The Smart Sensor Devices services include sensor devices, automatic calibration, maintenance, data storage, analytics, and backups for efficient air quality monitoring.
In the capital of Scandinavia, a Swedish company is making significant strides in air quality monitoring. Smart Sensor Devices in Sweden AB was founded in 2016 by visionary entrepreneur and highly skilled engineer and technologist Axel G Hammar with a mission to revolutionise the way we monitor air quality, both indoors and outdoors.
From the beginning, the company’s mission was clear: to design and develop cutting-edge air quality monitoring solutions that can be utilised in a wide range of settings, are affordable, easy to use, and plug-and-play. The motivation behind this endeavour was the growing global concern over air quality, especially in densely populated urban areas where pollution levels were rising and indoor air quality was often overlooked.
Axel Hammar, CEO, said: “Full-stack approach gives our customers a complete plug-and-play solution to easily start collecting and analysing sensor data. Thanks to this ease of use, we have established ourselves as an IoT-connected sensor supplier worldwide during the last years.”
Indoor air quality monitoring solutions
The global pandemic has reshaped the way we work, pushing many of us into remote settings and transforming our homes into offices. While remote work has advantages, Axel Hammar, founder of Smart Sensor Devices, still recognises the importance of traditional office spaces.
The understanding of how the indoor environment affects our health, well-being and, most importantly, the quality of our work, has steadily increased. Due to the pandemic, this trend has accelerated. Of course, good air quality alone will not stop the spread of the coronavirus. And our offices will probably need to be more spacious moving forward or at least allow for distancing during meetings. But Hammar sees air quality as part of a larger context – making office workers feel secure.
The significance of office spaces, however, goes beyond just providing a place to work; it extends to the need for a healthy and comfortable indoor environment. This is precisely where our innovative air quality monitoring system comes into play. Understanding indoor air quality is now more critical than ever, as it directly affects our productivity, health, comfort, and overall sense of well-being. Access to real-time data and knowledge about the office environment can make a significant difference. It instils a sense of security among office workers, assuring them that indoor air quality is carefully monitored and maintained.
We have developed a solution of connected sensors for monitoring air quality in real-time, including temperature, humidity, particles, CO2 and VOC. The data is stored in the cloud or locally and can be processed for different purposes, including controlling ventilation, heat, and air conditioning to improve comfort and reduce the spreading of viruses. We have also developed a user-friendly mobile app that enables office workers to look at the data and see how good the air quality is.
The mobile app empowers individuals to view the data themselves. This hands-on approach to air quality monitoring ensures that office workers can take control of their indoor environment and make informed decisions about their well-being. While the pandemic has made it obvious that technology allows for working remotely, Hammar still believes that we need our offices, such as for physical meetings and tasks that are impossible to do from home. However, they will need to be adapted.
We work with many customers from several industries, providing customised solutions with our products. Our solutions target different requirements depending on whether they are aimed at indoor or outdoor air quality monitoring. We provide an indoor air quality monitoring solution to a Swedish HVAC company to allow them to adjust the ventilation flow into working spaces by using our CO2 and temperature sensors and gateways. They can then adjust to an optimal working environment with low CO2 levels, independent of the number of people using the space. This gives the end customer both a pleasant working environment, with less risk of virus spreading and, at the same time, optimal energy consumption.
Beyond improving comfort, the real-time monitoring and control of air quality also has a significant impact on reducing the transmission of airborne viruses. In a world filled with the challenges posed by respiratory viruses, having the ability to adjust ventilation and air conditioning based on real-time data is a powerful tool in mitigating the spread of such viruses within indoor spaces.
The real-time sensor data controls the ventilation system and is monitored through our cloud dashboard. Providing the ability to monitor malfunctions in the ventilation and heating/cooling system for the entire building. We have put a lot of effort into designing and providing a reliable air quality monitoring solution that provides accurate and uninterrupted environmental data to the control and maintenance systems of the buildings. Our sensor network solutions are based on a redundant system design that is not sensitive to single-point failure. It can be configured for several high-grade reliability levels in both data accuracy and stability. Our solutions are also easy to install, saving a lot of cost at the point of installation for a larger system and building. Our air quality monitoring solution is based on a plug-and-play approach, and is already in the design stage.
Outdoor air quality monitoring solutions
For outdoor requirements, we provide an affordable plug-and-play single device that uses cellular network infrastructure like LTE-M or NB-IoT. This allows our customers to monitor any single point of the city. The main parameters of interest to measure in cities are pollution coming from traffic or industries, as well as parameters like PM (particulate matter), NO2, and even noise levels. We can offer tracking for various pollutants in a single sensor, easily installed in cities. Below are pictures of outdoor installations in two cities in Sweden, Stockholm and Uppsala.
The air quality data is stored in the cloud and used by the analytics software, providing the average daily levels targeted by the cities. This gives valuable information to the cities on how nearby construction, traffic, or other activities impact the air quality levels that citizens are exposed to.
Third party integration
We also integrate with third-party systems, like Cisco Spaces Bluetooth infrastructure. With a Cisco Spaces account, users gain access to the HibouAir Spaces app via the app centre. This app monitors crucial environmental factors such as CO2, temperature, humidity, and VOC levels. Integrating HibouAir sensors with the Cisco Spaces platform ensures that users can effortlessly keep track of their indoor air quality, enabling them to make informed decisions to maintain a healthy environment. This solution provides an opportunity to leverage the capabilities of both HibouAir and the established Cisco Spaces platform, creating a robust and efficient system for monitoring air quality indoors.
Global market
Our commitment to monitoring air quality knows no borders. We take pride in serving a global market, delivering cutting-edge systems and solutions that have left a significant impact on communities across the world. Our systems and solutions have been delivered to markets like Asia, Europe, the USA, and South America.
Recently, Smart Sensor Devices was selected by the Swedish Energy Agency to participate in the India-Sweden Innovation Accelerator Programme (ISIA) organised in partnership with the Swedish Energy Agency, Business Sweden, and CII (Confederation of Indian Industry).
A recent visit to India, as part of a delegation lead by our Business Developer, Shivani Gupta, exemplifies our global presence and the substantial interest our offerings have collected. This visit marked a significant milestone as we signed distributor agreements with prominent Indian companies SPROUT INDIA PVT LTD and Aaxis Nano Technologies Pvt. Ltd. These agreements are a testament to our commitment to bringing our cutting-edge technology to the Indian market.
Helping researchers with air quality data
Our device’s air quality data has become an asset in research efforts. Universities and dedicated researchers have employed our device and the data it generates in their studies for several years, reporting positive outcomes and significant contributions to their work. The data collected by our device has served as a rich source of information, enabling researchers to delve deep into various aspects of air quality. It has contributed to a better understanding of the dynamic factors affecting air quality in both indoor and outdoor environments. Moreover, it has played a crucial role in identifying trends, patterns, and correlations that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.
Innovative Desktop Application
The Innovative Desktop Application is a powerful tool that offers other alternatives where there is no cloud access or where the end customer would like to keep the data locally stored for security reasons. The Innovative Desktop Application is a powerful tool that we’ve designed to provide users with seamless access to both real-time and historical air quality data directly from their personal computers.
The air quality data is collected through our Bluetooth low-energy USB dongle and is displayed on the desktop application.
The HibouAir Bluetooth sensors locally store seven days of data that can be displayed on the desktop application, and the best part is that the application comes without any cost. This user-friendly application is compatible with Windows and Mac operating systems, making it the ideal choice for those seeking to understand and improve indoor air quality.
Imagine an office lobby where a large monitor screen displays real-time air quality data, all made possible through our HibouAir desktop application. Employees and visitors in the lobby can stay informed with updated air quality data, ensuring a healthy and comfortable environment.
Moreover, the historical data, presented in a user-friendly chart format with export options in CSV format, empowers them to analyse trends and
make informed decisions. Our solution is tailored
to meet their specific needs and preferences, providing a valuable tool for air quality management in various settings.
Smart home setup: Home-assistant integration
Our device seamlessly supports home-assistant integration, catering to the needs of smart home developers. This compatibility extends to our
BLE and cloud devices, providing flexibility for various setups.
With our air quality data at your fingertips, you can harness the potential of home-assistants to automate your smart home. Whether it’s adjusting ventilation, managing heating and cooling systems, or ensuring optimal air quality, our data empowers you to make informed decisions for a healthier and more comfortable living environment, all within the Home Assistant setup.
HibouAir Cloud portal
For larger installations and fleet management, we provide our cloud account. These provide an easy-to-use maintenance dashboard to monitor the sensor network. Our data analytics portal is a user-friendly web-based platform that combines your sensor data, allowing you to effortlessly monitor, analyse, and visualise key environmental factors.
It simplifies tracking and correlates parameters such as pressure, temperature, humidity, VOCs, particulate matter, and CO2 levels. With real-time data access, you can monitor your environment and immediately adjust to a healthier setting. The platform offers rich visualisation tools, including charts, for easy data comprehension. It provides a sensor report for an overview of key parameters, making it invaluable for quick assessments. You can view multiple devices and sensor reports on a single screen, facilitating comparisons and informed decisions. The historical air quality data section enables you to access and analyse data over different timeframes, while the ‘average reports per day’ feature helps identify trends and patterns. You can export your air quality data in CSV format for flexibility and receive a weekly email report for ongoing insights. The ‘real-time alert report’ feature proactively notifies you when your environment requires attention, ensuring a prompt response to maintain a healthy indoor or outdoor space.
In the pursuit of healthier, more comfortable, and environmentally conscious living and working spaces, Smart Sensor Devices stands as a beacon of innovation and empowerment. From its founding in 2016 by Axel Hammar, HibouAir has grown into a global leader in air quality monitoring and analysis, offering solutions that transcend geographical boundaries. With its wide range of solutions, global presence, and dedication to data-driven insights, Smart Sensor Devices empowers individuals, organisations, and communities to take control of their air quality. By utilising HibouAir, we can all breathe confidently and work towards a more sustainable, comfortable, and healthier future.
Please note, this article will also appear in the sixteenth edition of our quarterly publication.
