Air Quality remote sensing and associated technologies: creating societal and economic benefit at the University of Leicester.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leicester
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Access to clean air is considered to be a fundamental human right, and yet the cost of poor air quality in the United Kingdom is estimated at £9-20bn p.a. The University of Leicester has a strong heritage in Earth Observation Science and Instrumentation which, through a number of NERC research programmes, has been focussed on a few key areas of environmental science. This project will support the development of air quality technologies in particular, building on recent successful projects in this area.
Under this fellowship, Dr. Roland Leigh will develop a commercial service for traffic and air quality management, and demonstrate this service operationally in 3 urban environments. This activity will be supplemented by collaboration within an international network of collaborative academic, industial and local-authority partners across Europe. Furthermore, the commercial potential of 2 new air quality technologies will be explored with appropriate commercial partners, with the objective of a new company formation within the first 18 months of this fellowship. Finally, an innovative treatment for the hearing condition, tinnitus will be taken to clinical trials, and the ongoing commercial development of this project will be pursued.
These specific activities will be supplemented by the ongoing development of a culture of innovation and impact at the University of Leicester. A previous KE Fellowship for Dr. Roland Leigh laid solid foundations for NERC research to be translated into economic and societal impacts. This new fellowship into 2016 will capitalise on this framework and seek new innovations and solutions.
Under this fellowship, Dr. Roland Leigh will develop a commercial service for traffic and air quality management, and demonstrate this service operationally in 3 urban environments. This activity will be supplemented by collaboration within an international network of collaborative academic, industial and local-authority partners across Europe. Furthermore, the commercial potential of 2 new air quality technologies will be explored with appropriate commercial partners, with the objective of a new company formation within the first 18 months of this fellowship. Finally, an innovative treatment for the hearing condition, tinnitus will be taken to clinical trials, and the ongoing commercial development of this project will be pursued.
These specific activities will be supplemented by the ongoing development of a culture of innovation and impact at the University of Leicester. A previous KE Fellowship for Dr. Roland Leigh laid solid foundations for NERC research to be translated into economic and societal impacts. This new fellowship into 2016 will capitalise on this framework and seek new innovations and solutions.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Roland Leigh (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Bannan T
(2015)
The first UK measurements of nitryl chloride using a chemical ionization mass spectrometer in central London in the summer of 2012, and an investigation of the role of Cl atom oxidation
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Belcher S
(2015)
Meteorology, Air Quality, and Health in London: The ClearfLo Project
in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Jeanjean A
(2016)
Modelling the effectiveness of urban trees and grass on PM2.5 reduction via dispersion and deposition at a city scale
in Atmospheric Environment
Jeanjean A
(2015)
A CFD study on the effectiveness of trees to disperse road traffic emissions at a city scale
in Atmospheric Environment
Jeanjean A
(2017)
Air quality affected by trees in real street canyons: The case of Marylebone neighbourhood in central London
in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
Lawrence J
(2015)
High-resolution measurements from the airborne Atmospheric Nitrogen Dioxide Imager (ANDI)
in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
Mayernik M
(2015)
Peer Review of Datasets: When, Why, and How
in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Parrington M
(2013)
Ozone photochemistry in boreal biomass burning plumes
in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
| Description | This KE grant has enabled the air quality research at the University of Leicester to be widely seen and considered, both by potential users, and collaborators. A number of local authority users, public and policy bodies have engaged with the research, and assessed new products and services. Industrial collaborators have sought and secured funding to jointly develop new markets with this knowledge. |
| Exploitation Route | A Joint Venture company to exploit these ideas has been formed. A number of products have now reached the market. Details can be found at www.earthsense.co.uk. |
| Sectors | Environment,Transport |
| URL | http://www.earthsense.co.uk |
| Description | A new spin-out company has been created as a result of this fellowship. EarthSense Systems Ltd (www.earthsense.co.uk) was formed in Sept 2016, and is based at the Dock in Leicester. A wide range of potential end-users have seen the air quality research portfolio at the University of Leicester, and a significant number of industries have been consulted for potential collaboration. EarthSense has now grown to a company with 10 employees, and has 3 offices at the Dock, Leicester. It is on target for over £1m of turnover in 2018. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
| Sector | Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Transport |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Description | Air Quality Mapper - 3D Tomography |
| Amount | £50,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | UK Space Agency |
| Department | Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2014 |
| End | 06/2016 |
| Description | CENTA PhD Studentship - Jordan White |
| Amount | £75,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2014 |
| End | 09/2017 |
| Description | CEOI NSTP Flagship |
| Amount | £1,400,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | UK Space Agency |
| Department | Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2015 |
| End | 08/2017 |
| Description | College Studentship for Antoine Jeanjean |
| Amount | £37,500 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Leicester |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2013 |
| End | 09/2016 |
| Description | CompAQS-ST Flight build (Me Co-I - Paul Monks PI) |
| Amount | £511,355 (GBP) |
| Organisation | UK Space Agency |
| Department | Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | |
| End | 10/2016 |
| Description | DfT - Cenex, instrumentation of Electric Vehicles |
| Amount | £50,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Department of Transport |
| Department | DfT, DVLA and VOSA |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2015 |
| End | 03/2016 |
| Description | ESA Sysnova |
| Amount | € 40,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 10/2014 |
| End | 02/2015 |
| Description | ESA Sysnova Follow-on - detailed CDF study |
| Amount | € 60,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 05/2015 |
| End | 10/2015 |
| Description | HotSpotMapper - Space for Smarter Government (Paul Monks PI, me Co-I) |
| Amount | £79,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | UK Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2015 |
| End | 03/2016 |
| Description | Manila Observatory - Philanthropic support |
| Amount | £17,500 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Manila Observatory |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Philippines |
| Start | 09/2015 |
| End | 09/2016 |
| Description | University of Leicester Proof of Concept Funding |
| Amount | £14,600 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Leicester |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2014 |
| End | 02/2015 |
| Description | iTRAQ-Demonstration |
| Amount | € 375,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | |
| End | 08/2016 |
| Description | Bluesky International Ltd |
| Organisation | Bluesky International |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | New MPhil Studentship for Philip Peterson to work on small sensors, detailed discussions now taking place on potential for Joint Venture between the University and Bluesky. Company formation expected in Summer 2016. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Support of studentship fees, plus support on small sensor applications, particularly to schools. Access to planes for airborne demonstrator, free access to a range of datasets (worth £3m) for development of demonstration products. |
| Impact | Prototype new instruments produced. Commercial service for air quality mapping launched. High probability of joint venture company being created in mid 2016 |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Cenex- electric vehicles |
| Organisation | Cenex |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Free lease of 2 electric vehicles over the summer of 2014, in order to examine the potential for the use of electric vehicles for air quality monitoring. Followed by lease of Nissan Leaf for 2 years. This led to a number of funding bids, one of which has been successful, and has led to a collaborative project to use instrumented electric vehicles to monitor air quality across a city. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Lease of 2 electric smart cars, lease of Leaf, and leading a DfT project. |
| Impact | One active DfT project currently funded (£50k approx). Further funding applications planned. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | TRL |
| Organisation | Transport Research Laboratory Ltd (TRL) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Air Quality modelling for a novel traffic management system, under ESA funding. |
| Collaborator Contribution | System Architecture developments, and delivery of air quality model |
| Impact | Air Quality modelling, future cities. |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Thales Alenia UK |
| Organisation | Thales Group |
| Department | Thales Alenia Space |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Design of new air quality monitoring satellite instruments |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of satellite platforms |
| Impact | ESA contract x2 and CEOI Flagship project |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Title | Air Quality PODs |
| Description | Small air qualtiy sensor |
| Type Of Technology | Detection Devices |
| Year Produced | 2014 |
| Impact | A number of applications, including interactions with Leicester city Council, Cenex and Bluesky. |
| Company Name | EarthSense Systems Ltd |
| Description | EarthSense is a joint venture between the University of Leicester and Bluesky International Ltd designed to meet the needs of the growing air quality monitoring market. We aim to deliver products that enable the world to visualise and solve its air quality issues. We enable policy makers, planners and those responsible for delivering results access to data in a way that enables them to create scenarios which can lead to truly deliverable solutions on the ground. |
| Year Established | 2016 |
| Impact | Only 6 months old at present. Commercialising outputs from ESA and UKSA programmes. Currently engaged in a Healthy New Towns initiative for the NHS among other things. |
| Website | http://www.earthsense.co.uk |