An integrated system for urban environmental monitoring and management based on the Environmental Internet of Things

Abstract

There have been a growing number of environmental problems associated with the rapid development of cities. Common environmental monitoring methods are unable to meet the dynamic needs of urban environmental management. The emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) technology provides a new way to improve urban environment monitoring and management. The Environmental Internet of Things (EIoT) makes it possible to sense, acquire, process, and transfer environmental information over a large area in real time. In this paper, we present an integrated system for urban environment monitoring and management by referring to the EIoT concept. We developed and tested the system by monitoring water, soil, air, noise, and some other environmental factors on the campus of our research institute. The system can obtain real-time environmental information in situ and express and publish its outcomes in different formats. Moreover, the system is extendible for additional sensors and environmental factors, and to cover larger areas to achieve better urban environmental monitoring and management services for the construction of sustainable cities.

Keywords:

• environment management
• sustainable city management
• information technology
• Environmental Internet of Things (EIoT)
• urban environment

Acknowledgment

This research was supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-453) and the National Science and Technology Support Program (2012BAC17B01).