Urban noise control and monitoring with real-time data and alerts

To balance the residents' quality of life with the growing nightlife in a key zone of Bucaramanga, the Mayor's Office hired Applus+ to develop a noise map. This initiative aimed to find a solution that fostered peaceful coexistence between the local community and the nightlife sector.

After the creation of the city's Noise Map, a historically residential area was identified. In recent years, the presence of nighttime commercial activities, represented mainly by bars, discos, and markets, had increased, generating an environmental problem of noise pollution and becoming a social problem.

Applus+ proposed focusing efforts on environmental education programmes and raising awareness for the parties, for which a Smart Post was installed in the conflict zone, which displayed a range of colours (from green to red) to indicate the levels of noise pollution. The managers of the commercial establishments had to monitor this indicator and implement controls, such as frequency and amplitude limiters in sound systems, mandatory use of double doors, and ensuring quick entry and exit of customers.

The deployment of the smart pole required obtaining permits, carrying out minor civil works, installing the pole, sending and storing real-time data in the cloud, and configuring the ambiensQsuite environmental platform for data visualization.

This smart pole enabled the real-time collection of environmental noise level data and facilitated community interaction through SMS and indicator lights, encouraging self-regulation of behavior to help control noise in the area.

The  project involved the following stages:

• Implementation: Installation of the smart pole monitoring system, which allowed for real-time data acquisition and transmission. The pole included a weather station with sensors for wind direction and speed, temperature, humidity, rainfall, UV index, atmospheric pressure, and air pollution (particulate matter and gases like carbon monoxide, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide). Since monitoring noise levels was the primary focus, sound meters/sensors were placed at two locations (one at the smart pole and one a few blocks away in the residential area). Traffic cameras were also used to measure vehicle flow in and out of the district, assessing the impact of traffic noise.
• Consulting Services: A temporal analysis of the environmental noise data was conducted in accordance with current regulations.
• Reporting: Weekly consulting reports were prepared to evaluate the impact of measures implemented by the environmental authority.

Technology was also a key element of the project:

• Monitoring and analyzing vehicle traffic through data collected from traffic cameras helped determine the correlation between vehicle flow and the number of people entering bars and clubs.
• The installed sensors transmitted data wirelessly and remotely to the cloud in real-time, enabling remote monitoring via the ambiensQsuite platform. This remote monitoring included not only validation of the accuracy of the measured data but also continuous evaluation of operational variables, such as operating voltage and internal temperature, to ensure optimal sensor performance.
• The ambiensQsuite platform served as a data management system, automating the validation of data collected from multiple sensors, applying predefined algorithms for noise level analysis, and generating visual alerts and reports in real-time.

This solution enabled nightclub operators to self-regulate noise levels through visual alerts. It also allowed authorities to analyze information, design data-driven solutions, and assess the impact of proposed measures on the area, helping to achieve a balance between coexisting zones.

What set Applus+ apart in this project was its holistic, technology-driven approach. We were able to offer a comprehensive solution that integrated smart monitoring, real-time analytics, and a cloud-based environmental platform. The use of smart poles equipped with multifunctional sensors to monitor noise, road traffic, and meteorological and environmental conditions provided a complete picture of the factors contributing to urban noise pollution, raising awareness among all parties involved.