Sensors

Research

17 pages, 1796 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synergy Effect of Nanocrystalline Cellulose for the Biosensing Detection of Glucose

by Chakavak Esmaeili¹, Mahnaz M. Abdi^2,3,*, Aji P. Mathew⁴, Mehdi Jonoobi⁵, Kristiina Oksman⁴

and Majid Rezayi⁶

¹ School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM, 43600 Bangi, Malaysia

² Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Malaysia

³ Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Malaysia

⁴ Division of Materials Science, Composite Centre Sweden, Lulea University of Technology, 97187 Lulea, Sweden

⁵ Department of Wood and Paper Science and Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 31585-4313, 31587-77871 Karaj, Iran

⁶ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, University Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24681-24697; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024681 - 24 Sep 2015

Cited by 91 | Viewed by 9189

Abstract

Integrating polypyrrole-cellulose nanocrystal-based composites with glucose oxidase (GOx) as a new sensing regime was investigated. Polypyrrole-cellulose nanocrystal (PPy-CNC)-based composite as a novel immobilization membrane with unique physicochemical properties was found to enhance biosensor performance. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images showed that [...] Read more.

Integrating polypyrrole-cellulose nanocrystal-based composites with glucose oxidase (GOx) as a new sensing regime was investigated. Polypyrrole-cellulose nanocrystal (PPy-CNC)-based composite as a novel immobilization membrane with unique physicochemical properties was found to enhance biosensor performance. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images showed that fibers were nanosized and porous, which is appropriate for accommodating enzymes and increasing electron transfer kinetics. The voltammetric results showed that the native structure and biocatalytic activity of GOx immobilized on the PPy-CNC nanocomposite remained and exhibited a high sensitivity (ca. 0.73 μA·mM⁻¹), with a high dynamic response ranging from 1.0 to 20 mM glucose. The modified glucose biosensor exhibits a limit of detection (LOD) of (50 ± 10) µM and also excludes interfering species, such as ascorbic acid, uric acid, and cholesterol, which makes this sensor suitable for glucose determination in real samples. This sensor displays an acceptable reproducibility and stability over time. The current response was maintained over 95% of the initial value after 17 days, and the current difference measurement obtained using different electrodes provided a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 4.47%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)

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18 pages, 4020 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Low-Cost Energy-Efficient Cableless Geophone Unit for Passive Surface Wave Surveys

by Kaoshan Dai^1,2, Xiaofeng Li¹, Chuan Lu³, Qingyu You^3,*, Zhenhua Huang⁴ and H. Felix Wu⁴

¹ State Key Laboratory of Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Rd., Shanghai 200092, China

² State Key Laboratory for GeoMechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, Xuzhou 221008, China

³ State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources Research, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China

⁴ University of North Texas, 3940 N. Elm Street F115M, Denton, TX 76207, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24698-24715; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024698 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 11083

Abstract

The passive surface wave survey is a practical, non-invasive seismic exploration method that has increasingly been used in geotechnical engineering. However, in situ deployment of traditional wired geophones is labor intensive for a dense sensor array. Alternatively, stand-alone seismometers can be used, but [...] Read more.

The passive surface wave survey is a practical, non-invasive seismic exploration method that has increasingly been used in geotechnical engineering. However, in situ deployment of traditional wired geophones is labor intensive for a dense sensor array. Alternatively, stand-alone seismometers can be used, but they are bulky, heavy, and expensive because they are usually designed for long-term monitoring. To better facilitate field applications of the passive surface wave survey, a low-cost energy-efficient geophone system was developed in this study. The hardware design is presented in this paper. To validate the system’s functionality, both laboratory and field experiments were conducted. The unique feature of this newly-developed cableless geophone system allows for rapid field applications of the passive surface wave survey with dense array measurements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Sensors for Non-Destructive Testing and Structural Health Monitoring)

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19 pages, 556 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On Time Domain Analysis of Photoplethysmogram Signals for Monitoring Heat Stress

by Mohamed Elgendi^1,2,*

, Rich Fletcher³, Ian Norton⁴, Matt Brearley⁴, Derek Abbott⁵

, Nigel H. Lovell⁶ and Dale Schuurmans²

¹ Electrical and Computer Engineering in Medicine Group, University of British Columbia and BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, BC V6H 3N1, Canada

² Department of Computing Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E8, Canada

³ Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA 02139, USA

⁴ National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre, Darwin, NT 0810, Australia

⁵ School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia

⁶ Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24716-24734; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024716 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 8708

Abstract

There are a limited number of studies on heat stress dynamics during exercise using the photoplethysmogram (PPG) and its second derivative (APG). However, we investigate the most suitable index from short PPG signal recordings for heat stress assessment. The APG waveform consists of [...] Read more.

There are a limited number of studies on heat stress dynamics during exercise using the photoplethysmogram (PPG) and its second derivative (APG). However, we investigate the most suitable index from short PPG signal recordings for heat stress assessment. The APG waveform consists of a, b, c and d waves in systole and an e wave in diastole. Our preliminary results indicate that the use of the energy of aa area, derived from PPG signals measured from emergency responders in tropical conditions, is promising in determining the heat stress level using 20-s recordings. After examining 14 time domain features using leave-one-out cross-validation, we found that the aa energy extracted from PPG signals is the most informative feature for classifying heat-stressed subjects, with an overall accuracy of 79%. Moreover, the combination of the aa energy with the traditional heart rate variability index of heat stress (i.e., the square root of the mean of the squares of the successive aa intervals) improved the heat stress detection to an overall accuracy of 83%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)

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36 pages, 564 KiB

Open AccessArticle

ResilientWireless Sensor Networks Using Topology Control: A Review

by Yuanjiang Huang, José-Fernán Martínez^*, Juana Sendra and Lourdes López

Centro de Investigación en Tecnologías Software y Sistemas Multimedia para la Sostenibilidad (CITSEM), Campus Sur Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Ctra. de Valencia, km. 7. 28031 Madrid, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24735-24770; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024735 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 7532

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) may be deployed in failure-prone environments, and WSNs nodes easily fail due to unreliable wireless connections, malicious attacks and resource-constrained features. Nevertheless, if WSNs can tolerate at most losing k - 1 nodes while the rest of nodes remain [...] Read more.

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) may be deployed in failure-prone environments, and WSNs nodes easily fail due to unreliable wireless connections, malicious attacks and resource-constrained features. Nevertheless, if WSNs can tolerate at most losing k - 1 nodes while the rest of nodes remain connected, the network is called k - connected. k is one of the most important indicators for WSNs’ self-healing capability. Following a WSN design flow, this paper surveys resilience issues from the topology control and multi-path routing point of view. This paper provides a discussion on transmission and failure models, which have an important impact on research results. Afterwards, this paper reviews theoretical results and representative topology control approaches to guarantee WSNs to be k - connected at three different network deployment stages: pre-deployment, post-deployment and re-deployment. Multi-path routing protocols are discussed, and many NP-complete or NP-hard problems regarding topology control are identified. The challenging open issues are discussed at the end. This paper can serve as a guideline to design resilient WSNs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Intelligent Sensory Systems with Self-x Capabilities)

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20 pages, 796 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Applications of Decision-Level Data Fusion Techniques in the Field of Multiuser Detection for DS-UWB Systems

by Yebo Gu¹, Minglei Yang², Zhenguo Shi¹ and Zhilu Wu^1,*

¹ School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

² Shanghai Electro-Mechanical Engineering Institute, Shanghai 200245, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24771-24790; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024771 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5898

Abstract

In this paper, the decision-level data fusion techniques are extended to the multiuser detection (MUD) field. Then two novel MUD algorithms, that is the chairman arbitrating decision-level fusion criterion (CA-DFC) based MUD algorithm and the veto logic decision-level fusion criterion (VL-DFC) based MUD [...] Read more.

In this paper, the decision-level data fusion techniques are extended to the multiuser detection (MUD) field. Then two novel MUD algorithms, that is the chairman arbitrating decision-level fusion criterion (CA-DFC) based MUD algorithm and the veto logic decision-level fusion criterion (VL-DFC) based MUD algorithm, are proposed for DS-UWB communication systems. In CA-DFC based method, the chairman can make his arbitration among the preliminary decisions from sub-optimal detectors by his own rule. In the VL-DFC based method, the undetermined bits in these preliminary decisions are considered to construct a simplified solution space, and then the chairman can make his final decision within this space. Simulation results demonstrate that the performances of CA-DFC and VL-DFC based MUD algorithms are superior to those of other sub-optimal MUD algorithms, and even close to that of OMD. Moreover, both of these proposed algorithms have lower computational complexity than OMD, which reveals their efficiency. Compared with CA-DFC, VL-DFC based algorithm achieves a little improvement in its performance, at the cost of the increment in its computational complexity. Thus, they can be applied to different practical situations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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27 pages, 832 KiB

Open AccessArticle

PRIMAL: Page Rank-Based Indoor Mapping and Localization Using Gene-Sequenced Unlabeled WLAN Received Signal Strength

by Mu Zhou^1,*, Qiao Zhang¹, Kunjie Xu², Zengshan Tian¹, Yanmeng Wang¹ and Wei He¹

¹ Chongqing Key Lab of Mobile Communications Technology, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing 400065, China

² Ericsson, San Jose, CA 95134, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24791-24817; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024791 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 6128

Abstract

Due to the wide deployment of wireless local area networks (WLAN), received signal strength (RSS)-based indoor WLAN localization has attracted considerable attention in both academia and industry. In this paper, we propose a novel page rank-based indoor mapping and localization (PRIMAL) by using [...] Read more.

Due to the wide deployment of wireless local area networks (WLAN), received signal strength (RSS)-based indoor WLAN localization has attracted considerable attention in both academia and industry. In this paper, we propose a novel page rank-based indoor mapping and localization (PRIMAL) by using the gene-sequenced unlabeled WLAN RSS for simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). Specifically, first of all, based on the observation of the motion patterns of the people in the target environment, we use the Allen logic to construct the mobility graph to characterize the connectivity among different areas of interest. Second, the concept of gene sequencing is utilized to assemble the sporadically-collected RSS sequences into a signal graph based on the transition relations among different RSS sequences. Third, we apply the graph drawing approach to exhibit both the mobility graph and signal graph in a more readable manner. Finally, the page rank (PR) algorithm is proposed to construct the mapping from the signal graph into the mobility graph. The experimental results show that the proposed approach achieves satisfactory localization accuracy and meanwhile avoids the intensive time and labor cost involved in the conventional location fingerprinting-based indoor WLAN localization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors for Indoor Mapping and Navigation)

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14 pages, 20797 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Proposition of a Silica Nanoparticle-Enhanced Hybrid Spin-Microcantilever Sensor Using Nonlinear Optics for Detection of DNA in Liquid

by Wen-Hao Wu and Ka-Di Zhu^*

Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24848-24861; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024848 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5425

Abstract

We theoretically propose a method based on the combination of a nonlinear optical mass sensor using a hybrid spin-microcantilever and the nanoparticle-enhanced technique, to detect and monitor DNA mutations. The technique theoretically allows the mass of external particles (ssDNA) landing on the surface [...] Read more.

We theoretically propose a method based on the combination of a nonlinear optical mass sensor using a hybrid spin-microcantilever and the nanoparticle-enhanced technique, to detect and monitor DNA mutations. The technique theoretically allows the mass of external particles (ssDNA) landing on the surface of a hybrid spin-microcantilever to be detected directly and accurately at 300 K with a mass responsivity 0.137 Hz/ag in situ in liquid. Moreover, combined with the nanoparticle-enhanced technique, even only one base pair mutation in the target DNA sequence can be identified in real time accurately, and the DNA hybridization reactions can be monitored quantitatively. Furthermore, in situ detection in liquid and measurement of the proposed nonlinear optical spin resonance spectra will minimize the experimental errors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mass-Sensitive Sensors Based on Biomimetic Recognition)

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24 pages, 1189 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Bluetooth/PDR Integration Algorithm for an Indoor Positioning System

by Xin Li^1,2,*

, Jian Wang² and Chunyan Liu²

¹ School of Computer Science and Technology, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China

² School of Environmental Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24862-24885; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024862 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 112 | Viewed by 9441

Abstract

This paper proposes two schemes for indoor positioning by fusing Bluetooth beacons and a pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) technique to provide meter-level positioning without additional infrastructure. As to the PDR approach, a more effective multi-threshold step detection algorithm is used to improve the [...] Read more.

This paper proposes two schemes for indoor positioning by fusing Bluetooth beacons and a pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) technique to provide meter-level positioning without additional infrastructure. As to the PDR approach, a more effective multi-threshold step detection algorithm is used to improve the positioning accuracy. According to pedestrians’ different walking patterns such as walking or running, this paper makes a comparative analysis of multiple step length calculation models to determine a linear computation model and the relevant parameters. In consideration of the deviation between the real heading and the value of the orientation sensor, a heading estimation method with real-time compensation is proposed, which is based on a Kalman filter with map geometry information. The corrected heading can inhibit the positioning error accumulation and improve the positioning accuracy of PDR. Moreover, this paper has implemented two positioning approaches integrated with Bluetooth and PDR. One is the PDR-based positioning method based on map matching and position correction through Bluetooth. There will not be too much calculation work or too high maintenance costs using this method. The other method is a fusion calculation method based on the pedestrians’ moving status (direct movement or making a turn) to determine adaptively the noise parameters in an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) system. This method has worked very well in the elimination of various phenomena, including the “go and back” phenomenon caused by the instability of the Bluetooth-based positioning system and the “cross-wall” phenomenon due to the accumulative errors caused by the PDR algorithm. Experiments performed on the fourth floor of the School of Environmental Science and Spatial Informatics (SESSI) building in the China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT) campus showed that the proposed scheme can reliably achieve a 2-meter precision. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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17 pages, 1362 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Layered Location-Based Security Mechanism for Mobile Sensor Networks: Moving Security Areas

by Ze Wang^*, Haijuan Zhang^†, Luqiang Wu^† and Chang Zhou

¹ School of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387, China

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24886-24902; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024886 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4553

Abstract

Network security is one of the most important issues in mobile sensor networks (MSNs). Networks are particularly vulnerable in hostile environments because of many factors, such as uncertain mobility, limitations on computation, and the need for storage in mobile nodes. Though some location-based [...] Read more.

Network security is one of the most important issues in mobile sensor networks (MSNs). Networks are particularly vulnerable in hostile environments because of many factors, such as uncertain mobility, limitations on computation, and the need for storage in mobile nodes. Though some location-based security mechanisms can resist some malicious attacks, they are only suitable for static networks and may sometimes require large amounts of storage. To solve these problems, using location information, which is one of the most important properties in outdoor wireless networks, a security mechanism called a moving security area (MSA) is proposed to resist malicious attacks by using mobile nodes’ dynamic location-based keys. The security mechanism is layered by performing different detection schemes inside or outside the MSA. The location-based private keys will be updated only at the appropriate moments, considering the balance of cost and security performance. By transferring parts of the detection tasks from ordinary nodes to the sink node, the memory requirements are distributed to different entities to save limited energy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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11 pages, 1731 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Metal Decoration Effects on the Gas-Sensing Properties of 2D Hybrid-Structures on Flexible Substrates

by Byungjin Cho^1,*, Jongwon Yoon², Sung Kwan Lim³, Ah Ra Kim¹, Sun-Young Choi¹, Dong-Ho Kim¹, Kyu Hwan Lee⁴, Byoung Hun Lee^2,3, Heung Cho Ko² and Myung Gwan Hahm^1,*

¹ Advanced Functional Thin Films Department, Surface Technology Division, Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), 797 Changwondaero, Sungsan-Gu, Changwon, Gyeongnam 642-831, Korea

² School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 261 Cheomdan-gwagiro, Buk-Gu, Gwangju 500-712, Korea

³ Department of Nanobio Materials and Electronics, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 261 Cheomdan-gwagiro, Buk-Gu, Gwangju 500-712, Korea

⁴ Electrochemistry Department, Surface Technology Division, Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), 797 Changwondaero, Sungsan-Gu, Changwon, Gyeongnam 642-831, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24903-24913; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024903 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 10698

Abstract

We have investigated the effects of metal decoration on the gas-sensing properties of a device with two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) flake channels and graphene electrodes. The 2D hybrid-structure device sensitively detected NO₂ gas molecules (>1.2 ppm) as well as [...] Read more.

We have investigated the effects of metal decoration on the gas-sensing properties of a device with two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) flake channels and graphene electrodes. The 2D hybrid-structure device sensitively detected NO₂ gas molecules (>1.2 ppm) as well as NH₃ (>10 ppm). Metal nanoparticles (NPs) could tune the electronic properties of the 2D graphene/MoS₂ device, increasing sensitivity to a specific gas molecule. For instance, palladium NPs accumulate hole carriers of graphene/MoS₂, electronically sensitizing NH₃ gas molecules. Contrarily, aluminum NPs deplete hole carriers, enhancing NO₂ sensitivity. The synergistic combination of metal NPs and 2D hybrid layers could be also applied to a flexible gas sensor. There was no serious degradation in the sensing performance of metal-decorated MoS₂ flexible devices before/after 5000 bending cycles. Thus, highly sensitive and endurable gas sensor could be achieved through the metal-decorated 2D hybrid-structure, offering a useful route to wearable electronic sensing platforms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gas Sensors—Designs and Applications)

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12 pages, 2088 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of Metal-Ceramic Coaxial Cable Fabry-Pérot Interferometric Sensors for High Temperature Monitoring

by Adam Trontz¹, Baokai Cheng², Shixuan Zeng¹, Hai Xiao² and Junhang Dong^1,*

¹ Chemical Engineering Department, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA

² Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24914-24925; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024914 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6208

Abstract

Metal-ceramic coaxial cable Fabry-Pérot interferometric (MCCC-FPI) sensors have been developed using a stainless steel tube and a stainless steel wire as the outer and inner conductors, respectively; a tubular α-alumina insulator; and a pair of air gaps created in the insulator along the [...] Read more.

Metal-ceramic coaxial cable Fabry-Pérot interferometric (MCCC-FPI) sensors have been developed using a stainless steel tube and a stainless steel wire as the outer and inner conductors, respectively; a tubular α-alumina insulator; and a pair of air gaps created in the insulator along the cable to serve as weak reflectors for the transmitting microwave (MW) signal. The MCCC-FPI sensors have been demonstrated for high temperature measurements using MW signals in a frequency range of 2–8 GHz. The temperature measurement is achieved by monitoring the frequency shift (Δƒ) of the MW interferogram reflected from the pair of weak reflectors. The MW sensor exhibited excellent linear dependence of Δƒ on temperature; small measurement deviations (±2.7%); and fast response in a tested range of 200–500 °C. The MCCC has the potential for further developing multipoint FPI sensors in a single-cable to achieve in situ and continuous measurement of spatially distributed temperature in harsh environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors for Harsh Environments)

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19 pages, 1507 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Onboard Image Processing System for Hyperspectral Sensor

by Hiroki Hihara^1,2,*, Kotaro Moritani¹, Masao Inoue¹, Yoshihiro Hoshi¹, Akira Iwasaki², Jun Takada³, Hitomi Inada⁴, Makoto Suzuki⁵, Taeko Seki⁶, Satoshi Ichikawa⁶ and Jun Tanii⁷

¹ NEC Space Technologies, Ltd., 1-10, Nisshin-cho, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8551, Japan

² Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8904, Japan

³ Central Research Laboratory, NEC Corporation, 1753, Shimonumabe, Nakahara-Ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 211-8666, Japan

⁴ Space Systems Division, NEC Corporation, 1-10, Nisshin-cho, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8551, Japan

⁵ Institute of Space Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210, Japan

⁶ Aerospace Research and Development Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), 2-1-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8505, Japan

⁷ Japan Space Systems, 3-5-8 Shibakoen, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0011, Japan

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24926-24944; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024926 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 8165

Abstract

Onboard image processing systems for a hyperspectral sensor have been developed in order to maximize image data transmission efficiency for large volume and high speed data downlink capacity. Since more than 100 channels are required for hyperspectral sensors on Earth observation satellites, fast [...] Read more.

Onboard image processing systems for a hyperspectral sensor have been developed in order to maximize image data transmission efficiency for large volume and high speed data downlink capacity. Since more than 100 channels are required for hyperspectral sensors on Earth observation satellites, fast and small-footprint lossless image compression capability is essential for reducing the size and weight of a sensor system. A fast lossless image compression algorithm has been developed, and is implemented in the onboard correction circuitry of sensitivity and linearity of Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) sensors in order to maximize the compression ratio. The employed image compression method is based on Fast, Efficient, Lossless Image compression System (FELICS), which is a hierarchical predictive coding method with resolution scaling. To improve FELICS’s performance of image decorrelation and entropy coding, we apply a two-dimensional interpolation prediction and adaptive Golomb-Rice coding. It supports progressive decompression using resolution scaling while still maintaining superior performance measured as speed and complexity. Coding efficiency and compression speed enlarge the effective capacity of signal transmission channels, which lead to reducing onboard hardware by multiplexing sensor signals into a reduced number of compression circuits. The circuitry is embedded into the data formatter of the sensor system without adding size, weight, power consumption, and fabrication cost. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photonic Sensors in Space)

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16 pages, 1068 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Robust Reweighted L₁-Minimization Imaging Algorithm for Passive Millimeter Wave SAIR in Near Field

by Yilong Zhang¹, Yuehua Li^1,*, Shujin Zhu¹ and Yuanjiang Li^1,2

¹ School of Electronic and Optical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China

² Institute of Electronic and Information, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212000, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24945-24960; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024945 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5101

Abstract

The Compressive Sensing (CS) approach has proven to be useful for Synthetic Aperture Interferometric Radiometer (SAIR) imaging because it provides the same high-resolution capability while using part of interferometric observations compared to traditional methods using the entirety. However, it cannot always obtain the [...] Read more.

The Compressive Sensing (CS) approach has proven to be useful for Synthetic Aperture Interferometric Radiometer (SAIR) imaging because it provides the same high-resolution capability while using part of interferometric observations compared to traditional methods using the entirety. However, it cannot always obtain the sparsest solution and may yield outliers with the non-adaptive random measurement matrix adopted by current CS models. To solve those problems, this paper proposes a robust reweighted L₁-minimization imaging algorithm, called RRIA, to reconstruct images accurately by combining the sparsity and prior information of SAIR images in near field. RRIA employs iterative reweighted L₁-minimization to enhance the sparsity to reconstruct SAIR images by computing a new weight factor in each iteration according to the previous SAIR images. Prior information estimated by the energy functional of SAIR images is introduced to RRIA as an additional constraint condition to make the algorithm more robust for different complex scenes. Compared to the current basic CS approach, our simulation results indicate that RRIA can achieve better recovery with the same amount of interferometric observations. Experimental results of different scenes demonstrate the validity and robustness of RRIA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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17 pages, 1888 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Scheme and Evaluations on a Long-Term and Continuous Biosensor Platform Integrated with a Dental Implant Fixture and Its Prosthetic Abutment

by Yu-Jung Li¹ and Chih-Cheng Lu^1,2,*

¹ Graduate Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan

² Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24961-24976; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024961 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6833

Abstract

A miniature intra-oral dental implant system including a built-in biosensor device is proposed in this article. The dental implant system, or platform, is replaced over maxilla and allows relatively non-invasive procedures for a novel biosensing scheme for human blood analysis. Due to placement [...] Read more.

A miniature intra-oral dental implant system including a built-in biosensor device is proposed in this article. The dental implant system, or platform, is replaced over maxilla and allows relatively non-invasive procedures for a novel biosensing scheme for human blood analysis. Due to placement of the implant fixture, periodontal ligaments and the pulp structure, which are regarded as the main origin of pain, are thus removed, and long-term, continuous blood analysis and management through maxillary bone marrow becomes achievable through the dental implant platform. The new pathway of biological sensing is for the first time presented to realize an accurate and painless approach without injections. The dental implant system mainly consists of an implant fixture and a prosthetic abutment, a biosensor module, a bluetooth 4.0 wireless module and a dc button cell battery. The electrochemical biosensor possesses three electrodes, including working, reference and counter ones, which are arranged to pass through the titanium implant fixture below the biosensor module. The electrodes are exposed to the blood pool inside the maxillary bone marrow and perform oxidation/reduction reactions with the coating of biosensing enzyme. To prove the proposed platform, the immobilization process of glucose oxidase (GOD) enzyme and in vitro detections of glucose levels are successfully carried out, and proven sensitivity, linearity and repeatability of the glucose biosensor system are obtained. Moreover, a preliminary canine animal model adopting the new pathway shows significant consistency with the traditional method through dermal pricks for blood sugar detection. Despite the prospective results, further challenges in engineering implementation and clinical practices are addressed and discussed. In brief, the novel biosensing pathway and intra-oral biosensor platform may increasingly reveal their promising value and feasibilities in current bio-medical analysis, diagnosis, drug release and even healthcare technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)

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19 pages, 635 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Evaluation of Wearable Sensor Systems: A Case Study in Moderate-Scale Deployment in Hospital Environment

by Wen Sun^1,*, Yu Ge², Zhiqiang Zhang³ and Wai-Choong Wong¹

¹ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119613, Singapore

² Institute for Infocomm Research, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore 138632, Singapore

³ Department of Computing, Imperial College, London W120NN, UK

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24977-24995; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024977 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5469

Abstract

A wearable sensor system enables continuous and remote health monitoring and is widely considered as the next generation of healthcare technology. The performance, the packet error rate (PER) in particular, of a wearable sensor system may deteriorate due to a number of factors, [...] Read more.

A wearable sensor system enables continuous and remote health monitoring and is widely considered as the next generation of healthcare technology. The performance, the packet error rate (PER) in particular, of a wearable sensor system may deteriorate due to a number of factors, particularly the interference from the other wearable sensor systems in the vicinity. We systematically evaluate the performance of the wearable sensor system in terms of PER in the presence of such interference in this paper. The factors that affect the performance of the wearable sensor system, such as density, traffic load, and transmission power in a realistic moderate-scale deployment case in hospital are all considered. Simulation results show that with 20% duty cycle, only 68.5% of data transmission can achieve the targeted reliability requirement (PER is less than 0.05) even in the off-peak period in hospital. We then suggest some interference mitigation schemes based on the performance evaluation results in the case study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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19 pages, 1108 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rate Adaptive Based Resource Allocation with Proportional Fairness Constraints in OFDMA Systems

by Zhendong Yin, Shufeng Zhuang, Zhilu Wu^* and Bo Ma

School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 Xidazhi Street, Harbin 150001, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24996-25014; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024996 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5455

Abstract

Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), which is widely used in the wireless sensor networks, allows different users to obtain different subcarriers according to their subchannel gains. Therefore, how to assign subcarriers and power to different users to achieve a high system sum [...] Read more.

Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), which is widely used in the wireless sensor networks, allows different users to obtain different subcarriers according to their subchannel gains. Therefore, how to assign subcarriers and power to different users to achieve a high system sum rate is an important research area in OFDMA systems. In this paper, the focus of study is on the rate adaptive (RA) based resource allocation with proportional fairness constraints. Since the resource allocation is a NP-hard and non-convex optimization problem, a new efficient resource allocation algorithm ACO-SPA is proposed, which combines ant colony optimization (ACO) and suboptimal power allocation (SPA). To reduce the computational complexity, the optimization problem of resource allocation in OFDMA systems is separated into two steps. For the first one, the ant colony optimization algorithm is performed to solve the subcarrier allocation. Then, the suboptimal power allocation algorithm is developed with strict proportional fairness, and the algorithm is based on the principle that the sums of power and the reciprocal of channel-to-noise ratio for each user in different subchannels are equal. To support it, plenty of simulation results are presented. In contrast with root-finding and linear methods, the proposed method provides better performance in solving the proportional resource allocation problem in OFDMA systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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18 pages, 895 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimisation and Characterisation of Anti-Fouling Ternary SAM Layers for Impedance-Based Aptasensors

by Anna Miodek^1,*, Edward M. Regan^1,†, Nikhil Bhalla¹, Neal A.E. Hopkins², Sarah A. Goodchild² and Pedro Estrela^1,*

¹ Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK

² Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Salisbury, SP4 0JQ, UK

^† Current address: Clarity BioSolutions Ltd., Building 114, Porton Down Science Park, Salisbury, SP4 0JQ, UK.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25015-25032; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025015 - 29 Sep 2015

Cited by 57 | Viewed by 11256

Abstract

An aptasensor with enhanced anti-fouling properties has been developed. As a case study, the aptasensor was designed with specificity for human thrombin. The sensing platform was developed on screen printed electrodes and is composed of a self-assembled monolayer made from a ternary mixture [...] Read more.

An aptasensor with enhanced anti-fouling properties has been developed. As a case study, the aptasensor was designed with specificity for human thrombin. The sensing platform was developed on screen printed electrodes and is composed of a self-assembled monolayer made from a ternary mixture of 15-base thiolated DNA aptamers specific for human thrombin co-immobilised with 1,6-hexanedithiol (HDT) and further passivated with 1-mercapto-6-hexanol (MCH). HDT binds to the surface by two of its thiol groups forming alkyl chain bridges and this architecture protects from non-specific attachment of molecules to the electrode surface. Using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), the aptasensor is able to detect human thrombin as variations in charge transfer resistance (R_ct) upon protein binding. After exposure to a high concentration of non-specific Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) solution, no changes in the R_ct value were observed, highlighting the bio-fouling resistance of the surface generated. In this paper, we present the optimisation and characterisation of the aptasensor based on the ternary self-assembled monolayer (SAM) layer. We show that anti-fouling properties depend on the type of gold surface used for biosensor construction, which was also confirmed by contact angle measurements. We further studied the ratio between aptamers and HDT, which can determine the specificity and selectivity of the sensing layer. We also report the influence of buffer pH and temperature used for incubation of electrodes with proteins on detection and anti-fouling properties. Finally, the stability of the aptasensor was studied by storage of modified electrodes for up to 28 days in different buffers and atmospheric conditions. Aptasensors based on ternary SAM layers are highly promising for clinical applications for detection of a range of proteins in real biological samples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrochemical Sensors and Biosensors: From Bench-Top to Point-of-Care)

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16 pages, 2177 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Feasibility Analysis of Land-Based SINS/GNSS Gravimetry for Groundwater Resource Detection in Taiwan

by Kai-Wei Chiang, Cheng-An Lin and Chung-Yen Kuo^*

Department of Geomatics, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan 701, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25039-25054; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025039 - 29 Sep 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5199

Abstract

The integration of the Strapdown Inertial Navigation System and Global Navigation Satellite System (SINS/GNSS) has been implemented for land-based gravimetry and has been proven to perform well in estimating gravity. Based on the mGal-level gravimetry results, this research aims to construct [...] Read more.

The integration of the Strapdown Inertial Navigation System and Global Navigation Satellite System (SINS/GNSS) has been implemented for land-based gravimetry and has been proven to perform well in estimating gravity. Based on the mGal-level gravimetry results, this research aims to construct and develop a land-based SINS/GNSS gravimetry device containing a navigation-grade Inertial Measurement Unit. This research also presents a feasibility analysis for groundwater resource detection. A preliminary comparison of the kinematic velocities and accelerations using multi-combination of GNSS data including Global Positioning System, Global Navigation Satellite System, and BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, indicates that three-system observations performed better than two-system data in the computation. A comparison of gravity derived from SINS/GNSS and measured using a relative gravimeter also shows that both agree reasonably well with a mean difference of 2.30 mGal. The mean difference between repeat measurements of gravity disturbance using SINS/GNSS is 2.46 mGal with a standard deviation of 1.32 mGal. The gravity variation because of the groundwater at Pingtung Plain, Taiwan could reach 2.72 mGal. Hence, the developed land-based SINS/GNSS gravimetry can sufficiently and effectively detect groundwater resources. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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17 pages, 1254 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantitative Assessment of Parkinsonian Tremor Based on an Inertial Measurement Unit

by Houde Dai^1,2,*

, Pengyue Zhang³ and Tim C. Lueth²

¹ Quanzhou Institute of Equipment Manufacturing, Haixi Institutes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bolan Av., Jinjiang 362200, China

² Institute of Micro Technology and Medical Device Technology, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, 85748 Garching, Germany

³ Medical Faculty, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25055-25071; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025055 - 29 Sep 2015

Cited by 126 | Viewed by 11320

Abstract

Quantitative assessment of parkinsonian tremor based on inertial sensors can provide reliable feedback on the effect of medication. In this regard, the features of parkinsonian tremor and its unique properties such as motor fluctuations and dyskinesia are taken into account. Least-square-estimation models are [...] Read more.

Quantitative assessment of parkinsonian tremor based on inertial sensors can provide reliable feedback on the effect of medication. In this regard, the features of parkinsonian tremor and its unique properties such as motor fluctuations and dyskinesia are taken into account. Least-square-estimation models are used to assess the severities of rest, postural, and action tremors. In addition, a time-frequency signal analysis algorithm for tremor state detection was also included in the tremor assessment method. This inertial sensor-based method was verified through comparison with an electromagnetic motion tracking system. Seven Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients were tested using this tremor assessment system. The measured tremor amplitudes correlated well with the judgments of a neurologist (r = 0.98). The systematic analysis of sensor-based tremor quantification and the corresponding experiments could be of great help in monitoring the severity of parkinsonian tremor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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18 pages, 2983 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Fusion-Based Ship Detection Method from Pol-SAR Images

by Wenguang Wang^1,*, Yu Ji¹ and Xiaoxia Lin²

¹ Institute of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China

² Lucent Technology Investment Limited, Beijing 100073, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25072-25089; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025072 - 29 Sep 2015

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5251

Abstract

A novel fusion-based ship detection method from polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (Pol-SAR) images is proposed in this paper. After feature extraction and constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detection, the detection results of HH channel, diplane scattering by Pauli decomposition and helical factor by [...] Read more.

A novel fusion-based ship detection method from polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (Pol-SAR) images is proposed in this paper. After feature extraction and constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detection, the detection results of HH channel, diplane scattering by Pauli decomposition and helical factor by Barnes decomposition are fused together. The confirmed targets and potential target pixels can be obtained after the fusion process. Using the difference degree of the target, potential target pixels can be classified. The fusion-based ship detection method works accurately by utilizing three different features comprehensively. The result of applying the technique to measured Airborne Synthetic Radar (AIRSAR) data shows that the novel detection method can achieve better performance in both ship’s detection and ship’s shape preservation compared to the result of K-means clustering method and the Notch Filter method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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13 pages, 5049 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Surface Plasmon Scattering in Exposed Core Optical Fiber for Enhanced Resolution Refractive Index Sensing

by Elizaveta Klantsataya^1,*, Alexandre François^1,2,4, Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem^1,2, Peter Hoffmann^1,3 and Tanya M. Monro^1,2,4

¹ Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005,Australia

² ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics (CNBP), The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia

³ Adelaide Proteomics Centre, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia

⁴ University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25090-25102; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025090 - 29 Sep 2015

Cited by 94 | Viewed by 7522

Abstract

Refractometric sensors based on optical excitation of surface plasmons on the side of an optical fiber is an established sensing architecture that has enabled laboratory demonstrations of cost effective portable devices for biological and chemical applications. Here we report a Surface Plasmon Resonance [...] Read more.

Refractometric sensors based on optical excitation of surface plasmons on the side of an optical fiber is an established sensing architecture that has enabled laboratory demonstrations of cost effective portable devices for biological and chemical applications. Here we report a Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) configuration realized in an Exposed Core Microstructured Optical Fiber (ECF) capable of optimizing both sensitivity and resolution. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of fabrication of a rough metal coating suitable for spectral interrogation of scattered plasmonic wave using chemical electroless plating technique on a 10 μm diameter exposed core of the ECF. Performance of the sensor in terms of its refractive index sensitivity and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of SPR response is compared to that achieved with an unstructured bare core fiber with 140 μm core diameter. The experimental improvement in FWHM, and therefore the detection limit, is found to be a factor of two (75 nm for ECF in comparison to 150 nm for the large core fiber). Refractive index sensitivity of 1800 nm/RIU was achieved for both fibers in the sensing range of aqueous environment (1.33–1.37) suitable for biosensing applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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20 pages, 2301 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Video Collaborative Localization of a Miner’s Lamp Based on Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks for Underground Coal Mines

by Kaiming You, Wei Yang^* and Ruisong Han

School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25103-25122; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025103 - 29 Sep 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6382

Abstract

Based on wireless multimedia sensor networks (WMSNs) deployed in an underground coal mine, a miner’s lamp video collaborative localization algorithm was proposed to locate miners in the scene of insufficient illumination and bifurcated structures of underground tunnels. In bifurcation area, several camera nodes [...] Read more.

Based on wireless multimedia sensor networks (WMSNs) deployed in an underground coal mine, a miner’s lamp video collaborative localization algorithm was proposed to locate miners in the scene of insufficient illumination and bifurcated structures of underground tunnels. In bifurcation area, several camera nodes are deployed along the longitudinal direction of tunnels, forming a collaborative cluster in wireless way to monitor and locate miners in underground tunnels. Cap-lamps are regarded as the feature of miners in the scene of insufficient illumination of underground tunnels, which means that miners can be identified by detecting their cap-lamps. A miner’s lamp will project mapping points on the imaging plane of collaborative cameras and the coordinates of mapping points are calculated by collaborative cameras. Then, multiple straight lines between the positions of collaborative cameras and their corresponding mapping points are established. To find the three-dimension (3D) coordinate location of the miner’s lamp a least square method is proposed to get the optimal intersection of the multiple straight lines. Tests were carried out both in a corridor and a realistic scenario of underground tunnel, which show that the proposed miner’s lamp video collaborative localization algorithm has good effectiveness, robustness and localization accuracy in real world conditions of underground tunnels. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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16 pages, 1584 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Double Laser for Depth Measurement of Thin Films of Ice

by Manuel Domingo Beltrán^*, Ramón Luna Molina, Miguel Ángel Satorre Aznar, Carmina Santonja Moltó and Carlos Millán Verdú

Centro de Tecnologías Físicas, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25123-25138; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025123 - 29 Sep 2015

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 6381

Abstract

The use of thin films is extensive in both science and industry. We have created an experimental system that allows us to measure the thicknesses of thin films (with typical thicknesses of around 1 µm) in real time without the need for any [...] Read more.

The use of thin films is extensive in both science and industry. We have created an experimental system that allows us to measure the thicknesses of thin films (with typical thicknesses of around 1 µm) in real time without the need for any prior knowledge or parameters. Using the proposed system, we can also measure the refractive index of the thin film material exactly under the same experimental conditions. We have also obtained interesting results with regard to structural changes in the solid substance with changing temperature and have observed the corresponding behavior of mixtures of substances. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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18 pages, 2031 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fully Integrated Biopotential Acquisition Analog Front-End IC

by Haryong Song, Yunjong Park, Hyungseup Kim and Hyoungho Ko^*

Department of Electronics, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 305-764, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25139-25156; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025139 - 30 Sep 2015

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 10315

Abstract

A biopotential acquisition analog front-end (AFE) integrated circuit (IC) is presented. The biopotential AFE includes a capacitively coupled chopper instrumentation amplifier (CCIA) to achieve low input referred noise (IRN) and to block unwanted DC potential signals. A DC servo loop (DSL) is designed [...] Read more.

A biopotential acquisition analog front-end (AFE) integrated circuit (IC) is presented. The biopotential AFE includes a capacitively coupled chopper instrumentation amplifier (CCIA) to achieve low input referred noise (IRN) and to block unwanted DC potential signals. A DC servo loop (DSL) is designed to minimize the offset voltage in the chopper amplifier and low frequency respiration artifacts. An AC coupled ripple rejection loop (RRL) is employed to reduce ripple due to chopper stabilization. A capacitive impedance boosting loop (CIBL) is designed to enhance the input impedance and common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) without additional power consumption, even under an external electrode mismatch. The AFE IC consists of two-stage CCIA that include three compensation loops (DSL, RRL, and CIBL) at each CCIA stage. The biopotential AFE is fabricated using a 0.18 μm one polysilicon and six metal layers (1P6M) complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The core chip size of the AFE without input/output (I/O) pads is 10.5 mm². A fourth-order band-pass filter (BPF) with a pass-band in the band-width from 1 Hz to 100 Hz was integrated to attenuate unwanted signal and noise. The overall gain and band-width are reconfigurable by using programmable capacitors. The IRN is measured to be 0.94 μVRMS in the pass band. The maximum amplifying gain of the pass-band was measured as 71.9 dB. The CIBL enhances the CMRR from 57.9 dB to 67 dB at 60 Hz under electrode mismatch conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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19 pages, 4724 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hyperbolic Positioning with Antenna Arrays and Multi-Channel Pseudolite for Indoor Localization

by Kenjirou Fujii^1,†, Yoshihiro Sakamoto^2,*,†, Wei Wang², Hiroaki Arie², Alexander Schmitz² and Shigeki Sugano²

¹ Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd., 3 Kanda-neribei-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0022, Japan

² Department of Modern Mechanical Engineering, School of Creative Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25157-25175; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025157 - 30 Sep 2015

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 9152

Abstract

A hyperbolic positioning method with antenna arrays consisting of proximately-located antennas and a multi-channel pseudolite is proposed in order to overcome the problems of indoor positioning with conventional pseudolites (ground-based GPS transmitters). A two-dimensional positioning experiment using actual devices is conducted. The experimental [...] Read more.

A hyperbolic positioning method with antenna arrays consisting of proximately-located antennas and a multi-channel pseudolite is proposed in order to overcome the problems of indoor positioning with conventional pseudolites (ground-based GPS transmitters). A two-dimensional positioning experiment using actual devices is conducted. The experimental result shows that the positioning accuracy varies centimeter- to meter-level according to the geometric relation between the pseudolite antennas and the receiver. It also shows that the bias error of the carrier-phase difference observables is more serious than their random error. Based on the size of the bias error of carrier-phase difference that is inverse-calculated from the experimental result, three-dimensional positioning performance is evaluated by computer simulation. In addition, in the three-dimensional positioning scenario, an initial value convergence analysis of the non-linear least squares is conducted. Its result shows that initial values that can converge to a right position exist at least under the proposed antenna setup. The simulated values and evaluation methods introduced in this work can be applied to various antenna setups; therefore, by using them, positioning performance can be predicted in advance of installing an actual system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors for Indoor Mapping and Navigation)

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32 pages, 2515 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Context-Aware Model to Provide Positioning in Disaster Relief Scenarios

by Daniel Moreno¹, Sergio F. Ochoa^1,*

and Roc Meseguer²

¹ Department of Computer Science, Universidad de Chile, Beauchef 851, Santiago 8370459, Chile

² Department of Computer Architecture, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Jordi Girona Salgado 1, Barcelona 08034, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25176-25207; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025176 - 30 Sep 2015

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5919

Abstract

The effectiveness of the work performed during disaster relief efforts is highly dependent on the coordination of activities conducted by the first responders deployed in the affected area. Such coordination, in turn, depends on an appropriate management of geo-referenced information. Therefore, enabling first [...] Read more.

The effectiveness of the work performed during disaster relief efforts is highly dependent on the coordination of activities conducted by the first responders deployed in the affected area. Such coordination, in turn, depends on an appropriate management of geo-referenced information. Therefore, enabling first responders to count on positioning capabilities during these activities is vital to increase the effectiveness of the response process. The positioning methods used in this scenario must assume a lack of infrastructure-based communication and electrical energy, which usually characterizes affected areas. Although positioning systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) have been shown to be useful, we cannot assume that all devices deployed in the area (or most of them) will have positioning capabilities by themselves. Typically, many first responders carry devices that are not capable of performing positioning on their own, but that require such a service. In order to help increase the positioning capability of first responders in disaster-affected areas, this paper presents a context-aware positioning model that allows mobile devices to estimate their position based on information gathered from their surroundings. The performance of the proposed model was evaluated using simulations, and the obtained results show that mobile devices without positioning capabilities were able to use the model to estimate their position. Moreover, the accuracy of the positioning model has been shown to be suitable for conducting most first response activities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Select Papers from UCAmI & IWAAL 2014 – The 8th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing and Ambient Intelligence & the 6th International Workshop on Ambient Assisted Living (UCAmI & IWAAL 2014: Pervasive Sensing Solutions))

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17 pages, 1306 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A High Performance LIA-Based Interface for Battery Powered Sensing Devices

by Daniel García-Romeo^*, María R. Valero, Nicolás Medrano

, Belén Calvo and Santiago Celma

Group of Electronic Design, Aragon Institute for Engineering Research, I3A, Facultad de Ciencias, Pedro Cerbuna 12, Zaragoza 50009, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25260-25276; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025260 - 30 Sep 2015

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 7355

Abstract

This paper proposes a battery-compatible electronic interface based on a general purpose lock-in amplifier (LIA) capable of recovering input signals up to the MHz range. The core is a novel ASIC fabricated in 1.8 V 0.18 µm CMOS technology, which contains a dual-phase [...] Read more.

This paper proposes a battery-compatible electronic interface based on a general purpose lock-in amplifier (LIA) capable of recovering input signals up to the MHz range. The core is a novel ASIC fabricated in 1.8 V 0.18 µm CMOS technology, which contains a dual-phase analog lock-in amplifier consisting of carefully designed building blocks to allow configurability over a wide frequency range while maintaining low power consumption. It operates using square input signals. Hence, for battery-operated microcontrolled systems, where square reference and exciting signals can be generated by the embedded microcontroller, the system benefits from intrinsic advantages such as simplicity, versatility and reduction in power and size. Experimental results confirm the signal recovery capability with signal-to-noise power ratios down to −39 dB with relative errors below 0.07% up to 1 MHz. Furthermore, the system has been successfully tested measuring the response of a microcantilever-based resonant sensor, achieving similar results with better power-bandwidth trade-off compared to other LIAs based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and commercial LIA equipment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cyber-Physical Systems)

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10 pages, 951 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Auto Regressive Moving Average (ARMA) Modeling Method for Gyro Random Noise Using a Robust Kalman Filter

by Lei Huang

Automation Department, Nanjing Forestry University, 159 Longpan Road, Nanjing 210037, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25277-25286; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025277 - 30 Sep 2015

Cited by 37 | Viewed by 6470

Abstract

To solve the problem in which the conventional ARMA modeling methods for gyro random noise require a large number of samples and converge slowly, an ARMA modeling method using a robust Kalman filtering is developed. The ARMA model parameters are employed as state [...] Read more.

To solve the problem in which the conventional ARMA modeling methods for gyro random noise require a large number of samples and converge slowly, an ARMA modeling method using a robust Kalman filtering is developed. The ARMA model parameters are employed as state arguments. Unknown time-varying estimators of observation noise are used to achieve the estimated mean and variance of the observation noise. Using the robust Kalman filtering, the ARMA model parameters are estimated accurately. The developed ARMA modeling method has the advantages of a rapid convergence and high accuracy. Thus, the required sample size is reduced. It can be applied to modeling applications for gyro random noise in which a fast and accurate ARMA modeling method is required. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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26 pages, 1538 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Depth Estimation of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in Clear Water Streams Using Low-Altitude Optical Remote Sensing

by Fleur Visser^1,*, Kerst Buis², Veerle Verschoren² and Patrick Meire²

¹ Institute of Science and the Environment, University of Worcester, Henwick Grove, Worcester WR2 6AJ, UK

² Department of Biology, Ecosystem Management Research Group, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1C, Wilrijk B–2610, Belgium

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25287-25312; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025287 - 30 Sep 2015

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 6513

Abstract

UAVs and other low-altitude remote sensing platforms are proving very useful tools for remote sensing of river systems. Currently consumer grade cameras are still the most commonly used sensors for this purpose. In particular, progress is being made to obtain river bathymetry from [...] Read more.

UAVs and other low-altitude remote sensing platforms are proving very useful tools for remote sensing of river systems. Currently consumer grade cameras are still the most commonly used sensors for this purpose. In particular, progress is being made to obtain river bathymetry from the optical image data collected with such cameras, using the strong attenuation of light in water. No studies have yet applied this method to map submergence depth of aquatic vegetation, which has rather different reflectance characteristics from river bed substrate. This study therefore looked at the possibilities to use the optical image data to map submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) depth in shallow clear water streams. We first applied the Optimal Band Ratio Analysis method (OBRA) of Legleiter et al. (2009) to a dataset of spectral signatures from three macrophyte species in a clear water stream. The results showed that for each species the ratio of certain wavelengths were strongly associated with depth. A combined assessment of all species resulted in equally strong associations, indicating that the effect of spectral variation in vegetation is subsidiary to spectral variation due to depth changes. Strongest associations (R²-values ranging from 0.67 to 0.90 for different species) were found for combinations including one band in the near infrared (NIR) region between 825 and 925 nm and one band in the visible light region. Currently data of both high spatial and spectral resolution is not commonly available to apply the OBRA results directly to image data for SAV depth mapping. Instead a novel, low-cost data acquisition method was used to obtain six-band high spatial resolution image composites using a NIR sensitive DSLR camera. A field dataset of SAV submergence depths was used to develop regression models for the mapping of submergence depth from image pixel values. Band (combinations) providing the best performing models (R²-values up to 0.77) corresponded with the OBRA findings. A 10% error was achieved under sub-optimal data collection conditions, which indicates that the method could be suitable for many SAV mapping applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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23 pages, 783 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Low Noise Amplifier for Neural Spike Recording Interfaces

by Jesus Ruiz-Amaya, Alberto Rodriguez-Perez and Manuel Delgado-Restituto^*

Institute of Microelectronics of Seville, Avda. Americo Vespucio s/n, Sevilla 41092, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25313-25335; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025313 - 30 Sep 2015

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 9260

Abstract

This paper presents a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) for neural spike recording applications. The proposed topology, based on a capacitive feedback network using a two-stage OTA, efficiently solves the triple trade-off between power, area and noise. Additionally, this work introduces a novel transistor-level [...] Read more.

This paper presents a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) for neural spike recording applications. The proposed topology, based on a capacitive feedback network using a two-stage OTA, efficiently solves the triple trade-off between power, area and noise. Additionally, this work introduces a novel transistor-level synthesis methodology for LNAs tailored for the minimization of their noise efficiency factor under area and noise constraints. The proposed LNA has been implemented in a 130 nm CMOS technology and occupies 0.053 mm-sq. Experimental results show that the LNA offers a noise efficiency factor of 2.16 and an input referred noise of 3.8 μVrms for 1.2 V power supply. It provides a gain of 46 dB over a nominal bandwidth of 192 Hz–7.4 kHz and consumes 1.92 μW. The performance of the proposed LNA has been validated through in vivo experiments with animal models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)

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30 pages, 2099 KiB

Open AccessArticle

GPS Cycle Slip Detection Considering Satellite Geometry Based on TDCP/INS Integrated Navigation

by Younsil Kim¹

, Junesol Song¹, Changdon Kee^1,* and Byungwoon Park²

¹ Institute of Advanced Aerospace Technology, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-744, Korea

² School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 143-747, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25336-25365; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025336 - 30 Sep 2015

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 8706

Abstract

This paper presents a means of carrier phase cycle slip detection for an inertial-aided global positioning system (GPS), which is based on consideration of the satellite geometry. An integrated navigation solution incorporating a tightly coupled time differenced carrier phase (TDCP) and inertial navigation [...] Read more.

This paper presents a means of carrier phase cycle slip detection for an inertial-aided global positioning system (GPS), which is based on consideration of the satellite geometry. An integrated navigation solution incorporating a tightly coupled time differenced carrier phase (TDCP) and inertial navigation system (INS) is used to detect cycle slips. Cycle-slips are detected by comparing the satellite-difference (SD) and time-difference (TD) carrier phase measurements obtained from the GPS satellites with the range estimated by the integrated navigation solution. Additionally the satellite geometry information effectively improves the range estimation performance without a hardware upgrade. And the covariance obtained from the TDCP/INS filter is used to compute the threshold for determining cycle slip occurrence. A simulation and the results of a vehicle-based experiment verify the cycle slip detection performance of the proposed algorithm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inertial Sensors and Systems)

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19 pages, 1724 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a Cost-Effective Airborne Remote Sensing System for Coastal Monitoring

by Duk-jin Kim^1,*, Jungkyo Jung¹, Ki-mook Kang¹, Seung Hee Kim¹

, Zhen Xu¹, Scott Hensley², Aaron Swan³ and Michael Duersch³

¹ School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea

² Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91109, CA, USA

³ IMSAR LLC, Springville 84663, UT, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25366-25384; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025366 - 30 Sep 2015

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5715

Abstract

Coastal lands and nearshore marine areas are productive and rapidly changing places. However, these areas face many environmental challenges related to climate change and human-induced impacts. Space-borne remote sensing systems may be restricted in monitoring these areas because of their spatial and temporal [...] Read more.

Coastal lands and nearshore marine areas are productive and rapidly changing places. However, these areas face many environmental challenges related to climate change and human-induced impacts. Space-borne remote sensing systems may be restricted in monitoring these areas because of their spatial and temporal resolutions. In situ measurements are also constrained from accessing the area and obtaining wide-coverage data. In these respects, airborne remote sensing sensors could be the most appropriate tools for monitoring these coastal areas. In this study, a cost-effective airborne remote sensing system with synthetic aperture radar and thermal infrared sensors was implemented to survey coastal areas. Calibration techniques and geophysical model algorithms were developed for the airborne system to observe the topography of intertidal flats, coastal sea surface current, sea surface temperature, and submarine groundwater discharge. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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14 pages, 1316 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Surface Plasmon Resonance Curves with a Novel Sigmoid-Asymmetric Fitting Algorithm

by Daeho Jang^1,†, Geunhyoung Chae^2,† and Sehyun Shin^1,*

¹ School of Mechanical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, Korea

² College of Information and Communication Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-476, Korea

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25385-25398; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025385 - 30 Sep 2015

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 15676

Abstract

The present study introduces a novel curve-fitting algorithm for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) curves using a self-constructed, wedge-shaped beam type angular interrogation SPR spectroscopy technique. Previous fitting approaches such as asymmetric and polynomial equations are still unsatisfactory for analyzing full SPR curves and [...] Read more.

The present study introduces a novel curve-fitting algorithm for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) curves using a self-constructed, wedge-shaped beam type angular interrogation SPR spectroscopy technique. Previous fitting approaches such as asymmetric and polynomial equations are still unsatisfactory for analyzing full SPR curves and their use is limited to determining the resonance angle. In the present study, we developed a sigmoid-asymmetric equation that provides excellent curve-fitting for the whole SPR curve over a range of incident angles, including regions of the critical angle and resonance angle. Regardless of the bulk fluid type (i.e., water and air), the present sigmoid-asymmetric fitting exhibited nearly perfect matching with a full SPR curve, whereas the asymmetric and polynomial curve fitting methods did not. Because the present curve-fitting sigmoid-asymmetric equation can determine the critical angle as well as the resonance angle, the undesired effect caused by the bulk fluid refractive index was excluded by subtracting the critical angle from the resonance angle in real time. In conclusion, the proposed sigmoid-asymmetric curve-fitting algorithm for SPR curves is widely applicable to various SPR measurements, while excluding the effect of bulk fluids on the sensing layer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Label-Free Sensing)

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17 pages, 645 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design and Performance Evaluation of a Dual Antenna Joint Carrier Tracking Loop

by Wenfei Guo¹, Tao Lin², Xiaoji Niu^1,*, Chuang Shi¹ and Hongping Zhang¹

¹ GNSS Research Center, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China

² Department of Geomatrics Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25399-25415; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025399 - 1 Oct 2015

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4969

Abstract

In order to track the carrier phases of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals in signal degraded environments, a dual antenna joint carrier tracking loop is proposed and evaluated. This proposed tracking loop processes inputs from two antennas, namely the master antenna and [...] Read more.

In order to track the carrier phases of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals in signal degraded environments, a dual antenna joint carrier tracking loop is proposed and evaluated. This proposed tracking loop processes inputs from two antennas, namely the master antenna and the slave antenna. The master antenna captures signals in open-sky environments, while the slave antenna capture signals in degraded environments. In this architecture, a Phase Lock Loop (PLL) is adopted as a master loop to track the carrier phase of the open-sky signals. The Doppler frequency estimated by this master loop is utilized to assist weak carrier tracking in the slave loop. As both antennas experience similar signal dynamics due to satellite motion and clock frequency variations, a much narrower loop bandwidth and possibly a longer coherent integration can be adopted to track the weak signals in slave channels, by utilizing the Doppler aid from master channels. PLL tracking performance is affected by the satellite/user dynamics, clock instability, and thermal noise. In this paper, their impacts on the proposed phase tracking loop are analyzed and verified by both simulation and field data. Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the proposed loop structure can track degraded signals (i.e., 18 dB-Hz) with a very narrow loop bandwidth (i.e., 0.5 Hz) and a TCXO clock. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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17 pages, 751 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Laser Surgery Interfere with Optical Nerve Identification in Maxillofacial Hard and Soft Tissue?—An Experimental Ex Vivo Study

by Bastian Bergauer^1,*, Christian Knipfer¹, Andreas Amann¹, Maximilian Rohde¹, Katja Tangermann-Gerk^2,3, Werner Adler⁴, Michael Schmidt^2,3,5, Emeka Nkenke⁶ and Florian Stelzle^1,3

¹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Erlangen 91054, Germany

² Bavarian Laser Center GmbH (blz), Erlangen 91054, Germany

³ SAOT—Graduate School in Advanced Optical Technologies, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Erlangen 91054, Germany

⁴ Department of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Erlangen 91054, Germany

⁵ Chair of Photonic Technologies, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Erlangen 91054, Germany

⁶ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna 1090, Austria

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25416-25432; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025416 - 1 Oct 2015

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6848

Abstract

The protection of sensitive structures (e.g., nerves) from iatrogenic damage is of major importance when performing laser surgical procedures. Especially in the head and neck area both function and esthetics can be affected to a great extent. Despite its many benefits, the surgical [...] Read more.

The protection of sensitive structures (e.g., nerves) from iatrogenic damage is of major importance when performing laser surgical procedures. Especially in the head and neck area both function and esthetics can be affected to a great extent. Despite its many benefits, the surgical utilization of a laser is therefore still limited to superficial tissue ablation. A remote feedback system which guides the laser in a tissue-specific way would provide a remedy. In this context, it has been shown that nerval structures can be specifically recognized by their optical diffuse reflectance spectra both before and after laser ablation. However, for a translation of these findings to the actual laser ablation process, a nerve protection within the laser pulse is of utmost significance. Thus, it was the aim of the study to evaluate, if the process of Er:YAG laser surgery—which comes with spray water cooling, angulation of the probe (60°) and optical process emissions—interferes with optical tissue differentiation. For the first time, no stable conditions but the ongoing process of laser tissue ablation was examined. Therefore, six different tissue types (nerve, skin, muscle, fat, cortical and cancellous bone) were acquired from 15 pig heads. Measurements were performed during Er:YAG laser ablation. Diffuse reflectance spectra (4500, wavelength range: 350–650 nm) where acquired. Principal component analysis (PCA) and quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA) were calculated for classification purposes. The clinical highly relevant differentiation between nerve and bone was performed correctly with an AUC of 95.3% (cortial bone) respectively 92.4% (cancellous bone). The identification of nerve tissue against the biological very similar fat tissue yielded good results with an AUC value of 83.4% (sensitivity: 72.3%, specificity: of 82.3%). This clearly demonstrates that nerve identification by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy works reliably in the ongoing process of laser ablation in spite of the laser beam, spray water cooling and the tissue alterations entailed by tissue laser ablation. This is an essential step towards a clinical utilization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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30 pages, 2609 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Insights into the Mechanical Behaviour of a Layered Flexible Tactile Sensor

by Julián Castellanos-Ramos^1,2

, Rafael Navas-González^1,2, Iván Fernández³ and Fernando Vidal-Verdú^1,2,*

¹ Departamento de Electrónica, E.T.S.I. Informática, Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Campus de Teatinos, 29071 Málaga, España

² Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga (IBIMA), 29010 Málaga, España

³ Center for Electrochemical Technologies (CIDETEC), Paseo de Miramón, 196, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, España

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25433-25462; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025433 - 2 Oct 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5316

Abstract

This paper shows realizations of a piezoresistive tactile sensor with a low cost screen-printing technology. A few samples were fabricated for different materials used as insulator between the conductive layers and as top layer or cover. Both can be used to tune the [...] Read more.

This paper shows realizations of a piezoresistive tactile sensor with a low cost screen-printing technology. A few samples were fabricated for different materials used as insulator between the conductive layers and as top layer or cover. Both can be used to tune the sensitivity of the sensor. However, a large influence is also observed of the roughness at the contact interface on the sensitivity and linearity of the output, as well as on mismatching between the outputs from different taxels. The roughness at the contact interface is behind the transduction principle of the sensor, but it also limits its performance if the wavelength of the roughness is comparable or even longer than the size of the contacts. The paper shows experimental results that confirm this relationship and discusses its consequences in sensor response related to the materials chosen for the insulator and the cover. Moreover, simulations with FEA tools and with simple models are used to support the discussions and conclusions obtained from the experimental data. This provides insights into the sensor behaviour that are shared by other sensors based on the same principle. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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11 pages, 460 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Piezoresistive Tactile Sensor Discriminating Multidirectional Forces

by Youngdo Jung¹, Duck-Gyu Lee¹, Jonghwa Park², Hyunhyub Ko² and Hyuneui Lim^1,*

¹ Department of Nature-Inspired Nanoconvergence System, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Daejeon 34103, Korea

² School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25463-25473; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025463 - 2 Oct 2015

Cited by 76 | Viewed by 12043

Abstract

Flexible tactile sensors capable of detecting the magnitude and direction of the applied force together are of great interest for application in human-interactive robots, prosthetics, and bionic arms/feet. Human skin contains excellent tactile sensing elements, mechanoreceptors, which detect their assigned tactile stimuli and [...] Read more.

Flexible tactile sensors capable of detecting the magnitude and direction of the applied force together are of great interest for application in human-interactive robots, prosthetics, and bionic arms/feet. Human skin contains excellent tactile sensing elements, mechanoreceptors, which detect their assigned tactile stimuli and transduce them into electrical signals. The transduced signals are transmitted through separated nerve fibers to the central nerve system without complicated signal processing. Inspired by the function and organization of human skin, we present a piezoresistive type tactile sensor capable of discriminating the direction and magnitude of stimulations without further signal processing. Our tactile sensor is based on a flexible core and four sidewall structures of elastomer, where highly sensitive interlocking piezoresistive type sensing elements are embedded. We demonstrate the discriminating normal pressure and shear force simultaneously without interference between the applied forces. The developed sensor can detect down to 128 Pa in normal pressure and 0.08 N in shear force, respectively. The developed sensor can be applied in the prosthetic arms requiring the restoration of tactile sensation to discriminate the feeling of normal and shear force like human skin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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33 pages, 851 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Movement, Orientation and Rotation-Based Sensing for Phone Placement Recognition

by Ozlem Durmaz Incel

Department of Computer Engineering, Galatasaray University, Ciragan Cad. No: 36, Ortakoy, Istanbul 34349, Turkey

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25474-25506; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025474 - 5 Oct 2015

Cited by 61 | Viewed by 7268

Abstract

Phone placement, i.e., where the phone is carried/stored, is an important source of information for context-aware applications. Extracting information from the integrated smart phone sensors, such as motion, light and proximity, is a common technique for phone placement detection. In this paper, the [...] Read more.

Phone placement, i.e., where the phone is carried/stored, is an important source of information for context-aware applications. Extracting information from the integrated smart phone sensors, such as motion, light and proximity, is a common technique for phone placement detection. In this paper, the efficiency of an accelerometer-only solution is explored, and it is investigated whether the phone position can be detected with high accuracy by analyzing the movement, orientation and rotation changes. The impact of these changes on the performance is analyzed individually and both in combination to explore which features are more efficient, whether they should be fused and, if yes, how they should be fused. Using three different datasets, collected from 35 people from eight different positions, the performance of different classification algorithms is explored. It is shown that while utilizing only motion information can achieve accuracies around 70%, this ratio increases up to 85% by utilizing information also from orientation and rotation changes. The performance of an accelerometer-only solution is compared to solutions where linear acceleration, gyroscope and magnetic field sensors are used, and it is shown that the accelerometer-only solution performs as well as utilizing other sensing information. Hence, it is not necessary to use extra sensing information where battery power consumption may increase. Additionally, I explore the impact of the performed activities on position recognition and show that the accelerometer-only solution can achieve 80% recognition accuracy with stationary activities where movement data are very limited. Finally, other phone placement problems, such as in-pocket and on-body detections, are also investigated, and higher accuracies, ranging from 88% to 93%, are reported, with an accelerometer-only solution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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13 pages, 2740 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Detection of Site-Specific Blood Flow Variation in Humans during Running by a Wearable Laser Doppler Flowmeter

by Wataru Iwasaki^1,*

, Hirofumi Nogami², Satoshi Takeuchi^3,4, Masutaka Furue³

, Eiji Higurashi⁵ and Renshi Sawada²

¹ Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 807-1 Shuku-machi, Tosu, Saga 841-0052, Japan

² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan

³ Department of Dermatology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 819-8582, Japan

⁴ Department of Dermatology, Federation of National Public Service Personnel Mutual Aid Associations, Hamanomachi Hospital, 3-3-1 Nagahama, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka 810-8539, Japan

⁵ Department of Precision Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25507-25519; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025507 - 5 Oct 2015

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 15327

Abstract

Wearable wireless physiological sensors are helpful for monitoring and maintaining human health. Blood flow contains abundant physiological information but it is hard to measure blood flow during exercise using conventional blood flowmeters because of their size, weight, and use of optic fibers. To [...] Read more.

Wearable wireless physiological sensors are helpful for monitoring and maintaining human health. Blood flow contains abundant physiological information but it is hard to measure blood flow during exercise using conventional blood flowmeters because of their size, weight, and use of optic fibers. To resolve these disadvantages, we previously developed a micro integrated laser Doppler blood flowmeter using microelectromechanical systems technology. This micro blood flowmeter is wearable and capable of stable measurement signals even during movement. Therefore, we attempted to measure skin blood flow at the forehead, fingertip, and earlobe of seven young men while running as a pilot experiment to extend the utility of the micro blood flowmeter. We measured blood flow in each subject at velocities of 6, 8, and 10 km/h. We succeeded in obtaining stable measurements of blood flow, with few motion artifacts, using the micro blood flowmeter, and the pulse wave signal and motion artifacts were clearly separated by conducting frequency analysis. Furthermore, the results showed that the extent of the changes in blood flow depended on the intensity of exercise as well as previous work with an ergometer. Thus, we demonstrated the capability of this wearable blood flow sensor for measurement during exercise. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wearable Sensors)

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26 pages, 1563 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Improved Inertial Frame Alignment Algorithm Based on Horizontal Alignment Information for Marine SINS

by Yanting Che^1,*, Qiuying Wang^2,†, Wei Gao^1,* and Fei Yu^1,†

¹ College of Automation, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China

² College of Information and Communication Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25520-25545; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025520 - 5 Oct 2015

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5290

Abstract

In this paper, an improved inertial frame alignment algorithm for a marine SINS under mooring conditions is proposed, which significantly improves accuracy. Since the horizontal alignment is easy to complete, and a characteristic of gravity is that its component in the horizontal plane [...] Read more.

In this paper, an improved inertial frame alignment algorithm for a marine SINS under mooring conditions is proposed, which significantly improves accuracy. Since the horizontal alignment is easy to complete, and a characteristic of gravity is that its component in the horizontal plane is zero, we use a clever method to improve the conventional inertial alignment algorithm. Firstly, a large misalignment angle model and a dimensionality reduction Gauss-Hermite filter are employed to establish the fine horizontal reference frame. Based on this, the projection of the gravity in the body inertial coordinate frame can be calculated easily. Then, the initial alignment algorithm is accomplished through an inertial frame alignment algorithm. The simulation and experiment results show that the improved initial alignment algorithm performs better than the conventional inertial alignment algorithm, and meets the accuracy requirements of a medium-accuracy marine SINS. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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18 pages, 800 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Low-Cost Instrumentation System for Measuring the Water Content and Apparent Electrical Conductivity of Soils

by Alan Kardek Rêgo Segundo^1,*, José Helvecio Martins^2,†, Paulo Marcos de Barros Monteiro^1,†, Rubens Alves De Oliveira^2,† and Gustavo Medeiros Freitas^3,†

¹ Department of Control and Automation Engineering and Fundamental Techniques, School of Mines, Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP)—campus Morro do Cruzeiro, sn, 35400-000 Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil

² Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Viçosa (UFV)—Avenida P.H. Rolfs, sn, 36570-900 Viçosa, MG, Brazil

³ Vale Institute of Technology (ITV)—Avenida Juscelino Kubitschek, 31, Bauxita, 35400-000 Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25546-25563; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025546 - 5 Oct 2015

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 12259

Abstract

The scarcity of drinking water affects various regions of the planet. Although climate change is responsible for the water availability, humanity plays an important role in preserving this precious natural resource. In case of negligence, the likely trend is to increase the demand [...] Read more.

The scarcity of drinking water affects various regions of the planet. Although climate change is responsible for the water availability, humanity plays an important role in preserving this precious natural resource. In case of negligence, the likely trend is to increase the demand and the depletion of water resources due to the increasing world population. This paper addresses the development, design and construction of a low cost system for measuring soil volumetric water content (θ), electrical conductivity (σ) and temperature (T), in order to optimize the use of water, energy and fertilizer in food production. Different from the existing measurement instruments commonly deployed in these applications, the proposed system uses an auto-balancing bridge circuit as measurement method. The proposed models to estimate θ and σ and correct them in function of T are compared to the ones reported in literature. The final prototype corresponds to a simple circuit connected to a pair of electrode probes, and presents high accuracy, high signal to noise ratio, fast response, and immunity to stray capacitance. The instrument calibration is based on salt solutions with known dielectric constant and electrical conductivity as reference. Experiments measuring clay and sandy soils demonstrate the satisfactory performance of the instrument. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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13 pages, 1185 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design of a Humidity Sensor Tag for Passive Wireless Applications

by Xiang Wu¹, Fangming Deng^1,*, Yong Hao², Zhihui Fu¹ and Lihua Zhang¹

¹ School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, East China JiaoTong University, Nanchang 330013, China

² School of Mechatronic Engineering, East China JiaoTong University, Nanchang 330013, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25564-25576; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025564 - 7 Oct 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7651

Abstract

This paper presents a wireless humidity sensor tag for low-cost and low-power applications. The proposed humidity sensor tag, based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, was fabricated in a standard 0.18 μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The top metal layer was [...] Read more.

This paper presents a wireless humidity sensor tag for low-cost and low-power applications. The proposed humidity sensor tag, based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, was fabricated in a standard 0.18 μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The top metal layer was deposited to form the interdigitated electrodes, which were then filled with polyimide as the humidity sensing layer. A two-stage rectifier adopts a dynamic bias-voltage generator to boost the effective gate-source voltage of the switches in differential-drive architecture, resulting in a flat power conversion efficiency curve. The capacitive sensor interface, based on phase-locked loop (PLL) theory, employs a simple architecture and can work with 0.5 V supply voltage. The measurement results show that humidity sensor tag achieves excellent linearity, hysteresis and stability performance. The total power-dissipation of the sensor tag is 2.5 μW, resulting in a maximum operating distance of 23 m under 4 W of radiation power of the RFID reader. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Chemical Sensors)

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15 pages, 3341 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Underwater Acoustic Matched Field Imaging Based on Compressed Sensing

by Huichen Yan¹, Jia Xu^2,*

, Teng Long² and Xudong Zhang¹

¹ Department of Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

² School of Information and Electronics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25577-25591; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025577 - 7 Oct 2015

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5423

Abstract

Matched field processing (MFP) is an effective method for underwater target imaging and localizing, but its performance is not guaranteed due to the nonuniqueness and instability problems caused by the underdetermined essence of MFP. By exploiting the sparsity of the targets in an [...] Read more.

Matched field processing (MFP) is an effective method for underwater target imaging and localizing, but its performance is not guaranteed due to the nonuniqueness and instability problems caused by the underdetermined essence of MFP. By exploiting the sparsity of the targets in an imaging area, this paper proposes a compressive sensing MFP (CS-MFP) model from wave propagation theory by using randomly deployed sensors. In addition, the model’s recovery performance is investigated by exploring the lower bounds of the coherence parameter of the CS dictionary. Furthermore, this paper analyzes the robustness of CS-MFP with respect to the displacement of the sensors. Subsequently, a coherence-excluding coherence optimized orthogonal matching pursuit (CCOOMP) algorithm is proposed to overcome the high coherent dictionary problem in special cases. Finally, some numerical experiments are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed CS-MFP method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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15 pages, 730 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimal Sequential Diagnostic Strategy Generation Considering Test Placement Cost for Multimode Systems

by Shigang Zhang^1,2,*, Lijun Song³, Wei Zhang², Zheng Hu¹ and Yongmin Yang¹

¹ Laboratory of Science and Technology on Integrated Logistics Support, College of Mechatronics Engineering and Automation, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China

² State key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China

³ College of Basic Education, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25592-25606; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025592 - 8 Oct 2015

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4868

Abstract

Sequential fault diagnosis is an approach that realizes fault isolation by executing the optimal test step by step. The strategy used, i.e., the sequential diagnostic strategy, has great influence on diagnostic accuracy and cost. Optimal sequential diagnostic strategy generation is an important [...] Read more.

Sequential fault diagnosis is an approach that realizes fault isolation by executing the optimal test step by step. The strategy used, i.e., the sequential diagnostic strategy, has great influence on diagnostic accuracy and cost. Optimal sequential diagnostic strategy generation is an important step in the process of diagnosis system construction, which has been studied extensively in the literature. However, previous algorithms either are designed for single mode systems or do not consider test placement cost. They are not suitable to solve the sequential diagnostic strategy generation problem considering test placement cost for multimode systems. Therefore, this problem is studied in this paper. A formulation is presented. Two algorithms are proposed, one of which is realized by system transformation and the other is newly designed. Extensive simulations are carried out to test the effectiveness of the algorithms. A real-world system is also presented. All the results show that both of them have the ability to solve the diagnostic strategy generation problem, and they have different characteristics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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21 pages, 3762 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Mental, Emotional and Physical Stress through Analysis of Physiological Signals Using Smartphones

by Inma Mohino-Herranz^1,*

, Roberto Gil-Pita¹

, Javier Ferreira^2,3, Manuel Rosa-Zurera¹ and Fernando Seoane^2,3

¹ Department of Signal Theory and Communications, University of Alcala, Madrid 28871, Spain

² Faculty of Care Sciences, Working Life and Welfare, University of Boras, Boras 50190, Sweden

³ School of Technology and Health, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm 14152, Sweden

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25607-25627; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025607 - 8 Oct 2015

Cited by 50 | Viewed by 10008

Abstract

Determining the stress level of a subject in real time could be of special interest in certain professional activities to allow the monitoring of soldiers, pilots, emergency personnel and other professionals responsible for human lives. Assessment of current mental fitness for executing a [...] Read more.

Determining the stress level of a subject in real time could be of special interest in certain professional activities to allow the monitoring of soldiers, pilots, emergency personnel and other professionals responsible for human lives. Assessment of current mental fitness for executing a task at hand might avoid unnecessary risks. To obtain this knowledge, two physiological measurements were recorded in this work using customized non-invasive wearable instrumentation that measures electrocardiogram (ECG) and thoracic electrical bioimpedance (TEB) signals. The relevant information from each measurement is extracted via evaluation of a reduced set of selected features. These features are primarily obtained from filtered and processed versions of the raw time measurements with calculations of certain statistical and descriptive parameters. Selection of the reduced set of features was performed using genetic algorithms, thus constraining the computational cost of the real-time implementation. Different classification approaches have been studied, but neural networks were chosen for this investigation because they represent a good tradeoff between the intelligence of the solution and computational complexity. Three different application scenarios were considered. In the first scenario, the proposed system is capable of distinguishing among different types of activity with a 21.2% probability error, for activities coded as neutral, emotional, mental and physical. In the second scenario, the proposed solution distinguishes among the three different emotional states of neutral, sadness and disgust, with a probability error of 4.8%. In the third scenario, the system is able to distinguish between low mental load and mental overload with a probability error of 32.3%. The computational cost was calculated, and the solution was implemented in commercially available Android-based smartphones. The results indicate that execution of such a monitoring solution is negligible compared to the nominal computational load of current smartphones. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smartphone-Based Sensors for Non-Invasive Physiological Monitoring)

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20 pages, 2018 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Depth-Sensor-Based Monitoring of Therapeutic Exercises

by Mu-Chun Su¹, Jhih-Jie Jhang¹, Yi-Zeng Hsieh^1,2,*, Shih-Ching Yeh³, Shih-Chieh Lin¹, Shu-Fang Lee⁴ and Kai-Ping Tseng⁴

¹ Department of Computes Science and Information Engineering, National Central University, Taoyuan City 32001, Taiwan

² Department of Management and Information Technology, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan City 71005, Taiwan

³ School of Information Science and Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China

⁴ Department of Rehabilitation, Landseed Hospital, Taoyuan City 324, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25628-25647; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025628 - 9 Oct 2015

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5502

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a self-organizing feature map-based (SOM) monitoring system which is able to evaluate whether the physiotherapeutic exercise performed by a patient matches the corresponding assigned exercise. It allows patients to be able to perform their physiotherapeutic exercises on their [...] Read more.

In this paper, we propose a self-organizing feature map-based (SOM) monitoring system which is able to evaluate whether the physiotherapeutic exercise performed by a patient matches the corresponding assigned exercise. It allows patients to be able to perform their physiotherapeutic exercises on their own, but their progress during exercises can be monitored. The performance of the proposed the SOM-based monitoring system is tested on a database consisting of 12 different types of physiotherapeutic exercises. An average 98.8% correct rate was achieved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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15 pages, 700 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Compressive Sensing of Roller Bearing Faults via Harmonic Detection from Under-Sampled Vibration Signals

by Gang Tang¹, Wei Hou^1,2, Huaqing Wang^1,*

, Ganggang Luo¹ and Jianwei Ma³

¹ School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China

² Beijing Zhongfang Jingye Electromechanical Device Co., Ltd., Beijing 101111, China

³ Department of Mathematics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25648-25662; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025648 - 9 Oct 2015

Cited by 42 | Viewed by 6084

Abstract

The Shannon sampling principle requires substantial amounts of data to ensure the accuracy of on-line monitoring of roller bearing fault signals. Challenges are often encountered as a result of the cumbersome data monitoring, thus a novel method focused on compressed vibration signals for [...] Read more.

The Shannon sampling principle requires substantial amounts of data to ensure the accuracy of on-line monitoring of roller bearing fault signals. Challenges are often encountered as a result of the cumbersome data monitoring, thus a novel method focused on compressed vibration signals for detecting roller bearing faults is developed in this study. Considering that harmonics often represent the fault characteristic frequencies in vibration signals, a compressive sensing frame of characteristic harmonics is proposed to detect bearing faults. A compressed vibration signal is first acquired from a sensing matrix with information preserved through a well-designed sampling strategy. A reconstruction process of the under-sampled vibration signal is then pursued as attempts are conducted to detect the characteristic harmonics from sparse measurements through a compressive matching pursuit strategy. In the proposed method bearing fault features depend on the existence of characteristic harmonics, as typically detected directly from compressed data far before reconstruction completion. The process of sampling and detection may then be performed simultaneously without complete recovery of the under-sampled signals. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by simulations and experiments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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18 pages, 1318 KiB

Open AccessArticle

True Colour Classification of Natural Waters with Medium-Spectral Resolution Satellites: SeaWiFS, MODIS, MERIS and OLCI

by Hendrik J. van der Woerd^1,2,* and Marcel R. Wernand^1,*

¹ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Physical Oceanography, Marine Optics & Remote Sensing, PO box 59, Den Burg1790AB, Texel, The Netherlands

² Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1087, Amsterdam 1081HV, The Netherlands

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25663-25680; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025663 - 9 Oct 2015

Cited by 114 | Viewed by 11765

Abstract

The colours from natural waters differ markedly over the globe, depending on the water composition and illumination conditions. The space-borne “ocean colour” instruments are operational instruments designed to retrieve important water-quality indicators, based on the measurement of water leaving radiance in a limited [...] Read more.

The colours from natural waters differ markedly over the globe, depending on the water composition and illumination conditions. The space-borne “ocean colour” instruments are operational instruments designed to retrieve important water-quality indicators, based on the measurement of water leaving radiance in a limited number (5 to 10) of narrow (≈10 nm) bands. Surprisingly, the analysis of the satellite data has not yet paid attention to colour as an integral optical property that can also be retrieved from multispectral satellite data. In this paper we re-introduce colour as a valuable parameter that can be expressed mainly by the hue angle (α). Based on a set of 500 synthetic spectra covering a broad range of natural waters a simple algorithm is developed to derive the hue angle from SeaWiFS, MODIS, MERIS and OLCI data. The algorithm consists of a weighted linear sum of the remote sensing reflectance in all visual bands plus a correction term for the specific band-setting of each instrument. The algorithm is validated by a set of 603 hyperspectral measurements from inland-, coastal- and near-ocean waters. We conclude that the hue angle is a simple objective parameter of natural waters that can be retrieved uniformly for all space-borne ocean colour instruments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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22 pages, 2704 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Multi-Channel Opto-Electronic Sensor to Accurately Monitor Heart Rate against Motion Artefact during Exercise

by Abdullah Alzahrani^1,†, Sijung Hu^1,*,†

, Vicente Azorin-Peris^1,†, Laura Barrett², Dale Esliger², Matthew Hayes³, Shafique Akbare⁴, Jérôme Achart⁴ and Sylvain Kuoch⁴

¹ Wolfson School of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Electrical Engineering, Loughborough University, Ashby Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, UK

² National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Ashby Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, UK

³ Cambridge Consultants Limited, Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 0DW, UK

⁴ Université Paris-Sud 11, Polytech’Paris-Sud–Service des stages, Bât 620, Orsaycedex 91405, France

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25681-25702; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025681 - 12 Oct 2015

Cited by 53 | Viewed by 11175

Abstract

This study presents the use of a multi-channel opto-electronic sensor (OEPS) to effectively monitor critical physiological parameters whilst preventing motion artefact as increasingly demanded by personal healthcare. The aim of this work was to study how to capture the heart rate (HR) efficiently [...] Read more.

This study presents the use of a multi-channel opto-electronic sensor (OEPS) to effectively monitor critical physiological parameters whilst preventing motion artefact as increasingly demanded by personal healthcare. The aim of this work was to study how to capture the heart rate (HR) efficiently through a well-constructed OEPS and a 3-axis accelerometer with wireless communication. A protocol was designed to incorporate sitting, standing, walking, running and cycling. The datasets collected from these activities were processed to elaborate sport physiological effects. t-test, Bland-Altman Agreement (BAA), and correlation to evaluate the performance of the OEPS were used against Polar and Mio-Alpha HR monitors. No differences in the HR were found between OEPS, and either Polar or Mio-Alpha (both p > 0.05); a strong correlation was found between Polar and OEPS (r: 0.96, p < 0.001); the bias of BAA 0.85 bpm, the standard deviation (SD) 9.20 bpm, and the limits of agreement (LOA) from −17.18 bpm to +18.88 bpm. For the Mio-Alpha and OEPS, a strong correlation was found (r: 0.96, p < 0.001); the bias of BAA 1.63 bpm, SD 8.62 bpm, LOA from −15.27 bpm to +18.58 bpm. These results demonstrate the OEPS to be capable of carrying out real time and remote monitoring of heart rate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Noninvasive Biomedical Sensors)

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13 pages, 2021 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Analysis of GOCI Ocean Color Products

by Ruhul Amin^1,*, Mark David Lewis², Adam Lawson², Richard W. Gould Jr.², Paul Martinolich³, Rong-Rong Li⁴, Sherwin Ladner² and Sonia Gallegos²

¹ BioOptoSense LLC, New Orleans, LA 70115, USA

² Naval Research Laboratory, Code 7331, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529, USA

³ Vencore, Inc., Stennis Space Center, MS 39529, USA

⁴ Naval Research Laboratory, Code 7231, Building 2, Washington, DC 20375, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25703-25715; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025703 - 12 Oct 2015

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5458

Abstract

The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) is the first geostationary ocean color sensor in orbit that provides bio-optical properties from coastal and open waters around the Korean Peninsula at unprecedented temporal resolution. In this study, we compare the normalized water-leaving radiance (nLw [...] Read more.

The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) is the first geostationary ocean color sensor in orbit that provides bio-optical properties from coastal and open waters around the Korean Peninsula at unprecedented temporal resolution. In this study, we compare the normalized water-leaving radiance (nLw) products generated by the Naval Research Laboratory Automated Processing System (APS) with those produced by the stand-alone software package, the GOCI Data Processing System (GDPS), developed by the Korean Ocean Research & Development Institute (KORDI). Both results are then compared to the nLw measured by the above water radiometer at the Ieodo site. This above-water radiometer is part of the Aerosol Robotic NETwork (AeroNET). The results indicate that the APS and GDPS processed correlates well within the same image slot where the coefficient of determination (r²) is higher than 0.84 for all the bands from 412 nm to 745 nm. The agreement between APS and the AeroNET data is higher when compared to the GDPS results. The Root-Mean-Squared-Error (RMSE) between AeroNET and APS data ranges from 0.24 [mW/(cm²srμm)] at 555 nm to 0.52 [mW/(cm²srμm)] at 412 nm while RMSE between AeroNET and GDPS data ranges from 0.47 [mW/(cm²srμm)] at 443 nm to 0.69 [mW/(cm²srμm)] at 490 nm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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14 pages, 1270 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Spectrometric Method for Hydrogen Peroxide Concentration Measurement with a Reusable and Cost-Efficient Sensor

by Cheng-Chih Hsu^*, Yuan-Rong Lo^†, Yu-Chian Lin^†, Yi-Cen Shi^† and Pang-Lung Li^†

¹ Department of Photonics Engineering, Yuan Ze University, 135 Yuan-Tung Road, Chung-Li 32003, Taiwan

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25716-25729; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025716 - 12 Oct 2015

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 8567

Abstract

In this study we developed a low cost sensor for measuring the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in liquids utilizing a spectrometric method. The sensor was tested using various concentrations of a peroxidase enzyme immobilized on a glass substrate. [...] Read more.

In this study we developed a low cost sensor for measuring the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in liquids utilizing a spectrometric method. The sensor was tested using various concentrations of a peroxidase enzyme immobilized on a glass substrate. H₂O₂ can be catalyzed by peroxidase and converted into water and oxygen. The reagent 4-amino-phenazone takes up oxygen together with phenol to form a colored product that has absorption peaks at 510 nm and 450 nm. The transmission intensity is strongly related to the hydrogen peroxide concentration, so can be used for quantitative analysis. The measurement range for hydrogen peroxide is from 5 × 10⁻⁵% to 1 × 10⁻³% (0.5 ppm to 10 ppm) and the results show high linearity. This device can achieve a sensitivity and resolution of 41,400 (photon count/%) and 3.49 × 10⁻⁵% (0.35 ppm), respectively. The response time of the sensor is less than 3 min and the sensor can be reused for 10 applications with similar performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Chemical Sensors)

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16 pages, 947 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Non-Rigid Structure Estimation in Trajectory Space from Monocular Vision

by Yaming Wang, Lingling Tong^*, Mingfeng Jiang and Junbao Zheng

School of Information Science and Technology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25730-25745; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025730 - 12 Oct 2015

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4387

Abstract

In this paper, the problem of non-rigid structure estimation in trajectory space from monocular vision is investigated. Similar to the Point Trajectory Approach (PTA), based on characteristic points’ trajectories described by a predefined Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) basis, the structure matrix was also [...] Read more.

In this paper, the problem of non-rigid structure estimation in trajectory space from monocular vision is investigated. Similar to the Point Trajectory Approach (PTA), based on characteristic points’ trajectories described by a predefined Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) basis, the structure matrix was also calculated by using a factorization method. To further optimize the non-rigid structure estimation from monocular vision, the rank minimization problem about structure matrix is proposed to implement the non-rigid structure estimation by introducing the basic low-rank condition. Moreover, the Accelerated Proximal Gradient (APG) algorithm is proposed to solve the rank minimization problem, and the initial structure matrix calculated by the PTA method is optimized. The APG algorithm can converge to efficient solutions quickly and lessen the reconstruction error obviously. The reconstruction results of real image sequences indicate that the proposed approach runs reliably, and effectively improves the accuracy of non-rigid structure estimation from monocular vision. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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15 pages, 1291 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Integration of a Miniature Quartz Crystal Microbalance with a Microfluidic Chip for Amyloid Beta-Aβ₄₂ Quantitation

by Wenyan Tao^1,2, Qingji Xie³, Hairui Wang¹, Shanming Ke¹, Peng Lin^1,* and Xierong Zeng^1,2,*

¹ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials & Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advance Technology of Ceramics, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China

² College of Electronic Science and Technology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China

³ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25746-25760; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025746 - 12 Oct 2015

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 6150

Abstract

A miniature quartz crystal microbalance (mQCM) was integrated with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic device for on-chip determination of amyloid polypeptide–Aβ₄₂. The integration techniques included photolithography and plasma coupling. Aβ₄₂ antibody was immobilized on the mQCM surface using a cross-linker method, [...] Read more.

A miniature quartz crystal microbalance (mQCM) was integrated with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic device for on-chip determination of amyloid polypeptide–Aβ₄₂. The integration techniques included photolithography and plasma coupling. Aβ₄₂ antibody was immobilized on the mQCM surface using a cross-linker method, and the resonance frequency of mQCM shifted negatively due to antibody-antigen binding. A linear range from 0.1 µM to 3.2 µM was achieved. By using matrix elimination buffer, i.e., matrix phosphate buffer containing 500 µg/mL dextran and 0.5% Tween 20, Aβ₄₂ could be successfully detected in the presence of 75% human serum. Additionally, high temperature treatments at 150 °C provided a valid method to recover mQCM, and PDMS-mQCM microfluidic device could be reused to some extent. Since the detectable Aβ₄₂ concentration could be as low as 0.1 µM, which is close to cut-off value for Alzheimer patients, the PDMS-mQCM device could be applied in early Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrochemical Sensors and Biosensors: From Bench-Top to Point-of-Care)

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13 pages, 1526 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of Surface Acoustic Wave-Based Rate Sensors

by Fangqian Xu¹, Wen Wang^2,*, Xiuting Shao², Xinlu Liu² and Yong Liang²

¹ Zhejiang University of Media and Communications, 998 Xueyuan Street Higher Education Zone Xia Sha, Zhejiang 310018, China

² State Key Laboratory of Acoustics, Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 21, BeiSiHuan West Road, Beijing 100190, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25761-25773; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025761 - 12 Oct 2015

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 7516

Abstract

The optimization of an surface acoustic wave (SAW)-based rate sensor incorporating metallic dot arrays was performed by using the approach of partial-wave analysis in layered media. The optimal sensor chip designs, including the material choice of piezoelectric crystals and metallic dots, dot thickness, [...] Read more.

The optimization of an surface acoustic wave (SAW)-based rate sensor incorporating metallic dot arrays was performed by using the approach of partial-wave analysis in layered media. The optimal sensor chip designs, including the material choice of piezoelectric crystals and metallic dots, dot thickness, and sensor operation frequency were determined theoretically. The theoretical predictions were confirmed experimentally by using the developed SAW sensor composed of differential delay line-oscillators and a metallic dot array deposited along the acoustic wave propagation path of the SAW delay lines. A significant improvement in sensor sensitivity was achieved in the case of 128° YX LiNbO₃, and a thicker Au dot array, and low operation frequency were used to structure the sensor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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16 pages, 2832 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Soft Neurological Signs in Childhood by Measurement of Arm Movements Using Acceleration and Angular Velocity Sensors

by Miki Kaneko^1,*, Yushiro Yamashita², Osamu Inomoto³ and Keiji Iramina^1,4

¹ Graduate School of Systems Life Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-Ku, Fukuoka-Shi, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan

² Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahi-Machi, Kurume-Shi, Fukuoka 830-0011, Japan

³ Graduate School of Education, Hyogo University of Teacher Education, 942-1 Shimokume, Kato-Shi, Hyogo 673-1494, Japan

⁴ Faculty of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-Ku, Fukuoka-Shi, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25793-25808; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025793 - 12 Oct 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6236

Abstract

Soft neurological signs (SNS) are evident in the motor performance of children and disappear as the child grows up. Therefore SNS are used as criteria for evaluating age-appropriate development of neurological function. The aim of this study was to quantify SNS during arm [...] Read more.

Soft neurological signs (SNS) are evident in the motor performance of children and disappear as the child grows up. Therefore SNS are used as criteria for evaluating age-appropriate development of neurological function. The aim of this study was to quantify SNS during arm movement in childhood. In this study, we focused on pronation and supination, which are arm movements included in the SNS examination. Two hundred and twenty-three typically developing children aged 4–12 years (107 boys, 116 girls) and 18 adults aged 21–26 years (16 males, two females) participated in the experiment. To quantify SNS during pronation and supination, we calculated several evaluation index scores: bimanual symmetry, compliance, postural stability, motor speed and mirror movement. These index scores were evaluated using data obtained from sensors attached to the participants’ hands and elbows. Each score increased as age increased. Results obtained using our system showed developmental changes that were consistent with criteria for SNS. We were able to successfully quantify SNS during pronation and supination. These results indicate that it may be possible to use our system as quantitative criteria for evaluating development of neurological function. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Sensors Technology in Japan 2015)

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22 pages, 1625 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Data Gathering in Delay Tolerant Wireless Sensor Networks Using a Ferry

by Mariam Alnuaimi^1,*, Khaled Shuaib^1,†, Klaithem Alnuaimi^1,† and Mohammed Abdel-Hafez^2,†

¹ College of Information Technology, United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box 15551, Al Ain 00971, United Arab Emirates

² Electrical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box 15551, Al Ain 00971, United Arab Emirates

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25809-25830; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025809 - 13 Oct 2015

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 5385

Abstract

In delay tolerant WSNs mobile ferries can be used for collecting data from sensor nodes, especially in large-scale networks. Unlike data collection via multi-hop forwarding among the nodes, ferries travel across the sensing field and collect data from sensors. The advantage of using [...] Read more.

In delay tolerant WSNs mobile ferries can be used for collecting data from sensor nodes, especially in large-scale networks. Unlike data collection via multi-hop forwarding among the nodes, ferries travel across the sensing field and collect data from sensors. The advantage of using a ferry-based approach is that, it eliminates the need for multi-hop forwarding of data, and as a result energy consumption at the nodes is significantly reduced. However, this increases data delivery latency and as such might not be suitable for all applications. In this paper an efficient data collection algorithm using a ferry node is proposed while considering the overall ferry roundtrip travel time and the overall consumed energy in the network. To minimize the overall roundtrip travel time, we divided the sensing field area into virtual grids based on the assumed sensing range and assigned a checkpoint in each one. A Genetic Algorithm with weight metrics to solve the Travel Sales Man Problem (TSP) and decide on an optimum path for the ferry to collect data is then used. We utilized our previously published node ranking clustering algorithm (NRCA) in each virtual grid and in choosing the location for placing the ferry’s checkpoints. In NRCA the decision of selecting cluster heads is based on their residual energy and their distance from their associated checkpoint which acts as a temporary sink. We simulated the proposed algorithm in MATLAB and showed its performance in terms of the network lifetime, total energy consumption and the total travel time. Moreover, we showed through simulation that nonlinear trajectory achieves a better optimization in term of network lifetime, overall energy consumed and the roundtrip travel time of the ferry compared to linear predetermined trajectory. In additional to that, we compared the performance of your algorithm to other recent algorithms in terms of the network lifetime using same and different initial energy values. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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14 pages, 1498 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of High-Q Coupled Nanobeam Cavity for Label-Free Sensing

by Mohammad Tariq Yaseen^1,2,3, Yi-Chun Yang³, Min-Hsiung Shih^3,5,6,* and Yia-Chung Chang^3,4,*

¹ Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan

² Nano Science and Technology Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan

³ Research Centre for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan

⁴ Department of Physics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan

⁵ Department of Photonics, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan

⁶ Department of Photonics, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25868-25881; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025868 - 13 Oct 2015

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 6681

Abstract

We numerically and experimentally investigated the lateral coupling between photonic crystal (PhC) nanobeam (NB) cavities, pursuing high sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM) label-free biosensor. We numerically carried out 3D finite-difference time-domain (3D-FDTD) and the finite element method (FEM) simulations. We showed that [...] Read more.

We numerically and experimentally investigated the lateral coupling between photonic crystal (PhC) nanobeam (NB) cavities, pursuing high sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM) label-free biosensor. We numerically carried out 3D finite-difference time-domain (3D-FDTD) and the finite element method (FEM) simulations. We showed that when two PhC NB cavities separated by a small gap are evanescently coupled, the variation in the gap width significantly changes the coupling efficiency between the two coupled NB cavities and the resulting resonant frequencies split. Experimentally, we fabricated laterally-coupled PhC NB cavities using (InGaAsP) layer on the InP substrate. For sensing, we showed that the laterally coupled PhC NB cavities sensor exhibits higher sensitivity than the single PhC NB cavity. The higher sensitivity of laterally coupled PhC NB cavities is due to the strong evanescent coupling between nearby PhC NB cavities, which depends on the gap width and it is attributed to the large confinement of the electromagnetic field in the gap (air or liquid). As a result of the lateral coupling, both even (symmetric) and odd (asymmetric) modes exist. We show that even modes are more sensitive than odd modes. In addition, higher-order modes exhibit higher sensitivity. Hence, we characterized and examined the fabricated PhC NB cavity as a label-free biosensor, and it exhibits high figure of merit due to its high Q-factor. This illustrates a potentially useful method for optical sensing at nanoscale. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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16 pages, 2484 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Defects Inspection of Solder Balls Based on Eddy Current Pulsed Thermography

by Xiuyun Zhou^1,2, Jinlong Zhou^1,*, Guiyun Tian^1,2

and Yizhe Wang¹

¹ School of Automation Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China

² School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7R, UK

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25882-25897; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025882 - 13 Oct 2015

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 6448

Abstract

In order to solve tiny defect detection for solder balls in high-density flip-chip, this paper proposed feasibility study on the effect of detectability as well as classification based on eddy current pulsed thermography (ECPT). Specifically, numerical analysis of 3D finite element inductive heat [...] Read more.

In order to solve tiny defect detection for solder balls in high-density flip-chip, this paper proposed feasibility study on the effect of detectability as well as classification based on eddy current pulsed thermography (ECPT). Specifically, numerical analysis of 3D finite element inductive heat model is generated to investigate disturbance on the temperature field for different kind of defects such as cracks, voids, etc. The temperature variation between defective and non-defective solder balls is monitored for defects identification and classification. Finally, experimental study is carried on the diameter 1mm tiny solder balls by using ECPT and verify the efficacy of the technique. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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21 pages, 3148 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Validation of the Spectral Power Clustering Technique (SPCT) by Using a Rogowski Coil in Partial Discharge Measurements

by Jorge Alfredo Ardila-Rey^1,*

, Ricardo Albarracín²

, Fernando Álvarez³

and Aldo Barrueto¹

¹ Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 3939, Santiago de Chile 8940000, Chile

² Generation and Distribution Network Area. Dept. Electrical Engineering. Innovation, Technology and R&D, Boslan S.A. Consulting and Engineering, Calle de la Isla Sicilia 1, Madrid 28034, Spain

³ Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ronda de Valencia 3, Madrid 28012, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25898-25918; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025898 - 13 Oct 2015

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 7820

Abstract

Both in industrial as in controlled environments, such as high-voltage laboratories, pulses from multiple sources, including partial discharges (PD) and electrical noise can be superimposed. These circumstances can modify and alter the results of PD measurements and, what is more, they can lead [...] Read more.

Both in industrial as in controlled environments, such as high-voltage laboratories, pulses from multiple sources, including partial discharges (PD) and electrical noise can be superimposed. These circumstances can modify and alter the results of PD measurements and, what is more, they can lead to misinterpretation. The spectral power clustering technique (SPCT) allows separating PD sources and electrical noise through the two-dimensional representation (power ratio map or PR map) of the relative spectral power in two intervals, high and low frequency, calculated for each pulse captured with broadband sensors. This method allows to clearly distinguishing each of the effects of noise and PD, making it easy discrimination of all sources. In this paper, the separation ability of the SPCT clustering technique when using a Rogowski coil for PD measurements is evaluated. Different parameters were studied in order to establish which of them could help for improving the manual selection of the separation intervals, thus enabling a better separation of clusters. The signal processing can be performed during the measurements or in a further analysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Sensors Technology in Spain 2015)

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18 pages, 5713 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Sensor Calibration of Low-Cost Magnetic, Angular Rate and Gravity Systems

by Markus Lüken^*,†, Berno J.E. Misgeld^†, Daniel Rüschen and Steffen Leonhardt

¹ Philips Chair for Medical Information Technology, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 20, Aachen 52074, Germany

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25919-25936; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025919 - 13 Oct 2015

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 8915

Abstract

We present a new calibration procedure for low-cost nine degrees-of-freedom (9DOF) magnetic, angular rate and gravity (MARG) sensor systems, which relies on a calibration cube, a reference table and a body sensor network (BSN). The 9DOF MARG sensor is part of our recently-developed [...] Read more.

We present a new calibration procedure for low-cost nine degrees-of-freedom (9DOF) magnetic, angular rate and gravity (MARG) sensor systems, which relies on a calibration cube, a reference table and a body sensor network (BSN). The 9DOF MARG sensor is part of our recently-developed “Integrated Posture and Activity Network by Medit Aachen” (IPANEMA) BSN. The advantage of this new approach is the use of the calibration cube, which allows for easy integration of two sensor nodes of the IPANEMA BSN. One 9DOF MARG sensor node is thereby used for calibration; the second 9DOF MARG sensor node is used for reference measurements. A novel algorithm uses these measurements to further improve the performance of the calibration procedure by processing arbitrarily-executed motions. In addition, the calibration routine can be used in an alignment procedure to minimize errors in the orientation between the 9DOF MARG sensor system and a motion capture inertial reference system. A two-stage experimental study is conducted to underline the performance of our calibration procedure. In both stages of the proposed calibration procedure, the BSN data, as well as reference tracking data are recorded. In the first stage, the mean values of all sensor outputs are determined as the absolute measurement offset to minimize integration errors in the derived movement model of the corresponding body segment. The second stage deals with the dynamic characteristics of the measurement system where the dynamic deviation of the sensor output compared to a reference system is Sensors 2015, 15 25920 corrected. In practical validation experiments, this procedure showed promising results with a maximum RMS error of 3.89°. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensor Systems for Motion Capture and Interpretation)

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31 pages, 7637 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Toward 3D Reconstruction of Outdoor Scenes Using an MMW Radar and a Monocular Vision Sensor

by Ghina El Natour^1,*, Omar Ait-Aider¹, Raphael Rouveure², François Berry¹ and Patrice Faure²

¹ Lasmea-UMR UBP-CNRS 6602, Université Blaise Pascal, Aubière 63170, France

² IRSTEA, Institut National de Recherche en Sciences et Technologies pour l’Environnement et l’Agriculture, Aubière 63170, France

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25937-25967; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025937 - 14 Oct 2015

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 9650

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a geometric method for 3D reconstruction of the exterior environment using a panoramic microwave radar and a camera. We rely on the complementarity of these two sensors considering the robustness to the environmental conditions and depth detection ability [...] Read more.

In this paper, we introduce a geometric method for 3D reconstruction of the exterior environment using a panoramic microwave radar and a camera. We rely on the complementarity of these two sensors considering the robustness to the environmental conditions and depth detection ability of the radar, on the one hand, and the high spatial resolution of a vision sensor, on the other. Firstly, geometric modeling of each sensor and of the entire system is presented. Secondly, we address the global calibration problem, which consists of finding the exact transformation between the sensors’ coordinate systems. Two implementation methods are proposed and compared, based on the optimization of a non-linear criterion obtained from a set of radar-to-image target correspondences. Unlike existing methods, no special configuration of the 3D points is required for calibration. This makes the methods flexible and easy to use by a non-expert operator. Finally, we present a very simple, yet robust 3D reconstruction method based on the sensors’ geometry. This method enables one to reconstruct observed features in 3D using one acquisition (static sensor), which is not always met in the state of the art for outdoor scene reconstruction. The proposed methods have been validated with synthetic and real data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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24 pages, 3025 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Data Fusion for Driver Behaviour Analysis

by Juan Carmona^†, Fernando García^*,†

, David Martín^†

, Arturo De la Escalera^†

and José María Armingol^†

¹ Intelligent Systems Laboratory, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid/Avda. de la Universidad 30, 28911 Leganés, Spain

^† All authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25968-25991; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025968 - 14 Oct 2015

Cited by 62 | Viewed by 10617

Abstract

A driver behaviour analysis tool is presented. The proposal offers a novel contribution based on low-cost hardware and advanced software capabilities based on data fusion. The device takes advantage of the information provided by the in-vehicle sensors using Controller Area Network Bus (CAN-BUS), [...] Read more.

A driver behaviour analysis tool is presented. The proposal offers a novel contribution based on low-cost hardware and advanced software capabilities based on data fusion. The device takes advantage of the information provided by the in-vehicle sensors using Controller Area Network Bus (CAN-BUS), an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and a GPS. By fusing this information, the system can infer the behaviour of the driver, providing aggressive behaviour detection. By means of accurate GPS-based localization, the system is able to add context information, such as digital map information, speed limits, etc. Several parameters and signals are taken into account, both in the temporal and frequency domains, to provide real time behaviour detection. The system was tested in urban, interurban and highways scenarios. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors in New Road Vehicles)

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17 pages, 1583 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nitric Oxide Isotopic Analyzer Based on a Compact Dual-Modulation Faraday Rotation Spectrometer

by Eric Zhang¹, Stacey Huang¹, Qixing Ji², Michael Silvernagel^1,3, Yin Wang^1,4, Bess Ward², Daniel Sigman² and Gerard Wysocki^1,*

¹ Department of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA

² Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA

³ Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA

⁴ Now with Healthy Photon, 200 East Guoding Road, Shanghai, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25992-26008; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025992 - 14 Oct 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7584

Abstract

We have developed a transportable spectroscopic nitrogen isotopic analyzer. The spectrometer is based on dual-modulation Faraday rotation spectroscopy of nitric oxide isotopologues with near shot-noise limited performance and baseline-free operation. Noise analysis indicates minor isotope (¹⁵NO) detection sensitivity of 0.36 ppbv·Hz [...] Read more.

We have developed a transportable spectroscopic nitrogen isotopic analyzer. The spectrometer is based on dual-modulation Faraday rotation spectroscopy of nitric oxide isotopologues with near shot-noise limited performance and baseline-free operation. Noise analysis indicates minor isotope (¹⁵NO) detection sensitivity of 0.36 ppbv·Hz^−1/2, corresponding to noise-equivalent Faraday rotation angle (NEA) of 1.31 × 10⁻⁸ rad·Hz^−1/2 and noise-equivalent absorbance (αL)_min of 6.27 × 10⁻⁸ Hz^−1/2. White-noise limited performance at 2.8× the shot-noise limit is observed up to ~1000 s, allowing reliable calibration and sample measurement within the drift-free interval of the spectrometer. Integration with wet-chemistry based on acidic vanadium(III) enables conversion of aqueous nitrate/nitrite samples to gaseous NO for total nitrogen isotope analysis. Isotopic ratiometry is accomplished via time-multiplexed measurements of two NO isotope transitions. For 5 μmol potassium nitrate samples, the instrument consistently yields ratiometric precision below 0.3‰, thus demonstrating potential as an in situ diagnostic tool for environmental nitrogen cycle studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Sensors based on In Situ Spectroscopy)

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9 pages, 1859 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fully Integrated Low-Noise Readout Circuit with Automatic Offset Cancellation Loop for Capacitive Microsensors

by Haryong Song¹, Yunjong Park¹, Hyungseup Kim¹, Dong-il Dan Cho²

and Hyoungho Ko^1,*

¹ Department of Electronics, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764, Korea

² ASRI/ISRC, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-744, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26009-26017; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026009 - 14 Oct 2015

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 7811

Abstract

Capacitive sensing schemes are widely used for various microsensors; however, such microsensors suffer from severe parasitic capacitance problems. This paper presents a fully integrated low-noise readout circuit with automatic offset cancellation loop (AOCL) for capacitive microsensors. The output offsets of the capacitive sensing [...] Read more.

Capacitive sensing schemes are widely used for various microsensors; however, such microsensors suffer from severe parasitic capacitance problems. This paper presents a fully integrated low-noise readout circuit with automatic offset cancellation loop (AOCL) for capacitive microsensors. The output offsets of the capacitive sensing chain due to the parasitic capacitances and process variations are automatically removed using AOCL. The AOCL generates electrically equivalent offset capacitance and enables charge-domain fine calibration using a 10-bit R-2R digital-to-analog converter, charge-transfer switches, and a charge-storing capacitor. The AOCL cancels the unwanted offset by binary-search algorithm based on 10-bit successive approximation register (SAR) logic. The chip is implemented using 0.18 μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process with an active area of 1.76 mm². The power consumption is 220 μW with 3.3 V supply. The input parasitic capacitances within the range of −250 fF to 250 fF can be cancelled out automatically, and the required calibration time is lower than 10 ms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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21 pages, 3489 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fabrication of Capacitive Acoustic Resonators Combining 3D Printing and 2D Inkjet Printing Techniques

by Rubaiyet Iftekharul Haque^1,*, Erick Ogam², Christophe Loussert³, Patrick Benaben¹ and Xavier Boddaert^1,*

¹ Centre Microélectronique de Provence (CMP), École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étienne, 13541 Gardanne, France

² Laboratoire de Mécanique et D’Acoustique UPR7051 CNRS, 31 Chemin Josep Aiguier, 13402 Marseille, France

³ TAGSYS RFID, 13600 La Ciotat, France

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26018-26038; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026018 - 14 Oct 2015

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 9447

Abstract

A capacitive acoustic resonator developed by combining three-dimensional (3D) printing and two-dimensional (2D) printed electronics technique is described. During this work, a patterned bottom structure with rigid backplate and cavity is fabricated directly by a 3D printing method, and then a direct write [...] Read more.

A capacitive acoustic resonator developed by combining three-dimensional (3D) printing and two-dimensional (2D) printed electronics technique is described. During this work, a patterned bottom structure with rigid backplate and cavity is fabricated directly by a 3D printing method, and then a direct write inkjet printing technique has been employed to print a silver conductive layer. A novel approach has been used to fabricate a diaphragm for the acoustic sensor as well, where the conductive layer is inkjet-printed on a pre-stressed thin organic film. After assembly, the resulting structure contains an electrically conductive diaphragm positioned at a distance from a fixed bottom electrode separated by a spacer. Measurements confirm that the transducer acts as capacitor. The deflection of the diaphragm in response to the incident acoustic single was observed by a laser Doppler vibrometer and the corresponding change of capacitance has been calculated, which is then compared with the numerical result. Observation confirms that the device performs as a resonator and provides adequate sensitivity and selectivity at its resonance frequency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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24 pages, 8028 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting in Internal Fluid Flow

by Hyeong Jae Lee^1,*, Stewart Sherrit^1,*, Luis Phillipe Tosi², Phillip Walkemeyer¹ and Tim Colonius²

¹ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA

² California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26039-26062; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026039 - 14 Oct 2015

Cited by 51 | Viewed by 11718

Abstract

We consider piezoelectric flow energy harvesting in an internal flow environment with the ultimate goal powering systems such as sensors in deep oil well applications. Fluid motion is coupled to structural vibration via a cantilever beam placed in a converging-diverging flow channel. Two [...] Read more.

We consider piezoelectric flow energy harvesting in an internal flow environment with the ultimate goal powering systems such as sensors in deep oil well applications. Fluid motion is coupled to structural vibration via a cantilever beam placed in a converging-diverging flow channel. Two designs were considered for the electromechanical coupling: first; the cantilever itself is a piezoelectric bimorph; second; the cantilever is mounted on a pair of flextensional actuators. We experimentally investigated varying the geometry of the flow passage and the flow rate. Experimental results revealed that the power generated from both designs was similar; producing as much as 20 mW at a flow rate of 20 L/min. The bimorph designs were prone to failure at the extremes of flow rates tested. Finite element analysis (FEA) showed fatigue failure was imminent due to stress concentrations near the bimorph’s clamped region; and that robustness could be improved with a stepped-joint mounting design. A similar FEA model showed the flextensional-based harvester had a resonant frequency of around 375 Hz and an electromechanical coupling of 0.23 between the cantilever and flextensional actuators in a vacuum. These values; along with the power levels demonstrated; are significant steps toward building a system design that can eventually deliver power in the Watts range to devices down within a well. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Energy-Neutral WSN Architectures: Energy Harvesting and Other Enabling Technologies)

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22 pages, 1902 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Robot Visual Homing Method Based on SIFT Features

by Qidan Zhu, Chuanjia Liu^* and Chengtao Cai

College of Automation, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26063-26084; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026063 - 14 Oct 2015

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 5391

Abstract

Warping is an effective visual homing method for robot local navigation. However, the performance of the warping method can be greatly influenced by the changes of the environment in a real scene, thus resulting in lower accuracy. In order to solve the above [...] Read more.

Warping is an effective visual homing method for robot local navigation. However, the performance of the warping method can be greatly influenced by the changes of the environment in a real scene, thus resulting in lower accuracy. In order to solve the above problem and to get higher homing precision, a novel robot visual homing algorithm is proposed by combining SIFT (scale-invariant feature transform) features with the warping method. The algorithm is novel in using SIFT features as landmarks instead of the pixels in the horizon region of the panoramic image. In addition, to further improve the matching accuracy of landmarks in the homing algorithm, a novel mismatching elimination algorithm, based on the distribution characteristics of landmarks in the catadioptric panoramic image, is proposed. Experiments on image databases and on a real scene confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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11 pages, 971 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Low-Pass Parabolic FFT Filter for Airborne and Satellite Lidar Signal Processing

by Zhongke Jiao^1,†, Bo Liu^1,2,*,†

, Enhai Liu^1,† and Yongjian Yue^1,†

¹ Institute of Optics and Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mailbox 350, Chengdu 610209, China

² Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26085-26095; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026085 - 14 Oct 2015

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 7812

Abstract

In order to reduce random errors of the lidar signal inversion, a low-pass parabolic fast Fourier transform filter (PFFTF) was introduced for noise elimination. A compact airborne Raman lidar system was studied, which applied PFFTF to process lidar signals. Mathematics and simulations of [...] Read more.

In order to reduce random errors of the lidar signal inversion, a low-pass parabolic fast Fourier transform filter (PFFTF) was introduced for noise elimination. A compact airborne Raman lidar system was studied, which applied PFFTF to process lidar signals. Mathematics and simulations of PFFTF along with low pass filters, sliding mean filter (SMF), median filter (MF), empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and wavelet transform (WT) were studied, and the practical engineering value of PFFTF for lidar signal processing has been verified. The method has been tested on real lidar signal from Wyoming Cloud Lidar (WCL). Results show that PFFTF has advantages over the other methods. It keeps the high frequency components well and reduces much of the random noise simultaneously for lidar signal processing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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19 pages, 3630 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Quasi-Biennial Vertical Oscillations at Global GPS Stations: Identification by Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition

by Yuanjin Pan¹

, Wen-Bin Shen^1,2,*, Hao Ding¹, Cheinway Hwang³

, Jin Li⁴

and Tengxu Zhang¹

¹ School of Geodesy and Geomatics, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China

² State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China

³ Department of Civil Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan

⁴ Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26096-26114; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026096 - 14 Oct 2015

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 6703

Abstract

Modeling nonlinear vertical components of a GPS time series is critical to separating sources contributing to mass displacements. Improved vertical precision in GPS positioning at stations for velocity fields is key to resolving the mechanism of certain geophysical phenomena. In this paper, we [...] Read more.

Modeling nonlinear vertical components of a GPS time series is critical to separating sources contributing to mass displacements. Improved vertical precision in GPS positioning at stations for velocity fields is key to resolving the mechanism of certain geophysical phenomena. In this paper, we use ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) to analyze the daily GPS time series at 89 continuous GPS stations, spanning from 2002 to 2013. EEMD decomposes a GPS time series into different intrinsic mode functions (IMFs), which are used to identify different kinds of signals and secular terms. Our study suggests that the GPS records contain not only the well-known signals (such as semi-annual and annual signals) but also the seldom-noted quasi-biennial oscillations (QBS). The quasi-biennial signals are explained by modeled loadings of atmosphere, non-tidal and hydrology that deform the surface around the GPS stations. In addition, the loadings derived from GRACE gravity changes are also consistent with the quasi-biennial deformations derived from the GPS observations. By removing the modeled components, the weighted root-mean-square (WRMS) variation of the GPS time series is reduced by 7.1% to 42.3%, and especially, after removing the seasonal and QBO signals, the average improvement percentages for seasonal and QBO signals are 25.6% and 7.5%, respectively, suggesting that it is significant to consider the QBS signals in the GPS records to improve the observed vertical deformations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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13 pages, 3662 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study of Interdigitated Electrode Arrays Using Experiments and Finite Element Models for the Evaluation of Sterilization Processes

by Jan Oberländer^1,2,†, Zaid B. Jildeh^1,†, Patrick Kirchner¹, Luisa Wendeler¹, Alexander Bromm¹, Heiko Iken^1,2, Patrick Wagner³, Michael Keusgen⁴ and Michael J. Schöning^1,2,*

¹ Institute of Nano- and Biotechnologies (INB), FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Heinrich-Mussmann-Str. 1, Jülich 52428, Germany

² Peter-Grünberg Institute (PGI-8), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich 52428, Germany

³ Soft Matter and Biophysics, Catholic University Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 D, Leuven 3001, Belgium

⁴ Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Philipps-University Marburg, Marbacher Weg 6-10, Marburg 35037, Germany

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26115-26127; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026115 - 14 Oct 2015

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 10433

Abstract

In this work, a sensor to evaluate sterilization processes with hydrogen peroxide vapor has been characterized. Experimental, analytical and numerical methods were applied to evaluate and study the sensor behavior. The sensor set-up is based on planar interdigitated electrodes. The interdigitated electrode structure [...] Read more.

In this work, a sensor to evaluate sterilization processes with hydrogen peroxide vapor has been characterized. Experimental, analytical and numerical methods were applied to evaluate and study the sensor behavior. The sensor set-up is based on planar interdigitated electrodes. The interdigitated electrode structure consists of 614 electrode fingers spanning over a total sensing area of 20 mm². Sensor measurements were conducted with and without microbiological spores as well as after an industrial sterilization protocol. The measurements were verified using an analytical expression based on a first-order elliptical integral. A model based on the finite element method with periodic boundary conditions in two dimensions was developed and utilized to validate the experimental findings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gas Sensors—Designs and Applications)

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15 pages, 3702 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analytical Modelling of a Refractive Index Sensor Based on an Intrinsic Micro Fabry-Perot Interferometer

by Everardo Vargas-Rodriguez¹

, Ana D. Guzman-Chavez^1,*, Martin Cano-Contreras^1,2, Eloisa Gallegos-Arellano^1,3, Daniel Jauregui-Vazquez⁴, Juan C. Hernández-García⁴, Julian M. Estudillo-Ayala⁴

and Roberto Rojas-Laguna⁴

¹ Departamento de Estudios Multidisciplinarios, División de Ingenierías, Universidad de Guanajuato, Av. Universidad s/n, Col. Yacatitas, Yuriria, Gto., C.P. 38940, Mexico

² Departamento de Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación, Universidad Tecnológica del Suroeste de Guanajuato, Carretera Valle-Huanímaro km. 1.2, Valle de Santiago, Gto., C.P. 38400, Mexico

³ Departamento de Mecatrónica, Universidad Tecnológica de Salamanca, Av. Universidad Tecnológica #200, Col. Ciudad Bajío, Salamanca, Gto., C.P. 36766, Mexico

⁴ Departamento de Electrónica, División de Ingenierías, Universidad de Guanajuato, Carretera Salamanca-Valle de Santiago km 3.5 + 1.8, Comunidad de Palo Blanco, Salamanca, Gto., C.P. 36885, Mexico

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26128-26142; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026128 - 15 Oct 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5995

Abstract

In this work a refractive index sensor based on a combination of the non-dispersive sensing (NDS) and the Tunable Laser Spectroscopy (TLS) principles is presented. Here, in order to have one reference and one measurement channel a single-beam dual-path configuration is used for [...] Read more.

In this work a refractive index sensor based on a combination of the non-dispersive sensing (NDS) and the Tunable Laser Spectroscopy (TLS) principles is presented. Here, in order to have one reference and one measurement channel a single-beam dual-path configuration is used for implementing the NDS principle. These channels are monitored with a couple of identical optical detectors which are correlated to calculate the overall sensor response, called here the depth of modulation. It is shown that this is useful to minimize drifting errors due to source power variations. Furthermore, a comprehensive analysis of a refractive index sensing setup, based on an intrinsic micro Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) is described. Here, the changes over the FPI pattern as the exit refractive index is varied are analytically modelled by using the characteristic matrix method. Additionally, our simulated results are supported by experimental measurements which are also provided. Finally it is shown that by using this principle a simple refractive index sensor with a resolution in the order of 2.15 × 10⁻⁴ RIU can be implemented by using a couple of standard and low cost photodetectors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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27 pages, 4455 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Wireless Sensor Network for Urban Traffic Characterization and Trend Monitoring

by J.J. Fernández-Lozano^*

, Miguel Martín-Guzmán, Juan Martín-Ávila and A. García-Cerezo

Departamento de Ingeniería de Sistemas y Automática, Universidad de Málaga, Calle Dr. Ortiz Ramos, s/n, Campus de Teatinos, 29071, Málaga, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26143-26169; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026143 - 15 Oct 2015

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 9347

Abstract

Sustainable mobility requires a better management of the available infrastructure resources. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to obtain accurate data about road usage, in particular in urban areas. Although a variety of sensor alternates for urban traffic exist, they usually require [...] Read more.

Sustainable mobility requires a better management of the available infrastructure resources. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to obtain accurate data about road usage, in particular in urban areas. Although a variety of sensor alternates for urban traffic exist, they usually require extensive investments in the form of construction works for installation, processing means, etc. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are an alternative to acquire urban traffic data, allowing for flexible, easy deployment. Together with the use of the appropriate sensors, like Bluetooth identification, and associate processing, WSN can provide the means to obtain in real time data like the origin-destination matrix, a key tool for trend monitoring which previously required weeks or months to be completed. This paper presents a system based on WSN designed to characterize urban traffic, particularly traffic trend monitoring through the calculation of the origin-destination matrix in real time by using Bluetooth identification. Additional sensors are also available integrated in different types of nodes. Experiments in real conditions have been performed, both for separate sensors (Bluetooth, ultrasound and laser), and for the whole system, showing the feasibility of this approach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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28 pages, 1396 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A New Model Based on Adaptation of the External Loop to Compensate the Hysteresis of Tactile Sensors

by José A. Sánchez-Durán^1,2

, Fernando Vidal-Verdú^1,2,*, Óscar Oballe-Peinado^1,2

, Julián Castellanos-Ramos^1,2

and José A. Hidalgo-López^1,2

¹ Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Departamento de Electrónica, ETSI Informática, Campus de Teatinos, 29071 Málaga, Spain

² Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga (IBIMA), 29010 Málaga, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26170-26197; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026170 - 15 Oct 2015

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6094

Abstract

This paper presents a novel method to compensate for hysteresis nonlinearities observed in the response of a tactile sensor. The External Loop Adaptation Method (ELAM) performs a piecewise linear mapping of the experimentally measured external curves of the hysteresis loop to obtain all [...] Read more.

This paper presents a novel method to compensate for hysteresis nonlinearities observed in the response of a tactile sensor. The External Loop Adaptation Method (ELAM) performs a piecewise linear mapping of the experimentally measured external curves of the hysteresis loop to obtain all possible internal cycles. The optimal division of the input interval where the curve is approximated is provided by the error minimization algorithm. This process is carried out off line and provides parameters to compute the split point in real time. A different linear transformation is then performed at the left and right of this point and a more precise fitting is achieved. The models obtained with the ELAM method are compared with those obtained from three other approaches. The results show that the ELAM method achieves a more accurate fitting. Moreover, the involved mathematical operations are simpler and therefore easier to implement in devices such as Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs) for real time applications. Furthermore, the method needs to identify fewer parameters and requires no previous selection process of operators or functions. Finally, the method can be applied to other sensors or actuators with complex hysteresis loop shapes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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14 pages, 1172 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modified Particle Filtering Algorithm for Single Acoustic Vector Sensor DOA Tracking

by Xinbo Li¹, Haixin Sun^2,†, Liangxu Jiang^1,†, Yaowu Shi^1,† and Yue Wu^3,*

¹ School of Communication Engineering, Jilin University, Renmin Street No. 5988, Changchun 130022, China

² School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Changchun University, Weixing Road, No. 6543, Changchun 130022, China

³ School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Renmin Street No. 5988, Changchun 130022, China

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26198-26211; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026198 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4845

Abstract

The conventional direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithm with static sources assumption usually estimates the source angles of two adjacent moments independently and the correlation of the moments is not considered. In this article, we focus on the DOA estimation of moving sources [...] Read more.

The conventional direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithm with static sources assumption usually estimates the source angles of two adjacent moments independently and the correlation of the moments is not considered. In this article, we focus on the DOA estimation of moving sources and a modified particle filtering (MPF) algorithm is proposed with state space model of single acoustic vector sensor. Although the particle filtering (PF) algorithm has been introduced for acoustic vector sensor applications, it is not suitable for the case that one dimension angle of source is estimated with large deviation, the two dimension angles (pitch angle and azimuth angle) cannot be simultaneously employed to update the state through resampling processing of PF algorithm. To solve the problems mentioned above, the MPF algorithm is proposed in which the state estimation of previous moment is introduced to the particle sampling of present moment to improve the importance function. Moreover, the independent relationship of pitch angle and azimuth angle is considered and the two dimension angles are sampled and evaluated, respectively. Then, the MUSIC spectrum function is used as the “likehood” function of the MPF algorithm, and the modified PF-MUSIC (MPF-MUSIC) algorithm is proposed to improve the root mean square error (RMSE) and the probability of convergence. The theoretical analysis and the simulation results validate the effectiveness and feasibility of the two proposed algorithms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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24 pages, 13414 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Real-Time Single-Frequency GPS/MEMS-IMU Attitude Determination of Lightweight UAVs

by Christian Eling^*, Lasse Klingbeil and Heiner Kuhlmann

Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation, University of Bonn, Nussallee 17, 53115 Bonn, Germany

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26212-26235; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026212 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 107 | Viewed by 11154

Abstract

In this paper, a newly-developed direct georeferencing system for the guidance, navigation and control of lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), having a weight limit of 5 kg and a size limit of 1.5 m, and for UAV-based surveying and remote sensing applications is [...] Read more.

In this paper, a newly-developed direct georeferencing system for the guidance, navigation and control of lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), having a weight limit of 5 kg and a size limit of 1.5 m, and for UAV-based surveying and remote sensing applications is presented. The system is intended to provide highly accurate positions and attitudes (better than 5 cm and 0.5°) in real time, using lightweight components. The main focus of this paper is on the attitude determination with the system. This attitude determination is based on an onboard single-frequency GPS baseline, MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) inertial sensor readings, magnetic field observations and a 3D position measurement. All of this information is integrated in a sixteen-state error space Kalman filter. Special attention in the algorithm development is paid to the carrier phase ambiguity resolution of the single-frequency GPS baseline observations. We aim at a reliable and instantaneous ambiguity resolution, since the system is used in urban areas, where frequent losses of the GPS signal lock occur and the GPS measurement conditions are challenging. Flight tests and a comparison to a navigation-grade inertial navigation system illustrate the performance of the developed system in dynamic situations. Evaluations show that the accuracies of the system are 0.05° for the roll and the pitch angle and 0.2° for the yaw angle. The ambiguities of the single-frequency GPS baseline can be resolved instantaneously in more than 90% of the cases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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15 pages, 1369 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Protein Adsorption in Microengraving Immunoassays

by Qing Song

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering, 6 Metro Tech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26236-26250; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026236 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5305

Abstract

Microengraving is a novel immunoassay for characterizing multiple protein secretions from single cells. During the immunoassay, characteristic diffusion and kinetic time scales and determine the time for molecular diffusion of proteins secreted from the activated single lymphocytes and subsequent binding onto the glass [...] Read more.

Microengraving is a novel immunoassay for characterizing multiple protein secretions from single cells. During the immunoassay, characteristic diffusion and kinetic time scales and determine the time for molecular diffusion of proteins secreted from the activated single lymphocytes and subsequent binding onto the glass slide surface respectively. Our results demonstrate that molecular diffusion plays important roles in the early stage of protein adsorption dynamics which shifts to a kinetic controlled mechanism in the later stage. Similar dynamic pathways are observed for protein adsorption with significantly fast rates and rapid shifts in transport mechanisms when is increased a hundred times from 0.313 to 31.3. Theoretical adsorption isotherms follow the trend of experimentally obtained data. Adsorption isotherms indicate that amount of proteins secreted from individual cells and subsequently captured on a clean glass slide surface increases monotonically with time. Our study directly validates that protein secretion rates can be quantified by the microengraving immunoassay. This will enable us to apply microengraving immunoassays to quantify secretion rates from 10⁴–10⁵ single cells in parallel, screen antigen-specific cells with the highest secretion rate for clonal expansion and quantitatively reveal cellular heterogeneity within a small cell sample. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue On-Chip Sensors)

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16 pages, 4840 KiB

Open AccessArticle

PUFKEY: A High-Security and High-Throughput Hardware True Random Number Generator for Sensor Networks

by Dongfang Li, Zhaojun Lu, Xuecheng Zou and Zhenglin Liu^*

School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No.1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26251-26266; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026251 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 8050

Abstract

Random number generators (RNG) play an important role in many sensor network systems and applications, such as those requiring secure and robust communications. In this paper, we develop a high-security and high-throughput hardware true random number generator, called PUFKEY, which consists of two [...] Read more.

Random number generators (RNG) play an important role in many sensor network systems and applications, such as those requiring secure and robust communications. In this paper, we develop a high-security and high-throughput hardware true random number generator, called PUFKEY, which consists of two kinds of physical unclonable function (PUF) elements. Combined with a conditioning algorithm, true random seeds are extracted from the noise on the start-up pattern of SRAM memories. These true random seeds contain full entropy. Then, the true random seeds are used as the input for a non-deterministic hardware RNG to generate a stream of true random bits with a throughput as high as 803 Mbps. The experimental results show that the bitstream generated by the proposed PUFKEY can pass all standard national institute of standards and technology (NIST) randomness tests and is resilient to a wide range of security attacks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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14 pages, 307 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sparse Bayesian Learning for DOA Estimation with Mutual Coupling

by Jisheng Dai^1,2,*, Nan Hu³, Weichao Xu⁴ and Chunqi Chang³

¹ School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, China

² National Mobile Communications Research Laboratory, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou Road, Nanjing 210096, China

³ School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Soochow University, 178 East Ganjiang Road, Suzhou 215006, China

⁴ Department of Automatic Control, Guangdong University of Technology, 100 Huanxi Road, Guangzhou 510006, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26267-26280; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026267 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 6538

Abstract

Sparse Bayesian learning (SBL) has given renewed interest to the problem of direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation. It is generally assumed that the measurement matrix in SBL is precisely known. Unfortunately, this assumption may be invalid in practice due to the imperfect manifold caused by [...] Read more.

Sparse Bayesian learning (SBL) has given renewed interest to the problem of direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation. It is generally assumed that the measurement matrix in SBL is precisely known. Unfortunately, this assumption may be invalid in practice due to the imperfect manifold caused by unknown or misspecified mutual coupling. This paper describes a modified SBL method for joint estimation of DOAs and mutual coupling coefficients with uniform linear arrays (ULAs). Unlike the existing method that only uses stationary priors, our new approach utilizes a hierarchical form of the Student t prior to enforce the sparsity of the unknown signal more heavily. We also provide a distinct Bayesian inference for the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, which can update the mutual coupling coefficients more efficiently. Another difference is that our method uses an additional singular value decomposition (SVD) to reduce the computational complexity of the signal reconstruction process and the sensitivity to the measurement noise. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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16 pages, 1626 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Validation of Normalized Uniform Load Surface Curvature Method for Damage Localization

by Ho-Yeon Jung¹, Seung-Hoon Sung² and Hyung-Jo Jung^1,*

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Korea

² Agency for Defense Development, Yusong P.O.Box 35, DaeJeon 305-600, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26315-26330; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026315 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4947

Abstract

In this study, we experimentally validated the normalized uniform load surface (NULS) curvature method, which has been developed recently to assess damage localization in beam-type structures. The normalization technique allows for the accurate assessment of damage localization with greater sensitivity irrespective of the [...] Read more.

In this study, we experimentally validated the normalized uniform load surface (NULS) curvature method, which has been developed recently to assess damage localization in beam-type structures. The normalization technique allows for the accurate assessment of damage localization with greater sensitivity irrespective of the damage location. In this study, damage to a simply supported beam was numerically and experimentally investigated on the basis of the changes in the NULS curvatures, which were estimated from the modal flexibility matrices obtained from the acceleration responses under an ambient excitation. Two damage scenarios were considered for the single damage case as well as the multiple damages case by reducing the bending stiffness (EI) of the affected element(s). Numerical simulations were performed using MATLAB as a preliminary step. During the validation experiments, a series of tests were performed. It was found that the damage locations could be identified successfully without any false-positive or false-negative detections using the proposed method. For comparison, the damage detection performances were compared with those of two other well-known methods based on the modal flexibility matrix, namely, the uniform load surface (ULS) method and the ULS curvature method. It was confirmed that the proposed method is more effective for investigating the damage locations of simply supported beams than the two conventional methods in terms of sensitivity to damage under measurement noise. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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22 pages, 495 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using Polynomials to Simplify Fixed Pattern Noise and Photometric Correction of Logarithmic CMOS Image Sensors

by Jing Li, Alireza Mahmoodi and Dileepan Joseph^*

Innovation Centre for Engineering, University of Alberta, 9211 116 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, Canada

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26331-26352; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026331 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 7026

Abstract

An important class of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors are those where pixel responses are monotonic nonlinear functions of light stimuli. This class includes various logarithmic architectures, which are easily capable of wide dynamic range imaging, at video rates, but which are vulnerable [...] Read more.

An important class of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors are those where pixel responses are monotonic nonlinear functions of light stimuli. This class includes various logarithmic architectures, which are easily capable of wide dynamic range imaging, at video rates, but which are vulnerable to image quality issues. To minimize fixed pattern noise (FPN) and maximize photometric accuracy, pixel responses must be calibrated and corrected due to mismatch and process variation during fabrication. Unlike literature approaches, which employ circuit-based models of varying complexity, this paper introduces a novel approach based on low-degree polynomials. Although each pixel may have a highly nonlinear response, an approximately-linear FPN calibration is possible by exploiting the monotonic nature of imaging. Moreover, FPN correction requires only arithmetic, and an optimal fixed-point implementation is readily derived, subject to a user-specified number of bits per pixel. Using a monotonic spline, involving cubic polynomials, photometric calibration is also possible without a circuit-based model, and fixed-point photometric correction requires only a look-up table. The approach is experimentally validated with a logarithmic CMOS image sensor and is compared to a leading approach from the literature. The novel approach proves effective and efficient. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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15 pages, 9625 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Two-Dimensional Automatic Measurement for Nozzle Flow Distribution Using Improved Ultrasonic Sensor

by Changyuan Zhai¹, Chunjiang Zhao^2,*

, Xiu Wang², Ning Wang³, Wei Zou² and Wei Li¹

¹ College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China

² National Engineering Research Centre for Information Technology in Agriculture, Beijing 100097, China

³ Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 75078, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26353-26367; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026353 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 7196

Abstract

Spray deposition and distribution are affected by many factors, one of which is nozzle flow distribution. A two-dimensional automatic measurement system, which consisted of a conveying unit, a system control unit, an ultrasonic sensor, and a deposition collecting dish, was designed and developed. [...] Read more.

Spray deposition and distribution are affected by many factors, one of which is nozzle flow distribution. A two-dimensional automatic measurement system, which consisted of a conveying unit, a system control unit, an ultrasonic sensor, and a deposition collecting dish, was designed and developed. The system could precisely move an ultrasonic sensor above a pesticide deposition collecting dish to measure the nozzle flow distribution. A sensor sleeve with a PVC tube was designed for the ultrasonic sensor to limit its beam angle in order to measure the liquid level in the small troughs. System performance tests were conducted to verify the designed functions and measurement accuracy. A commercial spray nozzle was also used to measure its flow distribution. The test results showed that the relative error on volume measurement was less than 7.27% when the liquid volume was 2 mL in trough, while the error was less than 4.52% when the liquid volume was 4 mL or more. The developed system was also used to evaluate the flow distribution of a commercial nozzle. It was able to provide the shape and the spraying width of the flow distribution accurately. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotic Sensory Systems for Environment Protection and Conservation)

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28 pages, 3342 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Position Estimation and Local Mapping Using Omnidirectional Images and Global Appearance Descriptors

by Yerai Berenguer^*, Luis Payá

, Mónica Ballesta

and Oscar Reinoso

Departamento de Ingeniería de Sistemas y Automática, Miguel Hernández University, Avda. de la Universidad s/n, Elche (Alicante) 03202, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26368-26395; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026368 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 8054

Abstract

This work presents some methods to create local maps and to estimate the position of a mobile robot, using the global appearance of omnidirectional images. We use a robot that carries an omnidirectional vision system on it. Every omnidirectional image acquired by the [...] Read more.

This work presents some methods to create local maps and to estimate the position of a mobile robot, using the global appearance of omnidirectional images. We use a robot that carries an omnidirectional vision system on it. Every omnidirectional image acquired by the robot is described only with one global appearance descriptor, based on the Radon transform. In the work presented in this paper, two different possibilities have been considered. In the first one, we assume the existence of a map previously built composed of omnidirectional images that have been captured from previously-known positions. The purpose in this case consists of estimating the nearest position of the map to the current position of the robot, making use of the visual information acquired by the robot from its current (unknown) position. In the second one, we assume that we have a model of the environment composed of omnidirectional images, but with no information about the location of where the images were acquired. The purpose in this case consists of building a local map and estimating the position of the robot within this map. Both methods are tested with different databases (including virtual and real images) taking into consideration the changes of the position of different objects in the environment, different lighting conditions and occlusions. The results show the effectiveness and the robustness of both methods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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19 pages, 887 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hardware Design and Implementation of a Wavelet De-Noising Procedure for Medical Signal Preprocessing

by Szi-Wen Chen^1,2,* and Yuan-Ho Chen¹

¹ Department of Electronic Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan

² Healthy Aging Research Center (HARC), Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26396-26414; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026396 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 6960

Abstract

In this paper, a discrete wavelet transform (DWT) based de-noising with its applications into the noise reduction for medical signal preprocessing is introduced. This work focuses on the hardware realization of a real-time wavelet de-noising procedure. The proposed de-noising circuit mainly consists of [...] Read more.

In this paper, a discrete wavelet transform (DWT) based de-noising with its applications into the noise reduction for medical signal preprocessing is introduced. This work focuses on the hardware realization of a real-time wavelet de-noising procedure. The proposed de-noising circuit mainly consists of three modules: a DWT, a thresholding, and an inverse DWT (IDWT) modular circuits. We also proposed a novel adaptive thresholding scheme and incorporated it into our wavelet de-noising procedure. Performance was then evaluated on both the architectural designs of the software and. In addition, the de-noising circuit was also implemented by downloading the Verilog codes to a field programmable gate array (FPGA) based platform so that its ability in noise reduction may be further validated in actual practice. Simulation experiment results produced by applying a set of simulated noise-contaminated electrocardiogram (ECG) signals into the de-noising circuit showed that the circuit could not only desirably meet the requirement of real-time processing, but also achieve satisfactory performance for noise reduction, while the sharp features of the ECG signals can be well preserved. The proposed de-noising circuit was further synthesized using the Synopsys Design Compiler with an Artisan Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC, Hsinchu, Taiwan) 40 nm standard cell library. The integrated circuit (IC) synthesis simulation results showed that the proposed design can achieve a clock frequency of 200 MHz and the power consumption was only 17.4 mW, when operated at 200 MHz. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Noninvasive Biomedical Sensors)

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15 pages, 3850 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ammonia Gas Sensing Behavior of Tanninsulfonic Acid Doped Polyaniline-TiO₂ Composite

by Venu Gopal Bairi^1,*, Shawn E. Bourdo², Nicolas Sacre², Dev Nair², Brian C. Berry¹, Alexandru S. Biris² and Tito Viswanathan^1,*

¹ Department of chemistry, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave, Little Rock, AR 72204, USA

² Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave, Little Rock, AR 72204, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26415-26429; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026415 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 44 | Viewed by 8258

Abstract

A highly active tannin doped polyaniline-TiO₂ composite ammonia gas sensor was developed and the mechanism behind the gas sensing activity was reported for the first time. A tanninsulfonic acid doped polyaniline (TANIPANI)-titanium dioxide nanocomposite was synthesized by an in situ polymerization of [...] Read more.

A highly active tannin doped polyaniline-TiO₂ composite ammonia gas sensor was developed and the mechanism behind the gas sensing activity was reported for the first time. A tanninsulfonic acid doped polyaniline (TANIPANI)-titanium dioxide nanocomposite was synthesized by an in situ polymerization of aniline in the presence of tanninsulfonic acid and titanium dioxide nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis were utilized to determine the incorporation of TiO₂ in TANIPANI matrix. UV-Visible and infrared spectroscopy studies provided information about the electronic interactions among tannin, polyaniline, and TiO₂. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) along with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) surface analysis techniques were used to investigate the metal oxide dispersions inside polyaniline matrix. Gas sensors were prepared by spin coating solutions of TANIPANI-TiO₂ and TANIPANI composites onto glass slides. Sensors were tested at three different concentrations (20 ppm, 40 ppm, and 60 ppm) of ammonia gas at ambient temperature conditions by measuring the changes in surface resistivity of the films with respect to time. Ammonia gas sensing plots are presented showing the response values, response times and recovery times. The TANIPANI-TiO₂ composite exhibited better response and shorter recovery times when compared to TANIPANI control and other polyaniline composites that have been reported in the literature. For the first time a proposed mechanism of gas sensing basing on the polaron band localization and its effects on the gas sensing behavior of polyaniline are reported. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gas Sensors—Designs and Applications)

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27 pages, 7157 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of Kinematic 3D Laser Scanning System for Indoor Mapping and As-Built BIM Using Constrained SLAM

by Jaehoon Jung^†, Sanghyun Yoon, Sungha Ju and Joon Heo^*

¹ School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749, Korea

^† Present Address: Department of Photogrammetry, Nussallee 15, Bonn 53115, Germany

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26430-26456; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026430 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 51 | Viewed by 9326

Abstract

The growing interest and use of indoor mapping is driving a demand for improved data-acquisition facility, efficiency and productivity in the era of the Building Information Model (BIM). The conventional static laser scanning method suffers from some limitations on its operability in complex [...] Read more.

The growing interest and use of indoor mapping is driving a demand for improved data-acquisition facility, efficiency and productivity in the era of the Building Information Model (BIM). The conventional static laser scanning method suffers from some limitations on its operability in complex indoor environments, due to the presence of occlusions. Full scanning of indoor spaces without loss of information requires that surveyors change the scanner position many times, which incurs extra work for registration of each scanned point cloud. Alternatively, a kinematic 3D laser scanning system, proposed herein, uses line-feature-based Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technique for continuous mapping. Moreover, to reduce the uncertainty of line-feature extraction, we incorporated constrained adjustment based on an assumption made with respect to typical indoor environments: that the main structures are formed of parallel or orthogonal line features. The superiority of the proposed constrained adjustment is its reduction for uncertainties of the adjusted lines, leading to successful data association process. In the present study, kinematic scanning with and without constrained adjustment were comparatively evaluated in two test sites, and the results confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed system. The accuracy of the 3D mapping result was additionally evaluated by comparison with the reference points acquired by a total station: the Euclidean average distance error was 0.034 m for the seminar room and 0.043 m for the corridor, which satisfied the error tolerance for point cloud acquisition (0.051 m) according to the guidelines of the General Services Administration for BIM accuracy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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21 pages, 1114 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sensor and Methodology for Dielectric Analysis of Vegetal Oils Submitted to Thermal Stress

by Sergio Luiz Stevan, Jr.^1,*

, Leandro Paiter¹, José Ricardo Galvão¹, Daniely Vieira Roque² and Eduardo Sidinei Chaves²

¹ Federal University of Technology - Paraná (UTFPR) - Electrical Engineering Graduate Program - PPGEE-UTFPR-PG; Av. Monteiro Lobato, km 04 - s/n°, Ponta Grossa 84016-210, Brazil

² Federal University of Technology- Paraná (UTFPR) - Chemical Engineering Academic Department - DAENQ-UTFPR-PG; Av. Monteiro Lobato, km 04 - s/n°, Ponta Grossa 84016-210, Brazil

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26457-26477; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026457 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 7678

Abstract

Vegetable oils used in frying food represent a social problem as its destination. The residual oil can be recycled and returned to the production line, as biodiesel, as soap, or as putty. The state of the residual oil is determined according to their [...] Read more.

Vegetable oils used in frying food represent a social problem as its destination. The residual oil can be recycled and returned to the production line, as biodiesel, as soap, or as putty. The state of the residual oil is determined according to their physicochemical characteristics whose values define its economically viable destination. However, the physicochemical analysis requires high costs, time and general cost of transporting. This study presents the use of a capacitive sensor and a quick and inexpensive method to correlate the physicochemical variables to the dielectric constant of the material undergoing oil samples to thermal cycling. The proposed method allows reducing costs in the characterization of residual oil and the reduction in analysis time. In addition, the method allows an assessment of the quality of the vegetable oil during use. The experimental results show the increasing of the dielectric constant with the temperature, which facilitates measurement and classification of the dielectric constant at considerably higher temperatures. The results also confirm a definitive degradation in used oil and a correlation between the dielectric constant of the sample with the results of the physicochemical analysis (iodine value, acid value, viscosity and refractive index). Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Chemical Sensors)

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16 pages, 2752 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Accurate Projector Calibration Method Based on Polynomial Distortion Representation

by Miao Liu¹, Changku Sun¹, Shujun Huang² and Zonghua Zhang^2,*

¹ State Key Laboratory of Precision Measuring Technology and Instruments, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China

² School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26567-26582; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026567 - 20 Oct 2015

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 7276

Abstract

In structure light measurement systems or 3D printing systems, the errors caused by optical distortion of a digital projector always affect the precision performance and cannot be ignored. Existing methods to calibrate the projection distortion rely on calibration plate and photogrammetry, so the [...] Read more.

In structure light measurement systems or 3D printing systems, the errors caused by optical distortion of a digital projector always affect the precision performance and cannot be ignored. Existing methods to calibrate the projection distortion rely on calibration plate and photogrammetry, so the calibration performance is largely affected by the quality of the plate and the imaging system. This paper proposes a new projector calibration approach that makes use of photodiodes to directly detect the light emitted from a digital projector. By analyzing the output sequence of the photoelectric module, the pixel coordinates can be accurately obtained by the curve fitting method. A polynomial distortion representation is employed to reduce the residuals of the traditional distortion representation model. Experimental results and performance evaluation show that the proposed calibration method is able to avoid most of the disadvantages in traditional methods and achieves a higher accuracy. This proposed method is also practically applicable to evaluate the geometric optical performance of other optical projection system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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23 pages, 521 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Balancing Energy Consumption with Hybrid Clustering and Routing Strategy in Wireless Sensor Networks

by Zhezhuang Xu^1,2,*, Liquan Chen^1,2, Ting Liu^1,2, Lianyang Cao^1,2 and Cailian Chen³

¹ School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350000, China

² Fujian Key Laboratory of Industrial Control and Information Security Technology, Science and Technology Department of Fujian Province, Fuzhou 350000, China

³ School of Electronic, Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26583-26605; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026583 - 20 Oct 2015

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5223

Abstract

Multi-hop data collection in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is a challenge issue due to the limited energy resource and transmission range of wireless sensors. The hybrid clustering and routing (HCR) strategy has provided an effective solution, which can generate a connected and efficient [...] Read more.

Multi-hop data collection in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is a challenge issue due to the limited energy resource and transmission range of wireless sensors. The hybrid clustering and routing (HCR) strategy has provided an effective solution, which can generate a connected and efficient cluster-based topology for multi-hop data collection in WSNs. However, it suffers from imbalanced energy consumption, which results in the poor performance of the network lifetime. In this paper, we evaluate the energy consumption of HCR and discover an important result: the imbalanced energy consumption generally appears in gradient k = 1, i.e., the nodes that can communicate with the sink directly. Based on this observation, we propose a new protocol called HCR-1, which includes the adaptive relay selection and tunable cost functions to balance the energy consumption. The guideline of setting the parameters in HCR-1 is provided based on simulations. The analytical and numerical results prove that, with minor modification of the topology in gradient k = 1, the HCR-1 protocol effectively balances the energy consumption and prolongs the network lifetime. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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15 pages, 2043 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Rapid and Accurate Positioning and Orientation Approach for Land Missile-Launching Vehicle

by Kui Li^1,2, Lei Wang^2,*, Yanhong Lv², Pengyu Gao² and Tianxiao Song²

¹ School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China

² School of Instrument Science and Opto-electronics Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26606-26620; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026606 - 20 Oct 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5836

Abstract

Getting a land vehicle’s accurate position, azimuth and attitude rapidly is significant for vehicle based weapons’ combat effectiveness. In this paper, a new approach to acquire vehicle’s accurate position and orientation is proposed. It uses biaxial optical detection platform (BODP) to aim at [...] Read more.

Getting a land vehicle’s accurate position, azimuth and attitude rapidly is significant for vehicle based weapons’ combat effectiveness. In this paper, a new approach to acquire vehicle’s accurate position and orientation is proposed. It uses biaxial optical detection platform (BODP) to aim at and lock in no less than three pre-set cooperative targets, whose accurate positions are measured beforehand. Then, it calculates the vehicle’s accurate position, azimuth and attitudes by the rough position and orientation provided by vehicle based navigation systems and no less than three couples of azimuth and pitch angles measured by BODP. The proposed approach does not depend on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), thus it is autonomous and difficult to interfere. Meanwhile, it only needs a rough position and orientation as algorithm’s iterative initial value, consequently, it does not have high performance requirement for Inertial Navigation System (INS), odometer and other vehicle based navigation systems, even in high precise applications. This paper described the system’s working procedure, presented theoretical deviation of the algorithm, and then verified its effectiveness through simulation and vehicle experiments. The simulation and experimental results indicate that the proposed approach can achieve positioning and orientation accuracy of 0.2 m and 20″ respectively in less than 3 min. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inertial Sensors and Systems)

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22 pages, 2920 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Securing Health Sensing Using Integrated Circuit Metric

by Ruhma Tahir^*, Hasan Tahir and Klaus McDonald-Maier

Embedded and Intelligent Systems Research Laboratory, School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26621-26642; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026621 - 20 Oct 2015

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 6105

Abstract

Convergence of technologies from several domains of computing and healthcare have aided in the creation of devices that can help health professionals in monitoring their patients remotely. An increase in networked healthcare devices has resulted in incidents related to data theft, medical identity [...] Read more.

Convergence of technologies from several domains of computing and healthcare have aided in the creation of devices that can help health professionals in monitoring their patients remotely. An increase in networked healthcare devices has resulted in incidents related to data theft, medical identity theft and insurance fraud. In this paper, we discuss the design and implementation of a secure lightweight wearable health sensing system. The proposed system is based on an emerging security technology called Integrated Circuit Metric (ICMetric) that extracts the inherent features of a device to generate a unique device identification. In this paper, we provide details of how the physical characteristics of a health sensor can be used for the generation of hardware “fingerprints”. The obtained fingerprints are used to deliver security services like authentication, confidentiality, secure admission and symmetric key generation. The generated symmetric key is used to securely communicate the health records and data of the patient. Based on experimental results and the security analysis of the proposed scheme, it is apparent that the proposed system enables high levels of security for health monitoring in resource optimized manner. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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11 pages, 1020 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Maximum Measurement Range and Accuracy of SAW Reflective Delay Line Sensors

by Zehua Zheng, Tao Han^* and Peng Qin

Department of Instrument Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26643-26653; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026643 - 20 Oct 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6229

Abstract

In a surface acoustic wave (SAW) wireless sensor with a reflective delay line structure, three reflectors are often used to eliminate 2π ambiguity of phase measurement. The maximum range of the measured parameter and the maximum accuracy have recently been attracting much research [...] Read more.

In a surface acoustic wave (SAW) wireless sensor with a reflective delay line structure, three reflectors are often used to eliminate 2π ambiguity of phase measurement. The maximum range of the measured parameter and the maximum accuracy have recently been attracting much research attention. In this paper, an analytical formula for all the factors influencing the measurement range and accuracy of the delay line SAW sensor are deduced for the first time. The factors include: the sensor sensitivity, the topology of the delay line, the available wireless bandwidth and the allowed maximum phase measuring error of the reading system, which is easier to retrieve and more fully describes the possible noises than SNR. Additionally, many designers believe that increasing the reflector could improve accuracy continuously or realize multi-resolution measurement. However, they ignore some certain criteria that the reflector location must satisfy. The reachable maximum accuracy by every increase of a reflector is also presented. A SAW temperature sensor system using 128° YX-LiNbO₃is designed to verify the above theoretical analysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acoustic Waveguide Sensors)

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21 pages, 2962 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Biologically-Inspired Framework for Contour Detection Using Superpixel-Based Candidates and Hierarchical Visual Cues

by Xiao Sun¹, Ke Shang¹, Delie Ming^1,*, Jinwen Tian¹ and Jiayi Ma²

¹ School of Automation, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, China

² Electronic Information School, Wuhan University, 299 Bayi Road, Wuhan 430072, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26654-26674; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026654 - 20 Oct 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5502

Abstract

Contour detection has been extensively investigated as a fundamental problem in computer vision. In this study, a biologically-inspired candidate weighting framework is proposed for the challenging task of detecting meaningful contours. In contrast to previous models that detect contours from pixels, a modified [...] Read more.

Contour detection has been extensively investigated as a fundamental problem in computer vision. In this study, a biologically-inspired candidate weighting framework is proposed for the challenging task of detecting meaningful contours. In contrast to previous models that detect contours from pixels, a modified superpixel generation processing is proposed to generate a contour candidate set and then weigh the candidates by extracting hierarchical visual cues. We extract the low-level visual local cues to weigh the contour intrinsic property and mid-level visual cues on the basis of Gestalt principles for weighting the contour grouping constraint. Experimental results tested on the BSDS benchmark show that the proposed framework exhibits promising performances to capture meaningful contours in complex scenes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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19 pages, 950 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Enhanced Data Visualization Method for Diesel Engine Malfunction Classification Using Multi-Sensor Signals

by Yiqing Li, Yu Wang^*, Yanyang Zi and Mingquan Zhang

State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 28 Xianning West Road, Xi’an 710049, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26675-26693; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026675 - 21 Oct 2015

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 6072

Abstract

The various multi-sensor signal features from a diesel engine constitute a complex high-dimensional dataset. The non-linear dimensionality reduction method, t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE), provides an effective way to implement data visualization for complex high-dimensional data. However, irrelevant features can deteriorate the performance [...] Read more.

The various multi-sensor signal features from a diesel engine constitute a complex high-dimensional dataset. The non-linear dimensionality reduction method, t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE), provides an effective way to implement data visualization for complex high-dimensional data. However, irrelevant features can deteriorate the performance of data visualization, and thus, should be eliminated a priori. This paper proposes a feature subset score based t-SNE (FSS-t-SNE) data visualization method to deal with the high-dimensional data that are collected from multi-sensor signals. In this method, the optimal feature subset is constructed by a feature subset score criterion. Then the high-dimensional data are visualized in 2-dimension space. According to the UCI dataset test, FSS-t-SNE can effectively improve the classification accuracy. An experiment was performed with a large power marine diesel engine to validate the proposed method for diesel engine malfunction classification. Multi-sensor signals were collected by a cylinder vibration sensor and a cylinder pressure sensor. Compared with other conventional data visualization methods, the proposed method shows good visualization performance and high classification accuracy in multi-malfunction classification of a diesel engine. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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15 pages, 2118 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A New Approach to Detect Mover Position in Linear Motors Using Magnetic Sensors

by Sarbajit Paul and Junghwan Chang^*

Mechatronics Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, Dong-A University, 840, Hadan-2-dong, Saha-gu, Busan 604-714, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26694-26708; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026694 - 21 Oct 2015

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 8878

Abstract

A new method to detect the mover position of a linear motor is proposed in this paper. This method employs a simple cheap Hall Effect sensor-based magnetic sensor unit to detect the mover position of the linear motor. With the movement of the [...] Read more.

A new method to detect the mover position of a linear motor is proposed in this paper. This method employs a simple cheap Hall Effect sensor-based magnetic sensor unit to detect the mover position of the linear motor. With the movement of the linear motor, Hall Effect sensor modules electrically separated 120° along with the idea of three phase balanced condition ( v_a + v_b + v_c = 0 ) are used to produce three phase signals. The amplitude of the sensor output voltage signals are adjusted to unit amplitude to minimize the amplitude errors. With the unit amplitude signals three to two phase transformation is done to reduce the three multiples of harmonic components. The final output thus obtained is converted to position data by the use of arctangent function. The measurement accuracy of the new method is analyzed by experiments and compared with the conventional two phase method. Using the same number of sensor modules as the conventional two phase method, the proposed method gives more accurate position information compared to the conventional system where sensors are separated by 90° electrical angles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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17 pages, 956 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of SHM System Produced by Additive Manufacturing via Acoustic Emission and Other NDT Methods

by Maria Strantza^1,*, Dimitrios G. Aggelis^1,†

, Dieter De Baere^2,†, Patrick Guillaume^2,† and Danny Van Hemelrijck^1,†

¹ Department of Mechanics of Materials and Constructions, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, Brussels 1050, Belgium

² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, Brussels 1050, Belgium

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26709-26725; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026709 - 21 Oct 2015

Cited by 43 | Viewed by 9344

Abstract

During the last decades, structural health monitoring (SHM) systems are used in order to detect damage in structures. We have developed a novel structural health monitoring approach, the so-called “effective structural health monitoring” (eSHM) system. The current SHM system is incorporated into a [...] Read more.

During the last decades, structural health monitoring (SHM) systems are used in order to detect damage in structures. We have developed a novel structural health monitoring approach, the so-called “effective structural health monitoring” (eSHM) system. The current SHM system is incorporated into a metallic structure by means of additive manufacturing (AM) and has the possibility to advance life safety and reduce direct operative costs. It operates based on a network of capillaries that are integrated into an AM structure. The internal pressure of the capillaries is continuously monitored by a pressure sensor. When a crack nucleates and reaches the capillary, the internal pressure changes signifying the existence of the flaw. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the crack detection capacity of the eSHM system and crack location accuracy by means of various non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques. During this study, detailed acoustic emission (AE) analysis was applied in AM materials for the first time in order to investigate if phenomena like the Kaiser effect and waveform parameters used in conventional metals can offer valuable insight into the damage accumulation of the AM structure as well. Liquid penetrant inspection, eddy current and radiography were also used in order to confirm the fatigue damage and indicate the damage location on un-notched four-point bending AM metallic specimens with an integrated eSHM system. It is shown that the eSHM system in combination with NDT can provide correct information on the damage condition of additive manufactured metals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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17 pages, 801 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Different Classification Methods for Analyzing Electronic Nose Data to Characterize Sesame Oils and Blends

by Xiaolong Shao^1,*, Hui Li¹, Nan Wang¹ and Qiang Zhang²

¹ College of Food Science and Engineering/Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Grain Circulation, Safety/Key Laboratory of Grains and Oils Quality Control and Processing, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China

² Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V6, Canada

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26726-26742; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026726 - 21 Oct 2015

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 6616

Abstract

An electronic nose (e-nose) was used to characterize sesame oils processed by three different methods (hot-pressed, cold-pressed, and refined), as well as blends of the sesame oils and soybean oil. Seven classification and prediction methods, namely PCA, LDA, PLS, KNN, SVM, LASSO and [...] Read more.

An electronic nose (e-nose) was used to characterize sesame oils processed by three different methods (hot-pressed, cold-pressed, and refined), as well as blends of the sesame oils and soybean oil. Seven classification and prediction methods, namely PCA, LDA, PLS, KNN, SVM, LASSO and RF, were used to analyze the e-nose data. The classification accuracy and MAUC were employed to evaluate the performance of these methods. The results indicated that sesame oils processed with different methods resulted in different sensor responses, with cold-pressed sesame oil producing the strongest sensor signals, followed by the hot-pressed sesame oil. The blends of pressed sesame oils with refined sesame oil were more difficult to be distinguished than the blends of pressed sesame oils and refined soybean oil. LDA, KNN, and SVM outperformed the other classification methods in distinguishing sesame oil blends. KNN, LASSO, PLS, and SVM (with linear kernel), and RF models could adequately predict the adulteration level (% of added soybean oil) in the sesame oil blends. Among the prediction models, KNN with k = 1 and 2 yielded the best prediction results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section State-of-the-Art Sensors Technologies)

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13 pages, 1999 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fiber-Amplifier-Enhanced QEPAS Sensor for Simultaneous Trace Gas Detection of NH₃ and H₂S

by Hongpeng Wu, Lei Dong^*

, Xiaoli Liu, Huadan Zheng, Xukun Yin, Weiguang Ma, Lei Zhang, Wangbao Yin and Suotang Jia

State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices, Institute of Laser Spectroscopy, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26743-26755; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026743 - 21 Oct 2015

Cited by 49 | Viewed by 8101

Abstract

A selective and sensitive quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) sensor, employing an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), and a distributed feedback (DFB) laser operating at 1582 nm was demonstrated for simultaneous detection of ammonia (NH₃) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). Two [...] Read more.

A selective and sensitive quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) sensor, employing an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), and a distributed feedback (DFB) laser operating at 1582 nm was demonstrated for simultaneous detection of ammonia (NH₃) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). Two interference-free absorption lines located at 6322.45 cm⁻¹ and 6328.88 cm⁻¹ for NH₃ and H₂S detection, respectively, were identified. The sensor was optimized in terms of current modulation depth for both of the two target gases. An electrical modulation cancellation unit was equipped to suppress the background noise caused by the stray light. An Allan-Werle variance analysis was performed to investigate the long-term performance of the fiber-amplifier-enhanced QEPAS sensor. Benefitting from the high power boosted by the EDFA, a detection sensitivity (1σ) of 52 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) and 17 ppbv for NH₃ and H₂S, respectively, were achieved with a 132 s data acquisition time at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gas Sensors—Designs and Applications)

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13 pages, 1914 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Smartphone-Based Automatic Diagnosis System for Facial Nerve Palsy

by Hyun Seok Kim¹, So Young Kim²

, Young Ho Kim^2,* and Kwang Suk Park^3,*

¹ Interdisciplinary Program of Bioengineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea

² Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul 07061, Korea

³ Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26756-26768; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026756 - 21 Oct 2015

Cited by 62 | Viewed by 7747

Abstract

Facial nerve palsy induces a weakness or loss of facial expression through damage of the facial nerve. A quantitative and reliable assessment system for facial nerve palsy is required for both patients and clinicians. In this study, we propose a rapid and portable [...] Read more.

Facial nerve palsy induces a weakness or loss of facial expression through damage of the facial nerve. A quantitative and reliable assessment system for facial nerve palsy is required for both patients and clinicians. In this study, we propose a rapid and portable smartphone-based automatic diagnosis system that discriminates facial nerve palsy from normal subjects. Facial landmarks are localized and tracked by an incremental parallel cascade of the linear regression method. An asymmetry index is computed using the displacement ratio between the left and right side of the forehead and mouth regions during three motions: resting, raising eye-brow and smiling. To classify facial nerve palsy, we used Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Leave-one-out Cross Validation (LOOCV) with 36 subjects. The classification accuracy rate was 88.9%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smartphone-Based Sensors for Non-Invasive Physiological Monitoring)

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14 pages, 1237 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Passive UHF RFID Tag with Multiple Sensing Capabilities

by José Fernández-Salmerón^1,†, Almudena Rivadeneyra^1,†, Fernando Martínez-Martí², Luis Fermín Capitán-Vallvey³

, Alberto J. Palma²

and Miguel A. Carvajal^2,*

¹ The Institute for Nanoelectronics, Technical University of Munich, DE-80333 Munich, Germany

² Department of Electronic and Computer Technology, ECSens, University of Granada, E-18071 Granada, Spain

³ Analytical Chemical Department, ECSens, University of Granada, E-18071 Granada, Spain

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26769-26782; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026769 - 22 Oct 2015

Cited by 62 | Viewed by 13680

Abstract

This work presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a printed radio frequency identification tag in the ultra-high frequency band with multiple sensing capabilities. This passive tag is directly screen printed on a cardboard box with the aim of monitoring the packaging conditions [...] Read more.

This work presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a printed radio frequency identification tag in the ultra-high frequency band with multiple sensing capabilities. This passive tag is directly screen printed on a cardboard box with the aim of monitoring the packaging conditions during the different stages of the supply chain. This tag includes a commercial force sensor and a printed opening detector. Hence, the force applied to the package can be measured as well as the opening of the box can be detected. The architecture presented is a passive single-chip RFID tag. An electronic switch has been implemented to be able to measure both sensor magnitudes in the same access without including a microcontroller or battery. Moreover, the chip used here integrates a temperature sensor and, therefore, this tag provides three different parameters in every reading. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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18 pages, 3851 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Smartwatches Replace Smartphones for Posture Tracking?

by Bobak Mortazavi^1,*,†, Ebrahim Nemati^2,†, Kristina VanderWall³, Hector G. Flores-Rodriguez⁴, Jun Yu Jacinta Cai⁵, Jessica Lucier³, Arash Naeim³ and Majid Sarrafzadeh^1,2

¹ Computer Science Department, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

² Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

³ School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

⁴ Computer Science Department, El Camino College, Torrance, CA 90506, USA

⁵ Computer Science Department, University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26783-26800; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026783 - 22 Oct 2015

Cited by 50 | Viewed by 10627

Abstract

This paper introduces a human posture tracking platform to identify the human postures of sitting, standing or lying down, based on a smartwatch. This work develops such a system as a proof-of-concept study to investigate a smartwatch’s ability to be used in future [...] Read more.

This paper introduces a human posture tracking platform to identify the human postures of sitting, standing or lying down, based on a smartwatch. This work develops such a system as a proof-of-concept study to investigate a smartwatch’s ability to be used in future remote health monitoring systems and applications. This work validates the smartwatches’ ability to track the posture of users accurately in a laboratory setting while reducing the sampling rate to potentially improve battery life, the first steps in verifying that such a system would work in future clinical settings. The algorithm developed classifies the transitions between three posture states of sitting, standing and lying down, by identifying these transition movements, as well as other movements that might be mistaken for these transitions. The system is trained and developed on a Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch, and the algorithm was validated through a leave-one-subject-out cross-validation of 20 subjects. The system can identify the appropriate transitions at only 10 Hz with an F-score of 0.930, indicating its ability to effectively replace smart phones, if needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Noninvasive Biomedical Sensors)

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17 pages, 419 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Measurement Properties of the Smartphone-Based B-B Score in Current Shoulder Pathologies

by Claude Pichonnaz^1,2,*, Cyntia Duc³, Nigel Gleeson⁴, Céline Ancey¹, Hervé Jaccard^1,2, Estelle Lécureux⁵, Alain Farron², Brigitte M. Jolles² and Kamiar Aminian³

¹ Haute Ecole de Santé Vaud (HESAV)//HES-SO, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, Physiotherapy Department, Avenue de Beaumont 21, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland

² CHUV-UNIL, Orthopedics and Traumatology Department, Avenue Pierre-Decker 4, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland

³ Laboratory of Movement Analysis and Measurement, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), ELH 135 (Bâtiment ELH), Station 11, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

⁴ School of Health Sciences, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh EH21 6UU, UK

⁵ CHUV-UNIL, direction médicale, Rue du Bugnon 46, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26801-26817; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026801 - 22 Oct 2015

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 8273

Abstract

This study is aimed at the determination of the measurement properties of the shoulder function B-B Score measured with a smartphone. This score measures the symmetry between sides of a power-related metric for two selected movements, with 100% representing perfect symmetry. Twenty healthy [...] Read more.

This study is aimed at the determination of the measurement properties of the shoulder function B-B Score measured with a smartphone. This score measures the symmetry between sides of a power-related metric for two selected movements, with 100% representing perfect symmetry. Twenty healthy participants, 20 patients with rotator cuff conditions, 23 with fractures, 22 with capsulitis, and 23 with shoulder instabilities were measured twice across a six-month interval using the B-B Score and shoulder function questionnaires. The discriminative power, responsiveness, diagnostic power, concurrent validity, minimal detectable change (MDC), minimal clinically important improvement (MCII), and patient acceptable symptom state (PASS) were evaluated. Significant differences with the control group and significant baseline—six-month differences were found for the rotator cuff condition, fracture, and capsulitis patient groups. The B-B Score was responsive and demonstrated excellent diagnostic power, except for shoulder instability. The correlations with clinical scores were generally moderate to high, but lower for instability. The MDC was 18.1%, the MCII was 25.2%, and the PASS was 77.6. No floor effect was observed. The B-B Score demonstrated excellent measurement properties in populations with rotator cuff conditions, proximal humerus fractures, and capsulitis, and can thus be used as a routine test to evaluate those patients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smartphone-Based Sensors for Non-Invasive Physiological Monitoring)

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20 pages, 861 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Observability Analysis of DVL/PS Aided INS for a Maneuvering AUV

by Itzik Klein^*

and Roee Diamant

The Acoustic and Navigation Laboratory (ANL), Department of Marine Technology, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26818-26837; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026818 - 22 Oct 2015

Cited by 50 | Viewed by 5900

Abstract

Recently, ocean exploration has increased considerably through the use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV). A key enabling technology is the precision of the AUV navigation capability. In this paper, we focus on understanding the limitation of the AUV navigation system. That is, what [...] Read more.

Recently, ocean exploration has increased considerably through the use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV). A key enabling technology is the precision of the AUV navigation capability. In this paper, we focus on understanding the limitation of the AUV navigation system. That is, what are the observable error-states for different maneuvering types of the AUV? Since analyzing the performance of an underwater navigation system is highly complex, to answer the above question, current approaches use simulations. This, of course, limits the conclusions to the emulated type of vehicle used and to the simulation setup. For this reason, we take a different approach and analyze the system observability for different types of vehicle dynamics by finding the set of observable and unobservable states. To that end, we apply the observability Gramian approach, previously used only for terrestrial applications. We demonstrate our analysis for an underwater inertial navigation system aided by a Doppler velocity logger or by a pressure sensor. The result is a first prediction of the performance of an AUV standing, rotating at a position and turning at a constant speed. Our conclusions of the observable and unobservable navigation error states for different dynamics are supported by extensive numerical simulation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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28 pages, 1038 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Harvesting Entropy for Random Number Generation for Internet of Things Constrained Devices Using On-Board Sensors

by Marcin Piotr Pawlowski^1,2,*, Antonio Jara^1,3 and Maciej Ogorzalek²

¹ Institute of Information Systems, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO), Sierre 3960, Switzerland

² Department of Information Technologies, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science, Jagiellonian University, Krakow 30-348, Poland

³ Research and Development Department, HOP Ubiquitous, 30562 Ceuti, Murcia, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26838-26865; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026838 - 22 Oct 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6775

Abstract

Entropy in computer security is associated with the unpredictability of a source of randomness. The random source with high entropy tends to achieve a uniform distribution of random values. Random number generators are one of the most important building blocks of cryptosystems. In [...] Read more.

Entropy in computer security is associated with the unpredictability of a source of randomness. The random source with high entropy tends to achieve a uniform distribution of random values. Random number generators are one of the most important building blocks of cryptosystems. In constrained devices of the Internet of Things ecosystem, high entropy random number generators are hard to achieve due to hardware limitations. For the purpose of the random number generation in constrained devices, this work proposes a solution based on the least-significant bits concatenation entropy harvesting method. As a potential source of entropy, on-board integrated sensors (i.e., temperature, humidity and two different light sensors) have been analyzed. Additionally, the costs (i.e., time and memory consumption) of the presented approach have been measured. The results obtained from the proposed method with statistical fine tuning achieved a Shannon entropy of around 7.9 bits per byte of data for temperature and humidity sensors. The results showed that sensor-based random number generators are a valuable source of entropy with very small RAM and Flash memory requirements for constrained devices of the Internet of Things. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Identification, Information & Knowledge in the Internet of Things)

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11 pages, 1218 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sensors for Highly Toxic Gases: Methylamine and Hydrogen Chloride Detection at Low Concentrations in an Ionic Liquid on Pt Screen Printed Electrodes

by Krishnan Murugappan^† and Debbie S. Silvester^*

¹ Nanochemistry Research Institute, Department of Chemistry, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth 6845, WA, Australia

^† Present address: Department of Materials, Parks Rd, Oxford OX1-3PH, UK.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26866-26876; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026866 - 22 Oct 2015

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 7544

Abstract

Commercially available Pt screen printed electrodes (SPEs) have been employed as possible electrode materials for methylamine (MA) and hydrogen chloride (HCl) gas detection. The room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([C₂mim][NTf₂]) was used as a solvent and the [...] Read more.

Commercially available Pt screen printed electrodes (SPEs) have been employed as possible electrode materials for methylamine (MA) and hydrogen chloride (HCl) gas detection. The room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([C₂mim][NTf₂]) was used as a solvent and the electrochemical behaviour of both gases was first examined using cyclic voltammetry. The reaction mechanism appears to be the same on Pt SPEs as on Pt microelectrodes. Furthermore, the analytical utility was studied to understand the behaviour of these highly toxic gases at low concentrations on SPEs, with calibration graphs obtained from 10 to 80 ppm. Three different electrochemical techniques were employed: linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV), with no significant differences in the limits of detection (LODs) between the techniques (LODs were between 1.4 to 3.6 ppm for all three techniques for both gases). The LODs achieved on Pt SPEs were lower than the current Occupational Safety and Health Administration Permissible Exposure Limit (OSHA PEL) limits of the two gases (5 ppm for HCl and 10 ppm for MA), suggesting that Pt SPEs can successfully be combined with RTILs to be used as cheap alternatives for amperometric gas sensing in applications where these toxic gases may be released. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ionic Liquids)

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29 pages, 7036 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Visual Tracking Based on Extreme Learning Machine and Sparse Representation

by Baoxian Wang¹, Linbo Tang^1,2,*, Jinglin Yang¹, Baojun Zhao^1,2 and Shuigen Wang¹

¹ School of Information and Electronics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China

² Beijing Key Laboratory of Embedded Real-Time Information Processing Technology, Beijing 100081, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26877-26905; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026877 - 22 Oct 2015

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 6592

Abstract

The existing sparse representation-based visual trackers mostly suffer from both being time consuming and having poor robustness problems. To address these issues, a novel tracking method is presented via combining sparse representation and an emerging learning technique, namely extreme learning machine (ELM). Specifically, [...] Read more.

The existing sparse representation-based visual trackers mostly suffer from both being time consuming and having poor robustness problems. To address these issues, a novel tracking method is presented via combining sparse representation and an emerging learning technique, namely extreme learning machine (ELM). Specifically, visual tracking can be divided into two consecutive processes. Firstly, ELM is utilized to find the optimal separate hyperplane between the target observations and background ones. Thus, the trained ELM classification function is able to remove most of the candidate samples related to background contents efficiently, thereby reducing the total computational cost of the following sparse representation. Secondly, to further combine ELM and sparse representation, the resultant confidence values (i.e., probabilities to be a target) of samples on the ELM classification function are used to construct a new manifold learning constraint term of the sparse representation framework, which tends to achieve robuster results. Moreover, the accelerated proximal gradient method is used for deriving the optimal solution (in matrix form) of the constrained sparse tracking model. Additionally, the matrix form solution allows the candidate samples to be calculated in parallel, thereby leading to a higher efficiency. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed tracker. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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15 pages, 1163 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microengineered Conductive Elastomeric Electrodes for Long-Term Electrophysiological Measurements with Consistent Impedance under Stretch

by Dinglong Hu^†, Tin Kei Cheng^†, Kai Xie and Raymond H. W. Lam^*

¹ Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26906-26920; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026906 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 10629

Abstract

In this research, we develop a micro-engineered conductive elastomeric electrode for measurements of human bio-potentials with the absence of conductive pastes. Mixing the biocompatible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) silicone with other biocompatible conductive nano-particles further provides the material with an electrical conductivity. We apply micro-replica [...] Read more.

In this research, we develop a micro-engineered conductive elastomeric electrode for measurements of human bio-potentials with the absence of conductive pastes. Mixing the biocompatible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) silicone with other biocompatible conductive nano-particles further provides the material with an electrical conductivity. We apply micro-replica mold casting for the micro-structures, which are arrays of micro-pillars embedded between two bulk conductive-PDMS layers. These micro-structures can reduce the micro-structural deformations along the direction of signal transmission; therefore the corresponding electrical impedance under the physical stretch by the movement of the human body can be maintained. Additionally, we conduct experiments to compare the electrical properties between the bulk conductive-PDMS material and the microengineered electrodes under stretch. We also demonstrate the working performance of these micro-engineered electrodes in the acquisition of the 12-lead electrocardiographs (ECG) of a healthy subject. Together, the presented gel-less microengineered electrodes can provide a more convenient and stable bio-potential measurement platform, making tele-medical care more achievable with reduced technical barriers for instrument installation performed by patients/users themselves. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Noninvasive Biomedical Sensors)

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8 pages, 2312 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Highly Sensitive Measurement of Bio-Electric Potentials by Boron-Doped Diamond (BDD) Electrodes for Plant Monitoring

by Tsuyoshi Ochiai^1,2,*

, Shoko Tago¹, Mio Hayashi¹ and Akira Fujishima^1,2

¹ Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology, KSP Building East 407, 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 213-0012, Japan

² Photocatalysis International Research Center, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26921-26928; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026921 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 9590

Abstract

We describe a sensitive plant monitoring system by the detection of the bioelectric potentials in plants with boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes. For sensor electrodes, we used commercially available BDD, Ag, and Pt plate electrodes. We tested this approach on a hybrid species in [...] Read more.

We describe a sensitive plant monitoring system by the detection of the bioelectric potentials in plants with boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes. For sensor electrodes, we used commercially available BDD, Ag, and Pt plate electrodes. We tested this approach on a hybrid species in the genus Opuntia (potted) and three different trees (ground-planted) at different places in Japan. For the Opuntia, we artificially induced bioelectric potential changes by the surface potential using the fingers. We detected substantial changes in bioelectric potentials through all electrodes during finger touches on the surface of potted Opuntia hybrid plants, although the BDD electrodes were several times more sensitive to bioelectric potential change compared to the other electrodes. Similarly for ground-planted trees, we found that both BDD and Pt electrodes detected bioelectric potential change induced by changing environmental factors (temperature and humidity) for months without replacing/removing/changing electrodes, BDD electrodes were 5–10 times more sensitive in this detection than Pt electrodes. Given these results, we conclude that BDD electrodes on live plant tissue were able to consistently detect bioelectrical potential changes in plants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrochemical Sensors and Biosensors: From Bench-Top to Point-of-Care)

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11 pages, 1118 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Highly Sensitive Liquid Core Temperature Sensor Based on Multimode Interference Effects

by Miguel A. Fuentes-Fuentes¹, Daniel A. May-Arrioja^2,*, José R. Guzman-Sepulveda³, Miguel Torres-Cisneros⁴ and José J. Sánchez-Mondragón¹

¹ Photonics and Optical Physics Laboratory, Optics Department, INAOE, Puebla, Puebla 72000, Mexico

² Centro de Investigaciones en Optica, Unidad Aguascalientes, Prol. Constitución 607, Fracc. Reserva Loma Bonita, Aguascalientes, Ags. 20200, Mexico

³ CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA

⁴ NanoBioPhotonics Group, DICIS, University of Guanajuato, Salamanca, Guanajuato 368850, Mexico

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26929-26939; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026929 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 6528

Abstract

A novel fiber optic temperature sensor based on a liquid-core multimode interference device is demonstrated. The advantage of such structure is that the thermo-optic coefficient (TOC) of the liquid is at least one order of magnitude larger than that of silica and this, [...] Read more.

A novel fiber optic temperature sensor based on a liquid-core multimode interference device is demonstrated. The advantage of such structure is that the thermo-optic coefficient (TOC) of the liquid is at least one order of magnitude larger than that of silica and this, combined with the fact that the TOC of silica and the liquid have opposite signs, provides a liquid-core multimode fiber (MMF) highly sensitive to temperature. Since the refractive index of the liquid can be easily modified, this allows us to control the modal properties of the liquid-core MMF at will and the sensor sensitivity can be easily tuned by selecting the refractive index of the liquid in the core of the device. The maximum sensitivity measured in our experiments is 20 nm/°C in the low-temperature regime up to 60 °C. To the best of our knowledge, to date, this is the largest sensitivity reported for fiber-based MMI temperature sensors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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21 pages, 761 KiB

Open AccessArticle

AMA- and RWE- Based Adaptive Kalman Filter for Denoising Fiber Optic Gyroscope Drift Signal

by Gongliu Yang^1,2, Yuanyuan Liu^1,2,*, Ming Li¹ and Shunguang Song³

¹ School of Instrument Science and Opto-Electronics Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China

² Inertial Technology Key Laboratory of National Defense Science and Technology, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China

³ Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering, Beijing 100094, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26940-26960; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026940 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 6458

Abstract

An improved double-factor adaptive Kalman filter called AMA-RWE-DFAKF is proposed to denoise fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) drift signal in both static and dynamic conditions. The first factor is Kalman gain updated by random weighting estimation (RWE) of the covariance matrix of innovation sequence [...] Read more.

An improved double-factor adaptive Kalman filter called AMA-RWE-DFAKF is proposed to denoise fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) drift signal in both static and dynamic conditions. The first factor is Kalman gain updated by random weighting estimation (RWE) of the covariance matrix of innovation sequence at any time to ensure the lowest noise level of output, but the inertia of KF response increases in dynamic condition. To decrease the inertia, the second factor is the covariance matrix of predicted state vector adjusted by RWE only when discontinuities are detected by adaptive moving average (AMA).The AMA-RWE-DFAKF is applied for denoising FOG static and dynamic signals, its performance is compared with conventional KF (CKF), RWE-based adaptive KF with gain correction (RWE-AKFG), AMA- and RWE- based dual mode adaptive KF (AMA-RWE-DMAKF). Results of Allan variance on static signal and root mean square error (RMSE) on dynamic signal show that this proposed algorithm outperforms all the considered methods in denoising FOG signal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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17 pages, 1621 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Ultrasonic Multi-Beam Concentration Meter with a Neuro-Fuzzy Algorithm for Water Treatment Plants

by Ho-Hyun Lee^1,†, Sang-Bok Jang^2,†, Gang-Wook Shin^2,†, Sung-Taek Hong^2,†, Dae-Jong Lee^1,† and Myung Geun Chun^1,*,†

¹ School of of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Korea

² K-Water Research Institute, Korea Water Resources Corporation, Daejeon 34045, Korea

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26961-26977; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026961 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6618

Abstract

Ultrasonic concentration meters have widely been used at water purification, sewage treatment and waste water treatment plants to sort and transfer high concentration sludges and to control the amount of chemical dosage. When an unusual substance is contained in the sludge, however, the [...] Read more.

Ultrasonic concentration meters have widely been used at water purification, sewage treatment and waste water treatment plants to sort and transfer high concentration sludges and to control the amount of chemical dosage. When an unusual substance is contained in the sludge, however, the attenuation of ultrasonic waves could be increased or not be transmitted to the receiver. In this case, the value measured by a concentration meter is higher than the actual density value or vibration. As well, it is difficult to automate the residuals treatment process according to the various problems such as sludge attachment or sensor failure. An ultrasonic multi-beam concentration sensor was considered to solve these problems, but an abnormal concentration value of a specific ultrasonic beam degrades the accuracy of the entire measurement in case of using a conventional arithmetic mean for all measurement values, so this paper proposes a method to improve the accuracy of the sludge concentration determination by choosing reliable sensor values and applying a neuro-fuzzy learning algorithm. The newly developed meter is proven to render useful results from a variety of experiments on a real water treatment plant. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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19 pages, 4156 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Computerised Analysis of Telemonitored Respiratory Sounds for Predicting Acute Exacerbations of COPD

by Miguel Angel Fernandez-Granero^1,2,*, Daniel Sanchez-Morillo^1,2 and Antonio Leon-Jimenez³

¹ Biomedical Engineering and Telemedicine Research Group, University of Cadiz. Avda. de la Universidad, 10, 11519 Puerto Real, Cadiz, Spain

² Department of Automation, Electronics and Computer Architecture and Networks, University of Cadiz. Avda. de la Universidad, 10, 11519 Puerto Real, Cadiz, Spain

³ Pulmonology, Allergy and Thoracic Surgery Unit, Puerta del Mar University Hospital, 11009 Cadiz, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26978-26996; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026978 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 70 | Viewed by 9033

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the commonest causes of death in the world and poses a substantial burden on healthcare systems and patients’ quality of life. The largest component of the related healthcare costs is attributable to admissions due to [...] Read more.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the commonest causes of death in the world and poses a substantial burden on healthcare systems and patients’ quality of life. The largest component of the related healthcare costs is attributable to admissions due to acute exacerbation (AECOPD). The evidence that might support the effectiveness of the telemonitoring interventions in COPD is limited partially due to the lack of useful predictors for the early detection of AECOPD. Electronic stethoscopes and computerised analyses of respiratory sounds (CARS) techniques provide an opportunity for substantial improvement in the management of respiratory diseases. This exploratory study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using: (a) a respiratory sensor embedded in a self-tailored housing for ageing users; (b) a telehealth framework; (c) CARS and (d) machine learning techniques for the remote early detection of the AECOPD. In a 6-month pilot study, 16 patients with COPD were equipped with a home base-station and a sensor to daily record their respiratory sounds. Principal component analysis (PCA) and a support vector machine (SVM) classifier was designed to predict AECOPD. 75.8% exacerbations were early detected with an average of 5 ± 1.9 days in advance at medical attention. The proposed method could provide support to patients, physicians and healthcare systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)

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24 pages, 709 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fault Diagnosis of Demountable Disk-Drum Aero-Engine Rotor Using Customized Multiwavelet Method

by Jinglong Chen¹, Yu Wang^1,*, Zhengjia He¹ and Xiaodong Wang²

¹ State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing and Systems Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

² Technology Center, CNPC Logging CO., LTD, Xi’an 710077, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26997-27020; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026997 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6524

Abstract

The demountable disk-drum aero-engine rotor is an important piece of equipment that greatly impacts the safe operation of aircraft. However, assembly looseness or crack fault has led to several unscheduled breakdowns and serious accidents. Thus, condition monitoring and fault diagnosis technique are required [...] Read more.

The demountable disk-drum aero-engine rotor is an important piece of equipment that greatly impacts the safe operation of aircraft. However, assembly looseness or crack fault has led to several unscheduled breakdowns and serious accidents. Thus, condition monitoring and fault diagnosis technique are required for identifying abnormal conditions. Customized ensemble multiwavelet method for aero-engine rotor condition identification, using measured vibration data, is developed in this paper. First, customized multiwavelet basis function with strong adaptivity is constructed via symmetric multiwavelet lifting scheme. Then vibration signal is processed by customized ensemble multiwavelet transform. Next, normalized information entropy of multiwavelet decomposition coefficients is computed to directly reflect and evaluate the condition. The proposed approach is first applied to fault detection of an experimental aero-engine rotor. Finally, the proposed approach is used in an engineering application, where it successfully identified the crack fault of a demountable disk-drum aero-engine rotor. The results show that the proposed method possesses excellent performance in fault detection of aero-engine rotor. Moreover, the robustness of the multiwavelet method against noise is also tested and verified by simulation and field experiments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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14 pages, 2300 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Why does the Conductivity of a Nickel Catalyst Increase during Sulfidation? An Exemplary Study Using an In Operando Sensor Device

by Peter Fremerey^1,2

, Andreas Jess² and Ralf Moos^1,*

¹ Department of Functional Materials, Zentrum für Energietechnik (ZET), University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany

² Department of Chemical Engineering, Zentrum für Energietechnik (ZET), University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27021-27034; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027021 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 6988

Abstract

In order to study the sulfidation of a catalyst fixed bed, an in operando single pellet sensor was designed. A catalyst pellet from the fixed bed was electrically contacted and its electrical response was correlated with the catalyst behavior. For the sulfidation tests, [...] Read more.

In order to study the sulfidation of a catalyst fixed bed, an in operando single pellet sensor was designed. A catalyst pellet from the fixed bed was electrically contacted and its electrical response was correlated with the catalyst behavior. For the sulfidation tests, a nickel catalyst was used and was sulfidized with H₂S. This catalyst had a very low conductivity in the reduced state. During sulfidation, the conductivity of the catalyst increased by decades. A reaction from nickel to nickel sulfide occurred. This conductivity increase by decades during sulfidation had not been expected since both nickel and nickel sulfides behave metallic. Only by assuming a percolation phenomenon that originates from a volume increase of the nickel contacts when reacting to nickel sulfides, this effect can be explained. This assumption was supported by sulfidation tests with differently nickel loaded catalysts and it was quantitatively estimated by a general effective media theory. The single pellet sensor device for in operando investigation of sulfidation can be considered as a valuable tool to get further insights into catalysts under reaction conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gas Sensors—Designs and Applications)

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12 pages, 1266 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nanostructured Tungsten Oxide Composite for High-Performance Gas Sensors

by Siyuan Feng Chen¹, Ali Aldalbahi²

and Peter Xianping Feng^3,*

¹ Escuela Secundaria de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR 00936, USA

² Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

³ Department of Physics, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR 00936, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27035-27046; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027035 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7104

Abstract

We report the results of composite tungsten oxide nanowires-based gas sensors. The morphologic surface, crystallographic structures, and chemical compositions of the obtained nanowires have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman scattering, respectively. The experimental measurements reveal that [...] Read more.

We report the results of composite tungsten oxide nanowires-based gas sensors. The morphologic surface, crystallographic structures, and chemical compositions of the obtained nanowires have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman scattering, respectively. The experimental measurements reveal that each wire consists of crystalline nanoparticles with an average diameter of less than 250 nm. By using the synthesized nanowires, highly sensitive prototypic gas sensors have been designed and fabricated. The dependence of the sensitivity of tungsten oxide nanowires to the methane and hydrogen gases as a function of time has been obtained. Various sensing parameters such as sensitivity, response time, stability, and repeatability were investigated in order to reveal the sensing ability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gas Sensors—Designs and Applications)

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13 pages, 2198 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fabrication and Characterization of a Micro Methanol Sensor Using the CMOS-MEMS Technique

by Chien-Fu Fong¹, Ching-Liang Dai^1,* and Chyan-Chyi Wu²

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan

² Department of Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering, Tamkang University, Tamsui 251, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27047-27059; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027047 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 7632

Abstract

A methanol microsensor integrated with a micro heater manufactured using the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technique was presented. The sensor has a capability of detecting low concentration methanol gas. Structure of the sensor is composed of interdigitated electrodes, a sensitive [...] Read more.

A methanol microsensor integrated with a micro heater manufactured using the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technique was presented. The sensor has a capability of detecting low concentration methanol gas. Structure of the sensor is composed of interdigitated electrodes, a sensitive film and a heater. The heater located under the interdigitated electrodes is utilized to provide a working temperature to the sensitive film. The sensitive film prepared by the sol-gel method is tin dioxide doped cadmium sulfide, which is deposited on the interdigitated electrodes. To obtain the suspended structure and deposit the sensitive film, the sensor needs a post-CMOS process to etch the sacrificial silicon dioxide layer and silicon substrate. The methanol senor is a resistive type. A readout circuit converts the resistance variation of the sensor into the output voltage. The experimental results show that the methanol sensor has a sensitivity of 0.18 V/ppm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gas Sensors—Designs and Applications)

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27 pages, 961 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Accurate and Fault-Tolerant Target Positioning System for Buildings Using Laser Rangefinders and Low-Cost MEMS-Based MARG Sensors

by Lin Zhao¹, Dongxue Guan^1,*, René Jr. Landry², Jianhua Cheng¹ and Kostyantyn Sydorenko²

¹ Marine Navigation Research Institute, College of Automation, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China

² LASSENA, École de Technologie Supérieure, 1100 Notre-Dame Street West, Montreal, QC H3C 1K3, Canada

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27060-27086; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027060 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6426

Abstract

Target positioning systems based on MEMS gyros and laser rangefinders (LRs) have extensive prospects due to their advantages of low cost, small size and easy realization. The target positioning accuracy is mainly determined by the LR’s attitude derived by the gyros. However, the [...] Read more.

Target positioning systems based on MEMS gyros and laser rangefinders (LRs) have extensive prospects due to their advantages of low cost, small size and easy realization. The target positioning accuracy is mainly determined by the LR’s attitude derived by the gyros. However, the attitude error is large due to the inherent noises from isolated MEMS gyros. In this paper, both accelerometer/magnetometer and LR attitude aiding systems are introduced to aid MEMS gyros. A no-reset Federated Kalman Filter (FKF) is employed, which consists of two local Kalman Filters (KF) and a Master Filter (MF). The local KFs are designed by using the Direction Cosine Matrix (DCM)-based dynamic equations and the measurements from the two aiding systems. The KFs can estimate the attitude simultaneously to limit the attitude errors resulting from the gyros. Then, the MF fuses the redundant attitude estimates to yield globally optimal estimates. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the FKF-based system can improve the target positioning accuracy effectively and allow for good fault-tolerant capability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section State-of-the-Art Sensors Technologies)

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29 pages, 1598 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Multilayered RFID Tagged Cargo Integrity Assurance Scheme

by Ming Hour Yang^1,*, Jia Ning Luo²

and Shao Yong Lu¹

¹ Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung Pei Road, Chung Li District, Taoyuan 32023, Taiwan

² Ming Chuan University, Deming Road, Guishan District, Taoyuan 33348, Taiwan,

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27087-27115; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027087 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 6741

Abstract

To minimize cargo theft during transport, mobile radio frequency identification (RFID) grouping proof methods are generally employed to ensure the integrity of entire cargo loads. However, conventional grouping proofs cannot simultaneously generate grouping proofs for a specific group of RFID tags. The most [...] Read more.

To minimize cargo theft during transport, mobile radio frequency identification (RFID) grouping proof methods are generally employed to ensure the integrity of entire cargo loads. However, conventional grouping proofs cannot simultaneously generate grouping proofs for a specific group of RFID tags. The most serious problem of these methods is that nonexistent tags are included in the grouping proofs because of the considerable amount of time it takes to scan a high number of tags. Thus, applying grouping proof methods in the current logistics industry is difficult. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a method for generating multilayered offline grouping proofs. The proposed method provides tag anonymity; moreover, resolving disputes between recipients and transporters over the integrity of cargo deliveries can be expedited by generating grouping proofs and automatically authenticating the consistency between the receipt proof and pick proof. The proposed method can also protect against replay attacks, multi-session attacks, and concurrency attacks. Finally, experimental results verify that, compared with other methods for generating grouping proofs, the proposed method can efficiently generate offline grouping proofs involving several parties in a supply chain using mobile RFID. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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26 pages, 10980 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Indoor Obstacle Detection System Using Depth Information and Region Growth

by Hsieh-Chang Huang^1,2, Ching-Tang Hsieh^2,* and Cheng-Hsiang Yeh²

¹ Department of Information Technology, Lee-Ming Institute of Technology, New Taipei City 24346, Taiwan

² Department of Electrical Engineering, Tamkang University, New Taipei City 25137, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27116-27141; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027116 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 55 | Viewed by 11365

Abstract

This study proposes an obstacle detection method that uses depth information to allow the visually impaired to avoid obstacles when they move in an unfamiliar environment. The system is composed of three parts: scene detection, obstacle detection and a vocal announcement. This study [...] Read more.

This study proposes an obstacle detection method that uses depth information to allow the visually impaired to avoid obstacles when they move in an unfamiliar environment. The system is composed of three parts: scene detection, obstacle detection and a vocal announcement. This study proposes a new method to remove the ground plane that overcomes the over-segmentation problem. This system addresses the over-segmentation problem by removing the edge and the initial seed position problem for the region growth method using the Connected Component Method (CCM). This system can detect static and dynamic obstacles. The system is simple, robust and efficient. The experimental results show that the proposed system is both robust and convenient. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging: Sensors and Technologies)

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18 pages, 1638 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An LPV Adaptive Observer for Updating a Map Applied to an MAF Sensor in a Diesel Engine

by Zhiyuan Liu and Changhui Wang^*

Department of Control Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27142-27159; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027142 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 7116

Abstract

In this paper, a new method for mass air flow (MAF) sensor error compensation and an online updating error map (or lookup table) due to installation and aging in a diesel engine is developed. Since the MAF sensor error is dependent on the [...] Read more.

In this paper, a new method for mass air flow (MAF) sensor error compensation and an online updating error map (or lookup table) due to installation and aging in a diesel engine is developed. Since the MAF sensor error is dependent on the engine operating point, the error model is represented as a two-dimensional (2D) map with two inputs, fuel mass injection quantity and engine speed. Meanwhile, the 2D map representing the MAF sensor error is described as a piecewise bilinear interpolation model, which can be written as a dot product between the regression vector and parameter vector using a membership function. With the combination of the 2D map regression model and the diesel engine air path system, an LPV adaptive observer with low computational load is designed to estimate states and parameters jointly. The convergence of the proposed algorithm is proven under the conditions of persistent excitation and given inequalities. The observer is validated against the simulation data from engine software enDYNA provided by Tesis. The results demonstrate that the operating point-dependent error of the MAF sensor can be approximated acceptably by the 2D map from the proposed method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors in New Road Vehicles)

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27 pages, 6385 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Strain Measurements on Automotive and Aeronautic Composite Components by Means of Embedded Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors

by Alfredo Lamberti^1,*, Gabriele Chiesura², Geert Luyckx², Joris Degrieck², Markus Kaufmann³ and Steve Vanlanduit^1,4

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, Elsene 1050, Belgium

² Department of Material Science and Engineering, Ghent University Technologiepark Zwijn. 903, Zwijnaarde 9052, Belgium

³ Sirris Leuven-Gent Composites Application Lab, Celestijnenlaan 300C, Heverlee 3001, Belgium

⁴ Faculty of Applied Engineering, University of Antwerp, Campus Hoboken Salesianenlaan 90, Antwerp 2660, Belgium

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27174-27200; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027174 - 26 Oct 2015

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 8874

Abstract

The measurement of the internal deformations occurring in real-life composite components is a very challenging task, especially for those components that are rather difficult to access. Optical fiber sensors can overcome such a problem, since they can be embedded in the composite materials [...] Read more.

The measurement of the internal deformations occurring in real-life composite components is a very challenging task, especially for those components that are rather difficult to access. Optical fiber sensors can overcome such a problem, since they can be embedded in the composite materials and serve as in situ sensors. In this article, embedded optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are used to analyze the vibration characteristics of two real-life composite components. The first component is a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer automotive control arm; the second is a glass fiber-reinforced polymer aeronautic hinge arm. The modal parameters of both components were estimated by processing the FBG signals with two interrogation techniques: the maximum detection and fast phase correlation algorithms were employed for the demodulation of the FBG signals; the Peak-Picking and PolyMax techniques were instead used for the parameter estimation. To validate the FBG outcomes, reference measurements were performed by means of a laser Doppler vibrometer. The analysis of the results showed that the FBG sensing capabilities were enhanced when the recently-introduced fast phase correlation algorithm was combined with the state-of-the-art PolyMax estimator curve fitting method. In this case, the FBGs provided the most accurate results, i.e., it was possible to fully characterize the vibration behavior of both composite components. When using more traditional interrogation algorithms (maximum detection) and modal parameter estimation techniques (Peak-Picking), some of the modes were not successfully identified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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14 pages, 2733 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vehicle Classification Using the Discrete Fourier Transform with Traffic Inductive Sensors

by José J. Lamas-Seco, Paula M. Castro^*

, Adriana Dapena

and Francisco J. Vazquez-Araujo

Grupo de Tecnoloxía Electrónica e Comunicacións (GTEC), Departamento de Electrónica e Sistemas, Facultade de Informática, Universidade da Coruña, Campus da Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27201-27214; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027201 - 26 Oct 2015

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 7218

Abstract

Inductive Loop Detectors (ILDs) are the most commonly used sensors in traffic management systems. This paper shows that some spectral features extracted from the Fourier Transform (FT) of inductive signatures do not depend on the vehicle speed. Such a property is used to [...] Read more.

Inductive Loop Detectors (ILDs) are the most commonly used sensors in traffic management systems. This paper shows that some spectral features extracted from the Fourier Transform (FT) of inductive signatures do not depend on the vehicle speed. Such a property is used to propose a novel method for vehicle classification based on only one signature acquired from a sensor single-loop, in contrast to standard methods using two sensor loops. Our proposal will be evaluated by means of real inductive signatures captured with our hardware prototype. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors in New Road Vehicles)

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15 pages, 3705 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Robust Analysis of Network-Based Real-Time Kinematic for GNSS-Derived Heights

by Tae-Suk Bae^1,*, Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska², Gerald Mader³ and Michael Dennis³

¹ Department of Geoinformation Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul 143-747, Korea

² Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA

³ National Geodetic Survey Department, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27215-27229; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027215 - 26 Oct 2015

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 6552

Abstract

New guidelines and procedures for real-time (RT) network-based solutions are required in order to support Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) derived heights. Two kinds of experiments were carried out to analyze the performance of the network-based real-time kinematic (RTK) solutions. New test marks [...] Read more.

New guidelines and procedures for real-time (RT) network-based solutions are required in order to support Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) derived heights. Two kinds of experiments were carried out to analyze the performance of the network-based real-time kinematic (RTK) solutions. New test marks were installed in different surrounding environments, and the existing GPS benchmarks were used for analyzing the effect of different factors, such as baseline lengths, antenna types, on the final accuracy and reliability of the height estimation. The RT solutions are categorized into three groups: single-base RTK, multiple-epoch network RTK (mRTN), and single-epoch network RTK (sRTN). The RTK solution can be biased up to 9 mm depending on the surrounding environment, but there was no notable bias for a longer reference base station (about 30 km) In addition, the occupation time for the network RTK was investigated in various cases. There is no explicit bias in the solution for different durations, but smoother results were obtained for longer durations. Further investigation is needed into the effect of changing the occupation time between solutions and into the possibility of using single-epoch solutions in precise determination of heights by GNSS. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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21 pages, 13123 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Step Detection Robust against the Dynamics of Smartphones

by Hwan-hee Lee¹, Suji Choi² and Myeong-jin Lee^1,*

¹ School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Korea Aerospace University, 76 Hanggongdaehang-ro Deogyang-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi 412-791, Korea

² Mechatronics R&D Center, Samsung Electronics, 1-1 Samsungjeonja-ro, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi 445-330, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27230-27250; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027230 - 26 Oct 2015

Cited by 56 | Viewed by 9909

Abstract

A novel algorithm is proposed for robust step detection irrespective of step mode and device pose in smartphone usage environments. The dynamics of smartphones are decoupled into a peak-valley relationship with adaptive magnitude and temporal thresholds. For extracted peaks and valleys in the [...] Read more.

A novel algorithm is proposed for robust step detection irrespective of step mode and device pose in smartphone usage environments. The dynamics of smartphones are decoupled into a peak-valley relationship with adaptive magnitude and temporal thresholds. For extracted peaks and valleys in the magnitude of acceleration, a step is defined as consisting of a peak and its adjacent valley. Adaptive magnitude thresholds consisting of step average and step deviation are applied to suppress pseudo peaks or valleys that mostly occur during the transition among step modes or device poses. Adaptive temporal thresholds are applied to time intervals between peaks or valleys to consider the time-varying pace of human walking or running for the correct selection of peaks or valleys. From the experimental results, it can be seen that the proposed step detection algorithm shows more than 98.6% average accuracy for any combination of step mode and device pose and outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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22 pages, 1609 KiB

Open AccessArticle

APFiLoc: An Infrastructure-Free Indoor Localization Method Fusing Smartphone Inertial Sensors, Landmarks and Map Information

by Jianga Shang^1,2,*, Fuqiang Gu³

, Xuke Hu^1,2 and Allison Kealy³

¹ Faculty of Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China

² National Engineering Research Center for Geographic Information System, Wuhan 430074, China

³ Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27251-27272; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027251 - 26 Oct 2015

Cited by 54 | Viewed by 9758

Abstract

The utility and adoption of indoor localization applications have been limited due to the complex nature of the physical environment combined with an increasing requirement for more robust localization performance. Existing solutions to this problem are either too expensive or too dependent on [...] Read more.

The utility and adoption of indoor localization applications have been limited due to the complex nature of the physical environment combined with an increasing requirement for more robust localization performance. Existing solutions to this problem are either too expensive or too dependent on infrastructure such as Wi-Fi access points. To address this problem, we propose APFiLoc—a low cost, smartphone-based framework for indoor localization. The key idea behind this framework is to obtain landmarks within the environment and to use the augmented particle filter to fuse them with measurements from smartphone sensors and map information. A clustering method based on distance constraints is developed to detect organic landmarks in an unsupervised way, and the least square support vector machine is used to classify seed landmarks. A series of real-world experiments were conducted in complex environments including multiple floors and the results show APFiLoc can achieve 80% accuracy (phone in the hand) and around 70% accuracy (phone in the pocket) of the error less than 2 m error without the assistance of infrastructure like Wi-Fi access points. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors for Indoor Mapping and Navigation)

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10 pages, 4877 KiB

Open AccessArticle

In-Line Measurement of Water Contents in Ethanol Using a Zeolite-Coated Quartz Crystal Microbalance

by Byoung Chul Kim^1,†, Takuji Yamamoto^2,† and Young Han Kim^3,*

¹ Department of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering, Kyungnam College of Information & Technology, Pusan 617-701, Korea

² Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Hyogo, Himeji 671-2201, Japan

³ Department of Chemical Engineering, Dong-A University, Pusan 604-714, Korea

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27273-27282; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027273 - 27 Oct 2015

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6253

Abstract

A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) was utilized to measure the water content in ethanol. For the improvement of measurement sensitivity, the QCM was modified by applying zeolite particles on the surface with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) binder. The measurement performance was examined with ethanol [...] Read more.

A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) was utilized to measure the water content in ethanol. For the improvement of measurement sensitivity, the QCM was modified by applying zeolite particles on the surface with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) binder. The measurement performance was examined with ethanol of 1% to 5% water content in circulation. The experimental results showed that the frequency drop of the QCM was related with the water content though there was some deviation. The sensitivity of the zeolite-coated QCM was sufficient to be implemented in water content determination, and a higher ratio of silicon to aluminum in the molecular structure of the zeolite gave better performance. The coated surface was inspected by microscopy to show the distribution of zeolite particles and PMMA spread. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Chemical Sensors)

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20 pages, 4871 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantification Method for Electrolytic Sensors in Long-Term Monitoring of Ambient Air Quality

by Nicholas Masson^*, Ricardo Piedrahita^† and Michael Hannigan^†

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 427 UCB 111 Engineering Drive, Boulder, CO 80309, USA

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27283-27302; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027283 - 27 Oct 2015

Cited by 74 | Viewed by 8844

Abstract

Traditional air quality monitoring relies on point measurements from a small number of high-end devices. The recent growth in low-cost air sensing technology stands to revolutionize the way in which air quality data are collected and utilized. While several technologies have emerged in [...] Read more.

Traditional air quality monitoring relies on point measurements from a small number of high-end devices. The recent growth in low-cost air sensing technology stands to revolutionize the way in which air quality data are collected and utilized. While several technologies have emerged in the field of low-cost monitoring, all suffer from similar challenges in data quality. One technology that shows particular promise is that of electrolytic (also known as amperometric) sensors. These sensors produce an electric current in response to target pollutants. This work addresses the development of practical models for understanding and quantifying the signal response of electrolytic sensors. Such models compensate for confounding effects on the sensor response, such as ambient temperature and humidity, and address other issues that affect the usability of low-cost sensors, such as sensor drift and inter-sensor variability Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gas Sensors—Designs and Applications)

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19 pages, 1359 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Toward a Smartphone Application for Estimation of Pulse Transit Time

by He Liu^1,2, Kamen Ivanov¹

, Yadong Wang^2,* and Lei Wang^1,*

¹ The Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China

² The Biomedical Engineering Department, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin150001, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27303-27321; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027303 - 27 Oct 2015

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 8492

Abstract

Pulse transit time (PTT) is an important physiological parameter that directly correlates with the elasticity and compliance of vascular walls and variations in blood pressure. This paper presents a PTT estimation method based on photoplethysmographic imaging (PPGi). The method utilizes two opposing cameras [...] Read more.

Pulse transit time (PTT) is an important physiological parameter that directly correlates with the elasticity and compliance of vascular walls and variations in blood pressure. This paper presents a PTT estimation method based on photoplethysmographic imaging (PPGi). The method utilizes two opposing cameras for simultaneous acquisition of PPGi waveform signals from the index fingertip and the forehead temple. An algorithm for the detection of maxima and minima in PPGi signals was developed, which includes technology for interpolation of the real positions of these points. We compared our PTT measurements with those obtained from the current methodological standards. Statistical results indicate that the PTT measured by our proposed method exhibits a good correlation with the established method. The proposed method is especially suitable for implementation in dual-camera-smartphones, which could facilitate PTT measurement among populations affected by cardiac complications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)

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19 pages, 908 KiB

Open AccessArticle

RF-Based Location Using Interpolation Functions to Reduce Fingerprint Mapping

by Santiago Ezpeleta¹, José M. Claver^1,*, Juan J. Pérez-Solano¹

and José V. Martí²

¹ Departament d’Informàtica, Universitat de València, Avd. de la Universitat, Burjassot 46100, Spain

² Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Universitat Jaume I, Campus Riu Sec, Castellón 12071, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27322-27340; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027322 - 27 Oct 2015

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 7658

Abstract

Indoor RF-based localization using fingerprint mapping requires an initial training step, which represents a time consuming process. This location methodology needs a database conformed with RSSI (Radio Signal Strength Indicator) measures from the communication transceivers taken at specific locations within the localization area. [...] Read more.

Indoor RF-based localization using fingerprint mapping requires an initial training step, which represents a time consuming process. This location methodology needs a database conformed with RSSI (Radio Signal Strength Indicator) measures from the communication transceivers taken at specific locations within the localization area. But, the real world localization environment is dynamic and it is necessary to rebuild the fingerprint database when some environmental changes are made. This paper explores the use of different interpolation functions to complete the fingerprint mapping needed to achieve the sought accuracy, thereby reducing the effort in the training step. Also, different distributions of test maps and reference points have been evaluated, showing the validity of this proposal and necessary trade-offs. Results reported show that the same or similar localization accuracy can be achieved even when only 50% of the initial fingerprint reference points are taken. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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18 pages, 4335 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Sensor Configurations for Robotic Surgical Instruments

by Jesús M. Gómez-de-Gabriel^1,* and William Harwin²

¹ Departamento de Ingeniería de Sistemas y Automática, Universidad de Málaga, Calle Dr. Ortiz Ramos, 29071 Málaga, Spain

² School of Systems Engineering, University of Reading, Whiteknights, RG6-6AY Reading, Berkshire, UK

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27341-27358; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027341 - 27 Oct 2015

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 7622

Abstract

Designing surgical instruments for robotic-assisted minimally-invasive surgery (RAMIS) is challenging due to constraints on the number and type of sensors imposed by considerations such as space or the need for sterilization. A new method for evaluating the usability of virtual teleoperated surgical instruments [...] Read more.

Designing surgical instruments for robotic-assisted minimally-invasive surgery (RAMIS) is challenging due to constraints on the number and type of sensors imposed by considerations such as space or the need for sterilization. A new method for evaluating the usability of virtual teleoperated surgical instruments based on virtual sensors is presented. This method uses virtual prototyping of the surgical instrument with a dual physical interaction, which allows testing of different sensor configurations in a real environment. Moreover, the proposed approach has been applied to the evaluation of prototypes of a two-finger grasper for lump detection by remote pinching. In this example, the usability of a set of five different sensor configurations, with a different number of force sensors, is evaluated in terms of quantitative and qualitative measures in clinical experiments with 23 volunteers. As a result, the smallest number of force sensors needed in the surgical instrument that ensures the usability of the device can be determined. The details of the experimental setup are also included. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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15 pages, 1108 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Monolithic CMOS Magnetic Hall Sensor with High Sensitivity and Linearity Characteristics

by Haiyun Huang^1,2,*, Dejun Wang^1,* and Yue Xu³

¹ School of Electronic Science and Technology, Faculty of Electronic Information and Electronic Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China

² Institute of New Electron Devices, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China

³ College of Electronic Science & Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210003, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27359-27373; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027359 - 27 Oct 2015

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 9367

Abstract

This paper presents a fully integrated linear Hall sensor by means of 0.8 μm high voltage complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. This monolithic Hall sensor chip features a highly sensitive horizontal switched Hall plate and an efficient signal conditioner using dynamic offset cancellation [...] Read more.

This paper presents a fully integrated linear Hall sensor by means of 0.8 μm high voltage complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. This monolithic Hall sensor chip features a highly sensitive horizontal switched Hall plate and an efficient signal conditioner using dynamic offset cancellation technique. An improved cross-like Hall plate achieves high magnetic sensitivity and low offset. A new spinning current modulator stabilizes the quiescent output voltage and improves the reliability of the signal conditioner. The tested results show that at the 5 V supply voltage, the maximum Hall output voltage of the monolithic Hall sensor microsystem, is up to ±2.1 V and the linearity of Hall output voltage is higher than 99% in the magnetic flux density range from ±5 mT to ±175 mT. The output equivalent residual offset is 0.48 mT and the static power consumption is 20 mW. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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19 pages, 5809 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Low-Cost Modular Platform for Heterogeneous Data Acquisition with Accurate Interchannel Synchronization

by José Luis Blanco-Claraco^*, Javier López-Martínez, José Luis Torres-Moreno

and Antonio Giménez-Fernández

Engineering Department, University of Almería, Ctra. de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada 04120, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27374-27392; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027374 - 27 Oct 2015

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 6776

Abstract

Most experimental fields of science and engineering require the use of data acquisition systems (DAQ), devices in charge of sampling and converting electrical signals into digital data and, typically, performing all of the required signal preconditioning. Since commercial DAQ systems are normally focused [...] Read more.

Most experimental fields of science and engineering require the use of data acquisition systems (DAQ), devices in charge of sampling and converting electrical signals into digital data and, typically, performing all of the required signal preconditioning. Since commercial DAQ systems are normally focused on specific types of sensors and actuators, systems engineers may need to employ mutually-incompatible hardware from different manufacturers in applications demanding heterogeneous inputs and outputs, such as small-signal analog inputs, differential quadrature rotatory encoders or variable current outputs. A common undesirable side effect of heterogeneous DAQ hardware is the lack of an accurate synchronization between samples captured by each device. To solve such a problem with low-cost hardware, we present a novel modular DAQ architecture comprising a base board and a set of interchangeable modules. Our main design goal is the ability to sample all sources at predictable, fixed sampling frequencies, with a reduced synchronization mismatch (<1 µs) between heterogeneous signal sources. We present experiments in the field of mechanical engineering, illustrating vibration spectrum analyses from piezoelectric accelerometers and, as a novelty in these kinds of experiments, the spectrum of quadrature encoder signals. Part of the design and software will be publicly released online. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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30 pages, 2719 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Survey on Energy Conserving Mechanisms for the Internet of Things: Wireless Networking Aspects

by Zeeshan Abbas and Wonyong Yoon^*

Department of Electronics Engineering, Dong-A University, Busan 604-714, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 24818-24847; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151024818 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 110 | Viewed by 13481

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging key technology for future industries and everyday lives of people, where a myriad of battery operated sensors, actuators, and smart objects are connected to the Internet to provide services such as mobile healthcare, intelligent transport [...] Read more.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging key technology for future industries and everyday lives of people, where a myriad of battery operated sensors, actuators, and smart objects are connected to the Internet to provide services such as mobile healthcare, intelligent transport system, environmental monitoring, etc. Since energy efficiency is of utmost importance to these battery constrained IoT devices, IoT-related standards and research works have focused on the device energy conserving issues. This paper presents a comprehensive survey on energy conserving issues and solutions in using diverse wireless radio access technologies for IoT connectivity, e.g., the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) machine type communications, IEEE 802.11ah, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and Z-Wave. We look into the literature in broad areas of standardization, academic research, and industry development, and structurally summarize the energy conserving solutions based on several technical criteria. We also propose future research directions regarding energy conserving issues in wireless networking-based IoT. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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52 pages, 1509 KiB

Open AccessReview

Fiber-Optic Chemical Sensors and Fiber-Optic Bio-Sensors

by Marie Pospíšilová¹, Gabriela Kuncová² and Josef Trögl^3,*

¹ Czech Technical University, Faculty of Biomedical Engeneering, Nám. Sítná 3105, 27201 Kladno, Czech Republic

² Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, ASCR, Rozvojová 135, 16500 Prague, Czech Republic

³ Faculty of Environment, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Králova Výšina 3132/7, 40096 Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25208-25259; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025208 - 30 Sep 2015

Cited by 172 | Viewed by 20972

Abstract

This review summarizes principles and current stage of development of fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS) and biosensors (FOBS). Fiber optic sensor (FOS) systems use the ability of optical fibers (OF) to guide the light in the spectral range from ultraviolet (UV) (180 nm) up [...] Read more.

This review summarizes principles and current stage of development of fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS) and biosensors (FOBS). Fiber optic sensor (FOS) systems use the ability of optical fibers (OF) to guide the light in the spectral range from ultraviolet (UV) (180 nm) up to middle infrared (IR) (10 μm) and modulation of guided light by the parameters of the surrounding environment of the OF core. The introduction of OF in the sensor systems has brought advantages such as measurement in flammable and explosive environments, immunity to electrical noises, miniaturization, geometrical flexibility, measurement of small sample volumes, remote sensing in inaccessible sites or harsh environments and multi-sensing. The review comprises briefly the theory of OF elaborated for sensors, techniques of fabrications and analytical results reached with fiber-optic chemical and biological sensors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Sensors Technology in Japan 2015)

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19 pages, 1556 KiB

Open AccessReview

Single Nanoparticle Plasmonic Sensors

by Manish Sriram^1,2,3,†, Kelly Zong^1,2,3,†, S. R. C. Vivekchand^1,2,3,* and J. Justin Gooding^1,2,3,*

¹ School of Chemistry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia

² Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia

³ ARC Centre of Excellence in Bio-Nano Science & Technology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25774-25792; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025774 - 12 Oct 2015

Cited by 78 | Viewed by 11000

Abstract

The adoption of plasmonic nanomaterials in optical sensors, coupled with the advances in detection techniques, has opened the way for biosensing with single plasmonic particles. Single nanoparticle sensors offer the potential to analyse biochemical interactions at a single-molecule level, thereby allowing us to [...] Read more.

The adoption of plasmonic nanomaterials in optical sensors, coupled with the advances in detection techniques, has opened the way for biosensing with single plasmonic particles. Single nanoparticle sensors offer the potential to analyse biochemical interactions at a single-molecule level, thereby allowing us to capture even more information than ensemble measurements. We introduce the concepts behind single nanoparticle sensing and how the localised surface plasmon resonances of these nanoparticles are dependent upon their materials, shape and size. Then we outline the different synthetic approaches, like citrate reduction, seed-mediated and seedless growth, that enable the synthesis of gold and silver nanospheres, nanorods, nanostars, nanoprisms and other nanostructures with tunable sizes. Further, we go into the aspects related to purification and functionalisation of nanoparticles, prior to the fabrication of sensing surfaces. Finally, the recent developments in single nanoparticle detection, spectroscopy and sensing applications are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Chemical Sensors)

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37 pages, 799 KiB

Open AccessReview

Fluorescence-Based Bioassays for the Detection and Evaluation of Food Materials

by Kentaro Nishi¹, Shin-Ichiro Isobe¹, Yun Zhu^2,3 and Ryoiti Kiyama^2,*

¹ Department of Applied Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu Sangyo University, 2-3-1 Matsukadai, Kasi-i, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 813-8503, Japan

² Biomedical Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan

³ Scinet Company, 4-21-12 Takanawa, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0074, Japan

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25831-25867; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025831 - 13 Oct 2015

Cited by 87 | Viewed by 12922

Abstract

We summarize here the recent progress in fluorescence-based bioassays for the detection and evaluation of food materials by focusing on fluorescent dyes used in bioassays and applications of these assays for food safety, quality and efficacy. Fluorescent dyes have been used in various [...] Read more.

We summarize here the recent progress in fluorescence-based bioassays for the detection and evaluation of food materials by focusing on fluorescent dyes used in bioassays and applications of these assays for food safety, quality and efficacy. Fluorescent dyes have been used in various bioassays, such as biosensing, cell assay, energy transfer-based assay, probing, protein/immunological assay and microarray/biochip assay. Among the arrays used in microarray/biochip assay, fluorescence-based microarrays/biochips, such as antibody/protein microarrays, bead/suspension arrays, capillary/sensor arrays, DNA microarrays/polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based arrays, glycan/lectin arrays, immunoassay/enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based arrays, microfluidic chips and tissue arrays, have been developed and used for the assessment of allergy/poisoning/toxicity, contamination and efficacy/mechanism, and quality control/safety. DNA microarray assays have been used widely for food safety and quality as well as searches for active components. DNA microarray-based gene expression profiling may be useful for such purposes due to its advantages in the evaluation of pathway-based intracellular signaling in response to food materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors for Food Safety and Quality)

34 pages, 1550 KiB

Open AccessReview

Fluorescent Proteins as Genetically Encoded FRET Biosensors in Life Sciences

by Bernhard Hochreiter^†, Alan Pardo-Garcia^† and Johannes A. Schmid^*

¹ Institute for Vascular Biology and Thrombosis Research, Medical University Vienna, Schwarzspanierstraße17, Vienna A-1090, Austria

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26281-26314; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026281 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 147 | Viewed by 24155

Abstract

Fluorescence- or Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a measurable physical energy transfer phenomenon between appropriate chromophores, when they are in sufficient proximity, usually within 10 nm. This feature has made them incredibly useful tools for many biomedical studies on molecular interactions. Furthermore, [...] Read more.

Fluorescence- or Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a measurable physical energy transfer phenomenon between appropriate chromophores, when they are in sufficient proximity, usually within 10 nm. This feature has made them incredibly useful tools for many biomedical studies on molecular interactions. Furthermore, this principle is increasingly exploited for the design of biosensors, where two chromophores are linked with a sensory domain controlling their distance and thus the degree of FRET. The versatility of these FRET-biosensors made it possible to assess a vast amount of biological variables in a fast and standardized manner, allowing not only high-throughput studies but also sub-cellular measurements of biological processes. In this review, we aim at giving an overview over the recent advances in genetically encoded, fluorescent-protein based FRET-biosensors, as these represent the largest and most vividly growing group of FRET-based sensors. For easy understanding, we are grouping them into four categories, depending on their molecular mechanism. These are based on: (a) cleavage; (b) conformational-change; (c) mechanical force and (d) changes in the micro-environment. We also address the many issues and considerations that come with the development of FRET-based biosensors, as well as the possibilities that are available to measure them. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue FRET Biosensors)

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89 pages, 2836 KiB

Open AccessReview

Tunable Micro- and Nanomechanical Resonators

by Wen-Ming Zhang^*, Kai-Ming Hu, Zhi-Ke Peng and Guang Meng

State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 26478-26566; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151026478 - 16 Oct 2015

Cited by 83 | Viewed by 17461

Abstract

Advances in micro- and nanofabrication technologies have enabled the development of novel micro- and nanomechanical resonators which have attracted significant attention due to their fascinating physical properties and growing potential applications. In this review, we have presented a brief overview of the resonance [...] Read more.

Advances in micro- and nanofabrication technologies have enabled the development of novel micro- and nanomechanical resonators which have attracted significant attention due to their fascinating physical properties and growing potential applications. In this review, we have presented a brief overview of the resonance behavior and frequency tuning principles by varying either the mass or the stiffness of resonators. The progress in micro- and nanomechanical resonators using the tuning electrode, tuning fork, and suspended channel structures and made of graphene have been reviewed. We have also highlighted some major influencing factors such as large-amplitude effect, surface effect and fluid effect on the performances of resonators. More specifically, we have addressed the effects of axial stress/strain, residual surface stress and adsorption-induced surface stress on the sensing and detection applications and discussed the current challenges. We have significantly focused on the active and passive frequency tuning methods and techniques for micro- and nanomechanical resonator applications. On one hand, we have comprehensively evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy, including active methods such as electrothermal, electrostatic, piezoelectrical, dielectric, magnetomotive, photothermal, mode-coupling as well as tension-based tuning mechanisms, and passive techniques such as post-fabrication and post-packaging tuning processes. On the other hand, the tuning capability and challenges to integrate reliable and customizable frequency tuning methods have been addressed. We have additionally concluded with a discussion of important future directions for further tunable micro- and nanomechanical resonators. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling, Testing and Reliability Issues in MEMS Engineering 2013)

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14 pages, 872 KiB

Open AccessReview

Interferon (IFN) and Cellular Immune Response Evoked in RNA-Pattern Sensing During Infection with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)

by Masato Nakai^1,2,*, Hiroyuki Oshiumi^1,†, Kenji Funami¹, Masaaki Okamoto¹, Misako Matsumoto¹, Tsukasa Seya^1,*

and Naoya Sakamoto²

¹ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan

² Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan

^† Present Address: Department of Immunology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kumamoto University, Honjo, Chuoh-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 27160-27173; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151027160 - 23 Oct 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 8690

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects hepatocytes but not dendritic cells (DCs), but DCs effectively mature in response to HCV-infected hepatocytes. Using gene-disrupted mice and hydrodynamic injection strategy, we found the MAVS pathway to be crucial for induction of type III interferons (IFNs) in [...] Read more.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects hepatocytes but not dendritic cells (DCs), but DCs effectively mature in response to HCV-infected hepatocytes. Using gene-disrupted mice and hydrodynamic injection strategy, we found the MAVS pathway to be crucial for induction of type III interferons (IFNs) in response to HCV in mouse. Human hepatocytes barely express TLR3 under non-infectious states, but frequently express it in HCV infection. Type I and III IFNs are induced upon stimulation with polyI:C, an analog of double-stranded (ds)RNA. Activation of TLR3 and the TICAM-1 pathway, followed by DC-mediated activation of cellular immunity, is augmented during exposure to viral RNA. Although type III IFNs are released from replication-competent human hepatocytes, DC-mediated CTL proliferation and NK cell activation hardly occur in response to the released type III IFNs. Yet, type I IFNs and HCV-infected hepatocytes can induce maturation of DCs in either human or mouse origin. In addition, mouse CD8+ DCs mature in response to HCV-infected hepatocytes unless the TLR3/TICAM-1 pathway is blocked. We found the exosomes containing HCV RNA in the supernatant of the HCV-infected hepatocytes act as a source of TLR3-mediated DC maturation. Here we summarize our view on the mechanism by which DCs mature to induce NK and CTL in a status of HCV infection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)

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6 pages, 179 KiB

Open AccessComment

A Note on an Improved Self-Healing Group Key Distribution Scheme

by Hua Guo^1,2,*, Yandong Zheng², Biao Wang³ and Zhoujun Li^1,2

¹ State Key Laboratory of Software Development Environment, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China

² Beijing Key Laboratory of Network Technology, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China

³ School of Information Science and Technology, University of International Relations, Beijing 100091, China

Sensors 2015, 15(10), 25033-25038; https://doi.org/10.3390/s151025033 - 29 Sep 2015

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5417

Abstract

In 2014, Chen et al. proposed a one-way hash self-healing group key distribution scheme for resource-constrained wireless networks in the journal of Sensors (14(14):24358-24380, doi: 10.3390/ s141224358). They asserted that their Scheme 2 achieves mt-revocation capability, mt-wise forward secrecy, any-wise backward secrecy and [...] Read more.

In 2014, Chen et al. proposed a one-way hash self-healing group key distribution scheme for resource-constrained wireless networks in the journal of Sensors (14(14):24358-24380, doi: 10.3390/ s141224358). They asserted that their Scheme 2 achieves mt-revocation capability, mt-wise forward secrecy, any-wise backward secrecy and has mt-wise collusion attack resistance capability. Unfortunately, this paper pointed out that their scheme does not satisfy the forward security, mt-revocation capability and mt-wise collusion attack resistance capability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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Sensors, Volume 15, Issue 10 (October 2015) – 139 articles , Pages 24681-27392

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