Transfer (We will attempt to use our personal
financial budget)
3.7 Project Roles
Team Member Name Role
Days per week
on the project
Varnavas Eleftheriou Project Manager 7
Ali Abdallah Programmer/ Interface Developer 5
Andreas Howes Research Analyst/Arduino Programmer 5
Michalis Kyprianou Arduino Programmer/Hardware Assembler 5
3.8 Requirements
The robot will function in a university campus and traverse the area halls and exterior
area monitoring real time air quality with measurements and monitoring on the server.
The server will be responsible to give a warning if a measurement of the air quality is
not healthy or radiation levels are exceeded. Once a warning is triggered, the person in
charge will act appropriately to ensure people are not exposed to harmful air or radiation
levels. The robot will use Wi-Fi indoor positioning system to know its location in the
university premises while it will use GPS signals to position itself outdoors. This allows
the person in charge to know precisely in what location of the university there are
harmful gases or radiation levels in case of such an event.
This project is designed for use in any large building, such as universities or companies
that might require monitoring of air quality and radiation, as well as factories where air

6. quality is crucial such as pharmaceutical industries, or industries that have radioactive
material and need radiation level monitoring in case of leaks.
4. Technical Specifications
4.1 Hardware Specifications
 Arduino Uno controller
 Tall Chassis 4x4 Wheel Drive with one DC motor
 Geiger Counter Kit - Radiation Sensor
 MQ135 Air Quality Sensor
 Monoxide Combustible Gas Sensor
 Digital Temperature and Humidity Sensor
 4x Ultrasonic sensors
 1x Solar Panel 12V 900mA
 Laser Scanner (RPLIDAR)
 GPS
 3x 6Volt 12Ah batteries
4.2 CAD Design

7. 4.3 Project Budget
Part Price
(Euro)
Qty
Ultrasonic sensor 3,00 4
Chassis 4x4 3-in-1 Kit 360,00 1
Geiger counter Kit - Radiation sensor 80,00 1
Adafruit CC3000 Wi-Fi module 29,00 1
MQ135 - Air quality sensor 10,00 1
MQ309A – Carbon Monoxide gas sensor 5,00 1
Digital temperature sensor & Humidity sensor 24,00 1
Solar panel 201,00 1
RPLIDAR Laser scanner 273,00 1
ITEAD GPS Shield 20,00 1
6V 12Ah Battery 14,00 3
Arduino Uno 40,00 1
Total: 1110,00
5. Conclusion
The proposed project will develop an autonomous robotic device, which will monitor
several air quality hazards such as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), and radiation
levels. The device will move indoors and outdoors autonomously and send sensor
readings at predetermined intervals to a monitoring server through Wi-Fi
communications. The monitoring station will provide a dashboard with visual information
on VOCs and other robot information while providing alerts when readings pass the
configured thresholds.
The robot should be able to run for 24 hours using renewable energy resources such as
a solar panel when running outdoors and through power management options when the
batteries are running low. The robot also adapts to changing environmental conditions
and can alert people when an emergency occurs.
Our proposed system can help the employees and students of the university by alerting
them when the air quality reaches dangerous levels while saving the university money
from reducing the number of monitoring devices deployed in the campus.

8. Appendix A – Work Package Gantt Chart