Applications

How our instruments are being used

Ambient monitoring


Urban air quality
The naneos partector is being used by the federal institute of technology Lausanne (EPFL) to monitor urban air quality in Lausanne. 10 instruments have been mounted on buses of Lausanne public transport, and their measurements are being transmitted via mobile phone network to the EPFL servers. The partector is ideally suited for this kind of deployment, because it needs very little maintenance. Download a poster of the EPFL research group

Drone-based measurements
The naneos partector was used for drone-based measurements along Switzerland's main north-south transit route, the Gotthard highway. Due to its light weight, the partector is ideally suited for UAV and drone applications. Find more corresponding applications and studies from other countries in the science section.

Harbor and airport measurements
The Partector 2 is or has been used at several airports (Basel, Zurich, Schiphol, Madrid, etc.) for stationary and mobile measurements of ultrafine particles to gain a better understanding of the personal exposure of personnel working in specific areas, how exposure can be improved by applying new procedures, and the general impact of ultrafine particle air pollution in the wider airport area.
An important feature here is the fast response time and the high dynamic range of the sensor.

Workplace


Nanoparticle production facility
Avantama is a spinoff of the Swiss federal institute of technology Zürich (ETHZ), specializing in the production of custom nanoparticles. Since only little is known on nanoparticle toxicitiy with the exception of some well-studied reference materials, they are leaving nothing to chance: a naneos partector is wall-mounted at their nanoparticle production facility and will alert them if there is a leak where nanoparticles are being released.

Laser machining
Laser machining is a fascinating technology, but a lot of nanoparticles are produced in the process. Our devices have been used to measure nanoparticle levels inside the processing chamber, and to verify that no particles escape into the workplace.

Bleed air contamination and cabin air quality
The instruments are used in aircraft and spacecraft to measure cockpit and cabin air quality. They have also been used to specifically detect and analyse bleed air contamination events in aircraft.

3D printing emissions
3D printing is another modern technology that has the potential to release nanoparticles. The partector was used within the EU project DiMAP to measure nanoparticle emissions of 3D printers.

Personal exposure


Mapping
With the partector, it is extremely easy to map your personal exposure to nanoparticles: Our software allows you to combine a GPS track (from any GPS device) with the partector data, and output graphs like this one, from Helsinki.

Indoor air quality
Because the Partector 2 is quiet, battery operated and portable, it is being used in several studies to measure and analyse ultra-fine aerosols indoors. This is becoming increasingly important as people spend more time indoors.

More Applications

Here are a few scientific projects that have been carried out with our devices.

Science