On the use of sensor nodes and mobile phones for the assessment of noise pollution levels in urban environments

Recent work in the field of wireless sensing networks shows that cheap sensing platforms like wireless sensor nodes or mobile phones can be used, or ¿misued¿, for monitoring environmental pollution levels. In particular, several authors dedicated their attention to the problem of the assessment of environmental noise levels in urban environments, a complex and expensive task that public administrations and often also private entities are willing or forced to take over. In this paper, we review the approaches that have been presented within the wireless sensing research community and report on our own experiences in assessing noise pollution levels using both sensor nodes and mobile phones. Drawing form other authors' and our own work, we outline common pitfalls and open issues in the implementation of wireless noise monitoring systems and provide practical considerations that can speed up and advance the development of such systems.