Development of an IOT Enabled On-Road Traffic-Related Air Pollution Monitoring Laboratory with

Real-Time Computer Vision Based Vehicle Counter

Asanga Wijesinghe, Ph.D., Carolyn LaFleur, P.E., John Colvin , Mustapha Beydoun, Ph.D.

Houston Advanced Research Center

8801 Gosling Road,

The Woodlands , TX

February 19, 2019

2019 Transportation, Air Quality, and Health SymposiumSponsored by the Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy, and Health

HARC Mission and Programs

Mission: To provide independent analysis on energy, air, and water issues to people seeking scientific answers and to operate as a research hub finding solutions for a sustainable future.

WATER

RESILIENCE

ENERGY

AIR

Accelerating clean, efficient,

sustainable energy

Protecting water resources and ecosystems

Providing science-based

resilience solutions to

communities

Improving air quality through

research

Founded by George P. Mitchell in 1982

Research Focus

Air Quality Research

• Monitoring and modeling air quality

• Developing emission-reducing technologies

• Communicating regional impacts of and

adaptations to climate change

• HARC Air Quality Monitoring Laboratory (HARC-MARC)

Stationary Air Quality Monitoring

• Traditional method-continuous monitoring in same location

• Multiple sites are needed to build a spatial picture

• Higher capital and operational cost

• Can miss the complex air quality pattern

– Houston Ship Channel

– Traffic-related air pollution

Stationary Air Quality Monitoring

Mobile Air Quality Monitoring

Mobile Air Quality Monitoring

• Faster & less costly than fixed site

• Cover more locations within short time

• Identify complex air quality patterns of small areas (local community)

• Useful in understanding air quality impact of industrial accidents and natural disasters

HARC Air Quality Monitoring Laboratory (HARC-MARC)

HARC Mobile Lab - Ford E-350 Van

• Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometer• CO Gas Analyzer• Ultrasonic Anemometer• Temperature & Humidity Probe • GPS unit • HD-Video Camera

Mobile Lab-Inside View

Mobile Lab - Instrumentation

• Fast response

• Low detection limits - pptv

• Wide range of observable gaseous speciesAcetone, Acetaldehyde, Methanol, Ethanol, Benzene, Toluene, Xylene & many more …

• Blind to the more abundant trace gases(CO, CO2, NOX, O3, SO2, CH4, etc.)

IONICON Proton Transfer Reaction-Mass Spectrometer (PTR-MS)Real-time Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) analyzer Ionicon Analytik (Austria)

Mobile Lab - Instrumentation

Carbon Monoxide AnalyzerThermo Environmental Instruments Model 48C

• Trace Level response

• U.S. EPA Designated Method

• Gas filter correlation selectivity

• Highly specific to CO

Real Time Monitoring Software

Software Platform• National Instrument LabVIEW

• Collects, formats, and pushes data to a remote cloud database

• Triggers an alarm and sends SMS & email messages high level of toxicity detected

Interface created with LabView

Computer Vision Based Vehicle Detection and Counting

Use front view camera (HP HD-4110)

1. Continuously records the traffic movement

2. Sends the recorded video to a PC

3. Processing with OpenCV and TensorFlow

algorithm to identify the vehicle type

4. Count in real-time

• Python programming environment• TensorFlow™

Software library for numerical computation ssd_mobilenet_v2_coco.config model

• OpenCVComputer vision software library

Vehicle Detection and Counting

Computer Vision Based Vehicle Detection and Counting

Vehicle counting process provides appropriate information about traffic flow and traffic peak times in roadways

Cloud-based Real Time Monitoring-Web Interface

• Database is monitored in real time for updates

• JavaScript based Web Mapping tool-display data in real time

• Provides off-site monitoring of HARC mobile lab’s observations

HARC-Mobile Lab Capabilities

• Measure air quality on a second-by-second basis

– One of the few research vans in the United States with this capability

• Simultaneous measurements

– Multiple gas concentrations, GPS coordinates, wind velocity, traffic Condition

• Instantaneous internet data uploads to the cloud server

– Makes possible real time mapping

– Visualization of the measured results

• Allows researchers to analyze “real-world” pollution in communities that may be at risk

Our Work – (NHHIP Field Study)

Health Impact Assessment of the North Houston Highway Improvement Project in 2018/2019• Quantify the potential co-benefits and

co-harms to health associated with the proposed changes to the I-45 corridor from Beltway 8 North to the I-69 spur south of downtown Houston

• Field study of exposure to the air toxics

– Carbon Monoxide

– Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl Benzene and Xylenes (BTEX)

Past Work- (BEE-TEX Field Study)

• Field study of exposure to the air toxics:

Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl Benzene and Xylenes (BTEX)

• Cost about $1 million

• Funded by U.S. Fish & Wildlife, Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) through Harris County, Texas

Houston Ship Channel Air PollutionSix-month study in 2015/2016

HARC (härk), n.

an independent researchhub helping people thriveand nature flourish.

Thank You

Asanga Wijesinghe, Ph.D. awijesin@harcresearch.orgCarolyn LaFleur, P.E. clafleur@harcresearch.orgMustapha Beydoun, Ph.D. beydoun@HARCresearch.orgJohn Colvin jcolvin@HARCresearch.org

HARCresearch.org