In the Air Design Challenge - Pollen & Allergen Sensing – Post 1 (Pollen Sensor)

RE: In the Air Design Challenge - Pollen & Allergen Sensing – Post 1 (Pollen Sensor)

tomaja — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 00:05:24 GMT

Well I already ordered a pair of these glasses, so I will give it a shot [View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-3d35b92d-fe40-498c-965a-a22d802ac68a/contentimage_5F00_3.png:16:16]

RE: In the Air Design Challenge - Pollen & Allergen Sensing – Post 1 (Pollen Sensor)

DAB — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 20:12:02 GMT

Hi Dagan

I saw a post somewhere, not on Element 14, where someone took an image sensor, pulled the lens off and then used it to directly measure the size of small objects using the number of pixels that the object covered.

I think this might be an inexpensive way for you to detect and count particles as they pass through your system.

DAB

RE: In the Air Design Challenge - Pollen & Allergen Sensing – Post 1 (Pollen Sensor)

DAB — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 19:10:10 GMT

Unless you have a good stable workbench, the laser based detector will probably be too much of a challenge.

You will need to eliminate all vibration and adjust your optics to very tight tolerances.

Take it from me, I used to work with lasers in a laboratory setting and it takes a long time to setup and calibrate the optics.

So I would suggest a commercial unit rather than a DIY sensor.

DAB

RE: In the Air Design Challenge - Pollen & Allergen Sensing – Post 1 (Pollen Sensor)

dougw — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 01:26:32 GMT

Interesting project Dragan,

Maybe it would be useful to investigate commercial sensors.

I would be interested in knowing how well inexpensive airborne particle sensors can detect ragweed pollen, if this fits your project.

Basically determine if the output correlates at all to real pollen count measurements. And maybe see if forcing air through a filter of appropriate pore size improves performance.

Commercial sensors like these:

SHARP-GP2Y1010AU0F | eBay

SM-PWM-01A Digital Smart Dust Sensor Module | eBay

PPD42NS | eBay