Design of sensor system for air pollution and human vital monitoring for connected cyclists

This study addresses the design of smart sensor system aided bicycle that can be exploited as a platform for the acquisition of real-time data. In particular, in this work, the authors address the pressing issues like air pollution monitoring and health monitoring by using sensors that were seen as limitations in the already existing smart e-bike monitoring system. The sensor system presented in this study is capable of monitoring parameters such as location, heart rate of the rider and air quality levels in real-time. The data thus collected is fed into Thingspeak, an open Internet of Things platform powered by Matlab. The data is then visually represented in an Android application for riders to view and analyse the monitored parameters. The Android application designed for the system assists the user with location tracking, pollution mapping and health monitoring. Furthermore, security is also considered in this work which is addressed with the help of a fingerprint sensor and a global system for mobile/global positioning system module to alert the user in case of system theft. The system attached to the bicycle can be implemented on a large scale as a fleet/bike sharing system in order to map the pollution of an entire city with the help of IoT, thus aiding the development of greenfield smart city and additionally monitoring the vitals of the user riding the bicycle leading to intelligent transportation system. This study details the design and implementation of the hardware and software, enlists the outcomes of the system and explores the future scope and development.