FreeDSM and the Gaia4Sustaniability project: a light pollution meter based on IoT technologies

Abstract

Light pollution is a growing environmental issue that affects astronomy, ecosystems, human health. To address this, we introduce the Free Dark Sky Meter (FreeDSM), an affordable IoT-based photometer designed for continuous light pollution monitoring. FreeDSM uses an ESP32 microcontroller with integrated sensors for light, temperature, and humidity, and operates on an open-source platform. Data from multiple devices are centralized and processed using the Gambons model, which leverages Gaia satellite data for accurate real-time assessments of natural light levels. This project is part of the Gaia4Sustainability initiative.