Obtaining a precise Air Quality Index (AQI) measurement can be hard to do in smaller communities due to the necessary-but-costly monitoring equipment. Ben Crawford, Assistant Professor in Geography and Environmental Sciences, said Colorado cities determine AQI with specific regulatory stations. “They look like trailers, and they’re full of instruments to measure air pollution. Each one of these instruments can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and each of these trailers …can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.” To help smaller communities outside the radius of cities with these expensive AQI regulatory stations, Crawford and his team created an alternative low-cost sensor network to monitor air pollution.

Colorado's Air Is Unhealthy Right Now. Check the Air Quality Index before Venturing Outside
KUNC, July 22