N5 SENSORS INC — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase I: 8.4

Description

Farming and livestock activities affect air quality through emissions of gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia etc. which have both short term hazards for individuals nearby and long term hazards for the environment in the form of global warming. In order to set guidelines to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a means for quantitatively determining site-emission of green-house gases (GHGs) is needed. Currently, the GHG emission is determined using a hybrid of direct measurements, satellite infrared data, and models and simulations. However, for widespread real-time measurements, compact, low-power, low-cost networked sensor nodes are needed which can measure these gases in various complex environmental conditions. However, almost all of the commercial sensor technologies currently used for portable gas detectors, such as electrochemical sensors, catalytic, and photo-ionization detectors, are expensive, big, power-hungry, and require significant maintenance. For phase I, N5 Sensors will demonstrate a low-cost, low-power, long-lifetime, selective gas sensors for CO2 and CH4 for agricultural slurries. These sensors will be used in phase II to develop detector nodes (along with other off-the-shelf components) that can be placed in strategic locations to determine the safety of the individuals. N5 Sensors' vision is to develop a low-power, economical detector node that is capable of continuously measuring various relevant environmental parameters such as different gases (CO2, CH4, NH3, H2S) particulate matter, temperature, and humidity, and will capable of transmitting the data to the end user via a wireless link. End user will be able to visualize trends and correlate activities with those trends, thus taking corrective actions to reduce their environmental impact, increase operational safety, and increase operational effectiveness.