The In Air drone capable of monitoring air quality took off. The prototype is the result of the homonymous project coordinated by the Institute of Nanotechnology (Nanotec) of the National Research Council of Lecce, created in collaboration with the Institute on Air Pollution (IIA) of the CNR and a team of Apulian companies.

It's called In Air and it's the drone developed as part of the innovative project of the same name. The idea, born from the collaboration between a team of researchers from the Institute of Nanotechnology (Cnr-Nanotec) - leader - and the Institute on Air Pollution (Cnr-Iia) of the National Research Council and a consortium of private Apulian companies : AeroDron and ARdream of Lecce, Cetma Composites of Brindisi, Comea di Molfetta, was financed by the Puglia Region with one million euros as part of the 2014-2020 Regional Operational Program in order to monitor air quality using an aircraft without crew.

The drone, with a multifunctional sensor platform on board, is able to monitor air quality, simultaneously sampling toxic gases such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and fine dust ( PM10 and PM2,5) with a very low detection limit, equal to a few millionths of a gram per cubic meter and a flight range of about 30 minutes.

“The strength of this technology - says Massimo Cuscunà, researcher at Cnr-Nanotec and scientific coordinator of the project - is the possibility of sampling vast areas of territory with very high spatial resolution at low costs. The prototype made in In-Air makes it possible to bridge the gap between traditional detection systems installed on the ground and aerial or satellite observations, which are generally very expensive, and is capable of geolocating sites with a high polluting impact. "

The data collected by the drone on the concentration and spatial distribution of toxic gases and fine particles are sent in real time to the control station which processes them, producing georeferenced maps of the pollutants.

The In-Air system is part of a technological chain of considerable interest for the Puglia Region: it can in fact be of great support to entities such as the Agency for the prevention and protection of the environment (Arpa) in ordinary quality monitoring operations. or intervene in extraordinary situations for the Civil Protection and Fire Brigade in the management of the evacuation plans of inhabited areas, in the event of environmental disasters accompanied by uncontrolled emissions of toxic gases and fine dust, eg. forest fires, fires in industrial areas, warehouses or landfills.

The In-Air project is also part of the "Green Deal" action plan recently promoted by the European community, in which one of the objectives is the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To achieve this objective it will be crucial to use innovative technologies to protect citizens and ecosystems through capillary surveillance and sustainable land management.

The project contact person for the Institute on Air Pollution is Emiliano Zampetti Group Sensors and sensor systems.