Detection of volatile organic compounds using a commercial gas sensor embedded in a mobile robot

Abstract

The presence of some volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as: ketone, alcohols, affect agriculture, blood and health. Some of these VOC can cause respiratory diseases such as asthma, irritate eyes and causes allergies. In this paper we presented the design and implementation of an unmanned mobile device for detection of VOC leaks. The proposed system has an emitter and a receiver. The transmitter has two systems embedded in a two 8-bit microcontroller, one for the control and decision making of a robot, which is equipped with proximity and line following sensors. The second embedded system is used for VOC monitoring, through commercial gas sensors, which have a detection range of 10 to 1000 parts per million (ppm.) In addition, in this embedded system the monitoring of the battery lifetime and the distance traveled by the robot is carried out, the information is processed and sent through a bidirectional radiofrequency antenna (Nrf24L01). The receiver has a system embedded in a microcontroller and a bidirectional Nrf24L01, the data is received and sent to a personal computer through the serial port. The data is processed, stored and presented with the help of a graphical user interface. This shows the status of the two robot motors, the battery charge, the operating time and the distance traveled. Also, the status of the gas sensors is observed, if one of them detects the presence of a gas, it is stored in the register and activates an alarm to complete the detection of one.