We designed a simple, portable, low-cost and low-weight nondispersive infrared (NDIR) spectroscopy-based system for continuous remote sensing of atmospheric methane (CH4) with rapidly pulsed near-infrared light emitting diodes (NIR LED) at 1.65 μm. The use of a microcontroller with a field programmable gate array (μC-FPGA) enables on-the-fly and wireless streaming and processing of large data streams (~2 Gbit/s). The investigated NIR LED detection system offers favourable limits of detection (LOD) of 300 ppm (±5%) CH4,. All the generated raw data were processed automatically on-the-fly in the μC-FPGA and transferred wirelessly via a network connection. The sensing device was deployed for the portable sensing of atmospheric CH4 at a local landfill, resulting in quantified concentrations within the sampling area (ca 400 m2) in the range of 0.5%-3.35% CH4. This NIR LED-based sensor system offers a simple low-cost solution for continuous real-time, quantitative, and direct measurement of CH4 concentrations in indoor and outdoor environments, yet with the flexibility provided by the custom programmable software. It possesses future potential for remote monitoring of gases directly from mobile platforms such as smartphones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science and School of Physical Sciences University of Tasmania Private Bag 75 Hobart 7001 Australia

Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science and School of Physical Sciences University of Tasmania Private Bag 75 Hobart 7001 Australia; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Mendel University in Brno Zemedelska 1 613 00 Brno Czech Republic; Central European Institute of Technology Brno University of Technology Purkynova 123 612 00 Brno Czech Republic

Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science and School of Physical Sciences University of Tasmania Private Bag 75 Hobart 7001 Australia; Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities Victoria University Footscray Park Campus Melbourne Victoria 3011 Australia

Central Science Laboratory University of Tasmania Private Bag 74 Hobart 7001 Australia

School of Land and Food University of Tasmania Private Bag 76 Hobart 7001 Australia

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