Sensors

68 pages, 903 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Android Device-Based Solutions for Fall Detection

by Eduardo Casilari^*

, Rafael Luque and María-José Morón

Departamento de Tecnología Electrónica, ETSI Telecomunicación, Universidad de Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 17827-17894; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150817827 - 23 Jul 2015

Cited by 68 | Viewed by 13133

Abstract

Falls are a major cause of health and psychological problems as well as hospitalization costs among older adults. Thus, the investigation on automatic Fall Detection Systems (FDSs) has received special attention from the research community during the last decade. In this area, the [...] Read more.

Falls are a major cause of health and psychological problems as well as hospitalization costs among older adults. Thus, the investigation on automatic Fall Detection Systems (FDSs) has received special attention from the research community during the last decade. In this area, the widespread popularity, decreasing price, computing capabilities, built-in sensors and multiplicity of wireless interfaces of Android-based devices (especially smartphones) have fostered the adoption of this technology to deploy wearable and inexpensive architectures for fall detection. This paper presents a critical and thorough analysis of those existing fall detection systems that are based on Android devices. The review systematically classifies and compares the proposals of the literature taking into account different criteria such as the system architecture, the employed sensors, the detection algorithm or the response in case of a fall alarms. The study emphasizes the analysis of the evaluation methods that are employed to assess the effectiveness of the detection process. The review reveals the complete lack of a reference framework to validate and compare the proposals. In addition, the study also shows that most research works do not evaluate the actual applicability of the Android devices (with limited battery and computing resources) to fall detection solutions. Full article

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

21 pages, 2119 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Autonomous Satellite Time Synchronization System Using Remotely Disciplined VC-OCXOs

by Xiaobo Gu^1,*, Qing Chang¹, Eamonn P. Glennon², Baoda Xu¹, Andrew G. Dempster², Dun Wang³ and Jiapeng Wu³

¹ School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beihang University, Xueyuan Road No. 37, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China

² Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (ACSER), School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, University of New South Wales, High Street, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

³ Space Star Technology Co., Ltd., Zhichun Road No. 82, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 17895-17915; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150817895 - 23 Jul 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6568

Abstract

An autonomous remote clock control system is proposed to provide time synchronization and frequency syntonization for satellite to satellite or ground to satellite time transfer, with the system comprising on-board voltage controlled oven controlled crystal oscillators (VC-OCXOs) that are disciplined to a remote [...] Read more.

An autonomous remote clock control system is proposed to provide time synchronization and frequency syntonization for satellite to satellite or ground to satellite time transfer, with the system comprising on-board voltage controlled oven controlled crystal oscillators (VC-OCXOs) that are disciplined to a remote master atomic clock or oscillator. The synchronization loop aims to provide autonomous operation over extended periods, be widely applicable to a variety of scenarios and robust. A new architecture comprising the use of frequency division duplex (FDD), synchronous time division (STDD) duplex and code division multiple access (CDMA) with a centralized topology is employed. This new design utilizes dual one-way ranging methods to precisely measure the clock error, adopts least square (LS) methods to predict the clock error and employs a third-order phase lock loop (PLL) to generate the voltage control signal. A general functional model for this system is proposed and the error sources and delays that affect the time synchronization are discussed. Related algorithms for estimating and correcting these errors are also proposed. The performance of the proposed system is simulated and guidance for selecting the clock is provided. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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10 pages, 1678 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Selective Surface Acoustic Wave-Based Organophosphorus Sensor Employing a Host-Guest Self-Assembly Monolayer of β-Cyclodextrin Derivative

by Yong Pan^1,*, Ning Mu^1,†, Shengyu Shao^1,†, Liu Yang¹, Wen Wang^2,†, Xiao Xie^2,† and Shitang He^2,†

¹ State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Yangfang, Changping District, Beijing 102205, China

² Institute of Acoustic, Chinese Academy of Science, Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100080, China

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 17916-17925; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150817916 - 23 Jul 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6523

Abstract

Self-assembly and molecular imprinting technologies are very attractive technologies for the development of artificial recognition systems and provide chemical recognition based on need and not happenstance. In this paper, we employed a b-cyclodextrin derivative surface acoustic wave (SAW) chemical sensor for detecting the [...] Read more.

Self-assembly and molecular imprinting technologies are very attractive technologies for the development of artificial recognition systems and provide chemical recognition based on need and not happenstance. In this paper, we employed a b-cyclodextrin derivative surface acoustic wave (SAW) chemical sensor for detecting the chemical warfare agents (CWAs) sarin (O-Isoprophyl methylphosphonofluoridate, GB). Using sarin acid (isoprophyl hydrogen methylphosphonate) as an imprinting template, mono[6-deoxy-6-[(mercaptodecamethylene)thio]]-β-cyclodextrin was prepared by self-assembled method on one of the SAW oscillators. After templates’ removal, a sensitive and selective molecular imprinting (MIP) monolayer for GB was prepared. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and atomic force microscope (AFM) were used to characterize this film. Comparing the detection results to GB by MIP film and non-MIP film, the molecularly imprinting effect was also proved. The resulting SAW sensor could detect sarin as low as 0.10 mg/m³ at room temperature and the frequency shift was about 300 Hz. The response frequency increased linearly with increasing sarin concentration in the range of 0.7 mg/m³~3.0 mg/m³. When sarin was detected under different temperatures, the SAW sensor exhibited outstanding sensitivity and reliability. Full article

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

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18 pages, 3367 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a Plug-and-Play Monitoring System for Cabled Observatories in the East China Sea

by Yang Yu, Huiping Xu^* and Changwei Xu

State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 17926-17943; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150817926 - 23 Jul 2015

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5833

Abstract

Seafloor observatories enable long term, continuous and multidisciplinary observations, promising major breakthroughs in marine environment research. The effort to remotely control in situ multidisciplinary equipment performing individual and cooperative tasks is both a challenge and a guarantee for the stable operations of functional [...] Read more.

Seafloor observatories enable long term, continuous and multidisciplinary observations, promising major breakthroughs in marine environment research. The effort to remotely control in situ multidisciplinary equipment performing individual and cooperative tasks is both a challenge and a guarantee for the stable operations of functional observatories. With China starting to establish ocean observatory sensor networks, in this study we describe a monitoring system for cabled observatories in the East China Sea (ESOMS) that enables this effort in a plug and play way. An information oriented monitoring architecture for ESOMS was first introduced, derived from a layered control model for ocean observatory sensor network. The architecture contained three components and enabled bidirectional information flow of observation data and commands, based on which architecture components were designed to enable plug-and-play control within related model layers. A control method enabled by general junction box (GJB) and ocean sensor markup language (OSML) was thus proposed as the plug-and-play solution for implementing ESOMS. The GJB-OSML enabled control method (GOE Control Method) mainly actualized two processes, one of which was that the in situ GJB interfaced and represented every attached sensor as a Sensing Endpoint in the cabled observatory network. The other process was that the remote ESOMS utilized the same IP/Port related information modeled by OSML to create/operate a Function Node acted as agent of the in situ sensor. A case study for using ESOMS in the Xiaoqushan Seafloor Observatory was finally presented to prove its performance and applicability. Given this successful engineering trial, the ESOMS design and implementation could be applicable and beneficial for similar efforts in future construction of seafloor observatory network both at home and abroad. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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19 pages, 1328 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fusion of Visible and Thermal Descriptors Using Genetic Algorithms for Face Recognition Systems

by Gabriel Hermosilla^1,*

, Francisco Gallardo¹, Gonzalo Farias¹ and Cesar San Martin²

¹ Escuela de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2362804, Chile

² Department of Electrical Engineering, University of La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, Chile

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 17944-17962; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150817944 - 23 Jul 2015

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 7861

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present a new face recognition system based on the fusion of visible and thermal features obtained from the most current local matching descriptors by maximizing face recognition rates through the use of genetic algorithms. The article [...] Read more.

The aim of this article is to present a new face recognition system based on the fusion of visible and thermal features obtained from the most current local matching descriptors by maximizing face recognition rates through the use of genetic algorithms. The article considers a comparison of the performance of the proposed fusion methodology against five current face recognition methods and classic fusion techniques used commonly in the literature. These were selected by considering their performance in face recognition. The five local matching methods and the proposed fusion methodology are evaluated using the standard visible/thermal database, the Equinox database, along with a new database, the PUCV-VTF, designed for visible-thermal studies in face recognition and described for the first time in this work. The latter is created considering visible and thermal image sensors with different real-world conditions, such as variations in illumination, facial expression, pose, occlusion, etc. The main conclusions of this article are that two variants of the proposed fusion methodology surpass current face recognition methods and the classic fusion techniques reported in the literature, attaining recognition rates of over 97% and 99% for the Equinox and PUCV-VTF databases, respectively. The fusion methodology is very robust to illumination and expression changes, as it combines thermal and visible information efficiently by using genetic algorithms, thus allowing it to choose optimal face areas where one spectrum is more representative than the other. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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14 pages, 897 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Towards Semi-Automatic Artifact Rejection for the Improvement of Alzheimer’s Disease Screening from EEG Signals

by Jordi Solé-Casals¹

and François-Benoît Vialatte^2,3,*

¹ Data and Signal Processing Research Group, University of Vic–Central University of Catalonia, Vic, 08500 Barcelona, Spain

² BCI Team, Brain Plasticity Laboratory, UMR 8249, CNRS, Paris 75005, France

³ ESPCI ParisTech, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 17963-17976; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150817963 - 23 Jul 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6839

Abstract

A large number of studies have analyzed measurable changes that Alzheimer’s disease causes on electroencephalography (EEG). Despite being easily reproducible, those markers have limited sensitivity, which reduces the interest of EEG as a screening tool for this pathology. This is for a large [...] Read more.

A large number of studies have analyzed measurable changes that Alzheimer’s disease causes on electroencephalography (EEG). Despite being easily reproducible, those markers have limited sensitivity, which reduces the interest of EEG as a screening tool for this pathology. This is for a large part due to the poor signal-to-noise ratio of EEG signals: EEG recordings are indeed usually corrupted by spurious extra-cerebral artifacts. These artifacts are responsible for a consequent degradation of the signal quality. We investigate the possibility to automatically clean a database of EEG recordings taken from patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and healthy age-matched controls. We present here an investigation of commonly used markers of EEG artifacts: kurtosis, sample entropy, zero-crossing rate and fractal dimension. We investigate the reliability of the markers, by comparison with human labeling of sources. Our results show significant differences with the sample entropy marker. We present a strategy for semi-automatic cleaning based on blind source separation, which may improve the specificity of Alzheimer screening using EEG signals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)

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13 pages, 4592 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Zn(II)-Coordinated Quantum Dot-FRET Nanosensors for the Detection of Protein Kinase Activity

by Butaek Lim^1,2, Ji-In Park^1,2, Kyung Jin Lee³, Jin-Won Lee^1,2, Tae-Wuk Kim^1,2,4,* and Young-Pil Kim^1,2,4,*

¹ Department of Life Science, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Korea

² Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Korea

³ Department of Convergence Medicine, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 138-736, Korea

⁴ Research Institute for Convergence of Basic Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 17977-17989; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150817977 - 23 Jul 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 8470

Abstract

We report a simple detection of protein kinase activity using Zn(II)-mediated fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRET) between quantum dots (QDs) and dye-tethered peptides. With neither complex chemical ligands nor surface modification of QDs, Zn(II) was the only metal ion that enabled the phosphorylated [...] Read more.

We report a simple detection of protein kinase activity using Zn(II)-mediated fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRET) between quantum dots (QDs) and dye-tethered peptides. With neither complex chemical ligands nor surface modification of QDs, Zn(II) was the only metal ion that enabled the phosphorylated peptides to be strongly attached on the carboxyl groups of the QD surface via metal coordination, thus leading to a significant FRET efficiency. As a result, protein kinase activity in intermixed solution was efficiently detected by QD-FRET via Zn(II) coordination, especially when the peptide substrate was combined with affinity-based purification. We also found that mono- and di-phosphorylation in the peptide substrate could be discriminated by the Zn(II)-mediated QD-FRET. Our approach is expected to find applications for studying physiological function and signal transduction with respect to protein kinase activity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue FRET Biosensors)

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22 pages, 5835 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hyperspectral Analysis of Soil Total Nitrogen in Subsided Land Using the Local Correlation Maximization-Complementary Superiority (LCMCS) Method

by Lixin Lin^1,2, Yunjia Wang^1,2,*, Jiyao Teng^1,2 and Xiuxiu Xi^1,2

¹ School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China

² National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geo-Information (NASG), Key Laboratory of Land Environment and Disaster Monitoring, Xuzhou 221116, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 17990-18011; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150817990 - 23 Jul 2015

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 7107

Abstract

The measurement of soil total nitrogen (TN) by hyperspectral remote sensing provides an important tool for soil restoration programs in areas with subsided land caused by the extraction of natural resources. This study used the local correlation maximization-complementary superiority method (LCMCS) to establish [...] Read more.

The measurement of soil total nitrogen (TN) by hyperspectral remote sensing provides an important tool for soil restoration programs in areas with subsided land caused by the extraction of natural resources. This study used the local correlation maximization-complementary superiority method (LCMCS) to establish TN prediction models by considering the relationship between spectral reflectance (measured by an ASD FieldSpec 3 spectroradiometer) and TN based on spectral reflectance curves of soil samples collected from subsided land which is determined by synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) technology. Based on the 1655 selected effective bands of the optimal spectrum (OSP) of the first derivate differential of reciprocal logarithm ([log{1/R}]′), (correlation coefficients, p < 0.01), the optimal model of LCMCS method was obtained to determine the final model, which produced lower prediction errors (root mean square error of validation [RMSEV] = 0.89, mean relative error of validation [MREV] = 5.93%) when compared with models built by the local correlation maximization (LCM), complementary superiority (CS) and partial least squares regression (PLS) methods. The predictive effect of LCMCS model was optional in Cangzhou, Renqiu and Fengfeng District. Results indicate that the LCMCS method has great potential to monitor TN in subsided lands caused by the extraction of natural resources including groundwater, oil and coal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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28 pages, 1380 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy-Efficient Channel Handoff for Sensor Network-Assisted Cognitive Radio Network

by Muhammad Usman^†, Muhammad Sajjad Khan^†, Hiep Vu-Van^† and Koo Insoo^*,†

¹ Department of Electrical/Electronics and Computer Engineering, University of Ulsan, 93-Daehak-ro, Nam-gu, Ulsan 680-749, Korea

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18012-18039; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818012 - 23 Jul 2015

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5782

Abstract

The visiting and less-privileged status of the secondary users (SUs) in a cognitive radio network obligates them to release the occupied channel instantly when it is reclaimed by the primary user. The SU has a choice to make: either wait for the channel [...] Read more.

The visiting and less-privileged status of the secondary users (SUs) in a cognitive radio network obligates them to release the occupied channel instantly when it is reclaimed by the primary user. The SU has a choice to make: either wait for the channel to become free, thus conserving energy at the expense of delayed transmission and delivery, or find and switch to a vacant channel, thereby avoiding delay in transmission at the expense of increased energy consumption. An energy-efficient decision that considers the tradeoff between energy consumption and continuous transmission needs to be taken as to whether to switch the channels. In this work, we consider a sensor network-assisted cognitive radio network and propose a backup channel, which is sensed by the SU in parallel with the operating channel that is being sensed by the sensor nodes. Imperfect channel sensing and residual energy of the SU are considered in order to develop an energy-efficient handoff strategy using the partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP), which considers beliefs about the operating and backup channels and the remaining energy of the SU in order to take an optimal channel handoff decision on the question “Should we switch the channel?” The objective is to dynamically decide in each time slot whether the SU should switch the channel or not in order to maximize throughput by utilizing energy efficiently. Extensive simulations were performed to show the effectiveness of the proposed channel handoff strategy, which was demonstrated in the form of throughput with respect to various parameters, i.e., detection probability, the channel idle probabilities of the operating and backup channels, and the maximum energy of the SU. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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21 pages, 1008 KiB

Open AccessArticle

PEG Functionalization of Whispering Gallery Mode Optical Microresonator Biosensors to Minimize Non-Specific Adsorption during Targeted, Label-Free Sensing

by Fanyongjing Wang¹, Mark Anderson², Matthew T. Bernards³ and Heather K. Hunt^1,*

¹ Department of Bioengineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA

² Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA

³ Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18040-18060; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818040 - 24 Jul 2015

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 9378

Abstract

Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) optical microresonator biosensors are a powerful tool for targeted detection of analytes at extremely low concentrations. However, in complex environments, non-specific adsorption can significantly reduce their signal to noise ratio, limiting their accuracy. To overcome this, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) [...] Read more.

Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) optical microresonator biosensors are a powerful tool for targeted detection of analytes at extremely low concentrations. However, in complex environments, non-specific adsorption can significantly reduce their signal to noise ratio, limiting their accuracy. To overcome this, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) can be employed in conjunction with appropriate recognition elements to create a nonfouling surface capable of detecting targeted analytes. This paper investigates a general route for the addition of nonfouling elements to WGM optical biosensors to reduce non-specific adsorption, while also retaining high sensitivity. We use the avidin-biotin analyte-recognition element system, in conjunction with PEG nonfouling elements, as a proof-of-concept, and explore the extent of non-specific adsorption of lysozyme and fibrinogen at multiple concentrations, as well as the ability to detect avidin in a concentration-dependent fashion. Ellipsometry, contact angle measurement, fluorescence microscopy, and optical resonator characterization methods were used to study non-specific adsorption, the quality of the functionalized surface, and the biosensor’s performance. Using a recognition element ratio to nonfouling element ratio of 1:1, we showed that non-specific adsorption could be significantly reduced over the controls, and that high sensitivity could be maintained. Due to the frequent use of biotin-avidin-biotin sandwich complexes in functionalizing sensor surfaces with biotin-labeled recognition elements, this chemistry could provide a common basis for creating a non-fouling surface capable of targeted detection. This should improve the ability of WGM optical biosensors to operate in complex environments, extending their application towards real-world detection. Full article

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

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19 pages, 1352 KiB

Open AccessArticle

MOS-FET as a Current Sensor in Power Electronics Converters

by Rok Pajer¹, Miro Milanoviĉ¹

, Branko Premzel² and Miran Rodiĉ^1,*

¹ Faculty of Electrical engineering and computer sciences, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia

² Piktronik, Cesta k Tamu 17, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18061-18079; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818061 - 24 Jul 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 8558

Abstract

This paper presents a current sensing principle appropriate for use in power electronics’ converters. This current measurement principle has been developed for metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOS-FET) and is based on U_DS voltage measurement. In practice, shunt resistors and Hall [...] Read more.

This paper presents a current sensing principle appropriate for use in power electronics’ converters. This current measurement principle has been developed for metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOS-FET) and is based on U_DS voltage measurement. In practice, shunt resistors and Hall effect sensors are usually used for these purposes, but the presented principle has many advantages. There is no need for additional circuit elements within high current paths, causing parasitic inductances and increased production complexity. The temperature dependence of MOS-FETs conductive resistance R_DS−ON is considered in order to achieve the appropriate measurement accuracy. The “MOS-FET sensor” is also accompanied by a signal acquisition electronics circuit with an appropriate frequency bandwidth. The obtained analogue signal is therefore interposed to an A-D converter for further data acquisition. In order to achieve sufficient accuracy, a temperature compensation and appropriate approximation is used (R_DS−ON = R_DS_−ON(V_j)). The MOS-FET sensor is calibrated according to a reference sensor based on the Hall-effect principle. The program algorithm is executed on 32-bit ARM M4 MCU, STM32F407. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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22 pages, 9083 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Reconfiguration of a RGBD Sensor Based on QoS and QoC Requirements in Distributed Systems

by Eduardo Munera^†, Jose-Luis Poza-Lujan^*,†, Juan-Luis Posadas-Yagüe^†, José-Enrique Simó-Ten^† and Juan Fco. Blanes Noguera^†

¹ University Institute of Control Systems and Industrial Computing (ai2), Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), Camino de Vera, Valencia 46022, Spain

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18080-18101; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818080 - 24 Jul 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5523

Abstract

The inclusion of embedded sensors into a networked system provides useful information for many applications. A Distributed Control System (DCS) is one of the clearest examples where processing and communications are constrained by the client’s requirements and the capacity of the system. An [...] Read more.

The inclusion of embedded sensors into a networked system provides useful information for many applications. A Distributed Control System (DCS) is one of the clearest examples where processing and communications are constrained by the client’s requirements and the capacity of the system. An embedded sensor with advanced processing and communications capabilities supplies high level information, abstracting from the data acquisition process and objects recognition mechanisms. The implementation of an embedded sensor/actuator as a Smart Resource permits clients to access sensor information through distributed network services. Smart resources can offer sensor services as well as computing, communications and peripheral access by implementing a self-aware based adaptation mechanism which adapts the execution profile to the context. On the other hand, information integrity must be ensured when computing processes are dynamically adapted. Therefore, the processing must be adapted to perform tasks in a certain lapse of time but always ensuring a minimum process quality. In the same way, communications must try to reduce the data traffic without excluding relevant information. The main objective of the paper is to present a dynamic configuration mechanism to adapt the sensor processing and communication to the client’s requirements in the DCS. This paper describes an implementation of a smart resource based on a Red, Green, Blue, and Depth (RGBD) sensor in order to test the dynamic configuration mechanism presented. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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12 pages, 1631 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Surface and Electrical Characterization of Ag/AgCl Pseudo-Reference Electrodes Manufactured with Commercially Available PCB Technologies

by Despina Moschou^*, Tatiana Trantidou, Anna Regoutz, Daniela Carta, Hywel Morgan and Themistoklis Prodromakis

Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology Research Group, Southampton Nanofabrication Centre, Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ Southampton, UK

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18102-18113; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818102 - 24 Jul 2015

Cited by 43 | Viewed by 12618

Abstract

Lab-on-Chip is a technology that could potentially revolutionize medical Point-of-Care diagnostics. Considerable research effort is focused towards innovating production technologies that will make commercial upscaling financially viable. Printed circuit board manufacturing techniques offer several prospects in this field. Here, we present a novel [...] Read more.

Lab-on-Chip is a technology that could potentially revolutionize medical Point-of-Care diagnostics. Considerable research effort is focused towards innovating production technologies that will make commercial upscaling financially viable. Printed circuit board manufacturing techniques offer several prospects in this field. Here, we present a novel approach to manufacturing Printed Circuit Board (PCB)-based Ag/AgCl reference electrodes, an essential component of biosensors. Our prototypes were characterized both structurally and electrically. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to evaluate the electrode surface characteristics. Electrical characterization was performed to determine stability and pH dependency. Finally, we demonstrate utilization along with PCB pH sensors, as a step towards a fully integrated PCB platform, comparing performance with discrete commercial reference electrodes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Chemical Sensors)

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26 pages, 2709 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Air Temperature Error Correction Based on Solar Radiation in an Economical Meteorological Wireless Sensor Network

by Xingming Sun^1,2,3, Shuangshuang Yan^1,2,*, Baowei Wang^1,2,3,*, Li Xia⁴, Qi Liu^1,2,3 and Hui Zhang⁵

¹ Jiangsu Engineering Center of Network Monitoring, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China

² College of Computer & Software, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China

³ Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center on Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, Nanjing 210044, China

⁴ Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China

⁵ Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaian 223003, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18114-18139; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818114 - 24 Jul 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6868

Abstract

Air temperature (AT) is an extremely vital factor in meteorology, agriculture, military, etc., being used for the prediction of weather disasters, such as drought, flood, frost, etc. Many efforts have been made to monitor the temperature of the atmosphere, like automatic weather stations [...] Read more.

Air temperature (AT) is an extremely vital factor in meteorology, agriculture, military, etc., being used for the prediction of weather disasters, such as drought, flood, frost, etc. Many efforts have been made to monitor the temperature of the atmosphere, like automatic weather stations (AWS). Nevertheless, due to the high cost of specialized AT sensors, they cannot be deployed within a large spatial density. A novel method named the meteorology wireless sensor network relying on a sensing node has been proposed for the purpose of reducing the cost of AT monitoring. However, the temperature sensor on the sensing node can be easily influenced by environmental factors. Previous research has confirmed that there is a close relation between AT and solar radiation (SR). Therefore, this paper presents a method to decrease the error of sensed AT, taking SR into consideration. In this work, we analyzed all of the collected data of AT and SR in May 2014 and found the numerical correspondence between AT error (ATE) and SR. This corresponding relation was used to calculate real-time ATE according to real-time SR and to correct the error of AT in other months. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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13 pages, 1350 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On the Accuracy Potential in Underwater/Multimedia Photogrammetry

by Hans-Gerd Maas

TU Dresden, Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Helmholtzstr. 10, D-01069 Dresden, Germany

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18140-18152; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818140 - 24 Jul 2015

Cited by 84 | Viewed by 8764

Abstract

Underwater applications of photogrammetric measurement techniques usually need to deal with multimedia photogrammetry aspects, which are characterized by the necessity of handling optical rays that are refracted at interfaces between optical media with different refractive indices according to Snell’s Law. This so-called multimedia [...] Read more.

Underwater applications of photogrammetric measurement techniques usually need to deal with multimedia photogrammetry aspects, which are characterized by the necessity of handling optical rays that are refracted at interfaces between optical media with different refractive indices according to Snell’s Law. This so-called multimedia geometry has to be incorporated into geometric models in order to achieve correct measurement results. The paper shows a flexible yet strict geometric model for the handling of refraction effects on the optical path, which can be implemented as a module into photogrammetric standard tools such as spatial resection, spatial intersection, bundle adjustment or epipolar line computation. The module is especially well suited for applications, where an object in water is observed by cameras in air through one or more planar glass interfaces, as it allows for some simplifications here. In the second part of the paper, several aspects, which are relevant for an assessment of the accuracy potential in underwater/multimedia photogrammetry, are discussed. These aspects include network geometry and interface planarity issues as well as effects caused by refractive index variations and dispersion and diffusion under water. All these factors contribute to a rather significant degradation of the geometric accuracy potential in underwater/multimedia photogrammetry. In practical experiments, a degradation of the quality of results by a factor two could be determined under relatively favorable conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Techniques for 3D Object Modeling in Underwater Environments)

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14 pages, 2041 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Insights on Capacitive Interdigitated Electrodes Coated with MOF Thin Films: Humidity and VOCs Sensing as a Case Study

by Christos Sapsanis¹, Hesham Omran^1,*, Valeriya Chernikova², Osama Shekhah², Youssef Belmabkhout², Ulrich Buttner¹, Mohamed Eddaoudi² and Khaled N. Salama¹

¹ Sensors Lab, Electrical Engineering Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia

² Advanced Membranes & Porous Materials Center, Chemical Science Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18153-18166; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818153 - 24 Jul 2015

Cited by 130 | Viewed by 16275

Abstract

A prototypical metal-organic framework (MOF), a 2D periodic porous structure based on the assembly of copper ions and benzene dicarboxylate (bdc) ligands (Cu(bdc)·xH₂O), was grown successfully as a thin film on interdigitated electrodes (IDEs). IDEs have been used for achieving planar [...] Read more.

A prototypical metal-organic framework (MOF), a 2D periodic porous structure based on the assembly of copper ions and benzene dicarboxylate (bdc) ligands (Cu(bdc)·xH₂O), was grown successfully as a thin film on interdigitated electrodes (IDEs). IDEs have been used for achieving planar CMOS-compatible low-cost capacitive sensing structures for the detection of humidity and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Accordingly, the resultant IDEs coated with the Cu(bdc)·xH₂O thin film was evaluated, for the first time, as a capacitive sensor for gas sensing applications. A fully automated setup, using LabVIEW interfaces to experiment conduction and data acquisition, was developed in order to measure the associated gas sensing performance. Full article

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

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11 pages, 2827 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Micro-Preconcentrator Combined Olfactory Sensing System with a Micromechanical Cantilever Sensor for Detecting 2,4-Dinitrotoluene Gas Vapor

by Myung-Sic Chae^1,2,†, Jinsik Kim^1,†, Yong Kyoung Yoo^1,3, Ji Yoon Kang¹, Jeong Hoon Lee^3,*

and Kyo Seon Hwang^1,*

¹ Center for BioMicrosystems, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 136-791, Korea

² School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, Korea

³ Department of Electrical Engineering, Kwangwoon University, Seoul 139-701, Korea

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18167-18177; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818167 - 24 Jul 2015

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 8358

Abstract

Preventing unexpected explosive attacks and tracing explosion-related molecules require the development of highly sensitive gas-vapor detection systems. For that purpose, a micromechanical cantilever-based olfactory sensing system including a sample preconcentrator was developed to detect 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), which is a well-known by-product of the [...] Read more.

Preventing unexpected explosive attacks and tracing explosion-related molecules require the development of highly sensitive gas-vapor detection systems. For that purpose, a micromechanical cantilever-based olfactory sensing system including a sample preconcentrator was developed to detect 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), which is a well-known by-product of the explosive molecule trinitrotoluene (TNT) and exists in concentrations on the order of parts per billion in the atmosphere at room temperature. A peptide receptor (His-Pro-Asn-Phe-Ser-Lys-Tyr-Ile-Leu-His-Gln-Arg) that has high binding affinity for 2,4-DNT was immobilized on the surface of the cantilever sensors to detect 2,4-DNT vapor for highly selective detection. A micro-preconcentrator (µPC) was developed using Tenax-TA adsorbent to produce higher concentrations of 2,4-DNT molecules. The preconcentration was achieved via adsorption and thermal desorption phenomena occurring between target molecules and the adsorbent. The µPC directly integrated with a cantilever sensor and enhanced the sensitivity of the cantilever sensor as a pretreatment tool for the target vapor. The response was rapidly saturated within 5 min and sustained for more than 10 min when the concentrated vapor was introduced. By calculating preconcentration factor values, we verified that the cantilever sensor provides up to an eightfold improvement in sensing performance. Full article

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

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19 pages, 1050 KiB

Open AccessReview

Twenty Years of Rad-Hard K14 SPAD in Space Projects

by Vojtěch Michálek^*, Ivan Procházka^* and Josef Blažej

Dept. of Physical Electronics, Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Břehová 7, 115 19 Prague 1, Czech Republic

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18178-18196; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818178 - 24 Jul 2015

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 7339

Abstract

During last two decades, several photon counting detectors have been developed in our laboratory. One of the most promising detector coming from our group silicon K14 Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) is presented with its valuable features and space applications. Based on the [...] Read more.

During last two decades, several photon counting detectors have been developed in our laboratory. One of the most promising detector coming from our group silicon K14 Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) is presented with its valuable features and space applications. Based on the control electronics, it can be operated in both gated and non-gated mode. Although it was designed for photon counting detection, it can be employed for multiphoton detection as well. With respect to control electronics employed, the timing jitter can be as low as 20 ps RMS. Detection efficiency is about 40%in range of 500 nm to 800 nm. The detector including gating and quenching circuitry has outstanding timing stability. Due to its radiation resistivity, the diode withstands 100 krad gamma ray dose without parameters degradation. Single photon detectors based on K14 SPAD were used for planetary altimeter and atmospheric lidar in MARS92/96 and Mars Surveyor ’98 space projects, respectively. Recent space applications of K14 SPAD comprises LIDAR and mainly time transfer between ground stations and artificial satellites. These include Laser Time Transfer, Time Transfer by Laser Link, and European Laser Timing projects. Full article

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

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12 pages, 1644 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Colorimetric Sensor Array for White Wine Tasting

by Soo Chung^1,†, Tu San Park^2,†, Soo Hyun Park^1,3, Joon Yong Kim¹, Seongmin Park¹, Daesik Son¹, Young Min Bae^4,* and Seong In Cho^1,3,*

¹ Department of Biosystems & Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-921, Korea

² Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, University of Arizona, 1177 E. 4th St., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA

³ Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-921, Korea

⁴ Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do 426-910, Korea

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18197-18208; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818197 - 24 Jul 2015

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 9725

Abstract

A colorimetric sensor array was developed to characterize and quantify the taste of white wines. A charge-coupled device (CCD) camera captured images of the sensor array from 23 different white wine samples, and the change in the R, G, B color components from [...] Read more.

A colorimetric sensor array was developed to characterize and quantify the taste of white wines. A charge-coupled device (CCD) camera captured images of the sensor array from 23 different white wine samples, and the change in the R, G, B color components from the control were analyzed by principal component analysis. Additionally, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to analyze the chemical components of each wine sample responsible for its taste. A two-dimensional score plot was created with 23 data points. It revealed clusters created from the same type of grape, and trends of sweetness, sourness, and astringency were mapped. An artificial neural network model was developed to predict the degree of sweetness, sourness, and astringency of the white wines. The coefficients of determination (R²) for the HPLC results and the sweetness, sourness, and astringency were 0.96, 0.95, and 0.83, respectively. This research could provide a simple and low-cost but sensitive taste prediction system, and, by helping consumer selection, will be able to have a positive effect on the wine industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Chemical Sensors)

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20 pages, 1147 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Distance-Constraint k-Nearest Neighbor Searching in Mobile Sensor Networks

by Yongkoo Han, Kisung Park, Jihye Hong, Noor Ulamin and Young-Koo Lee^*

Department of Computer Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Suwon 446-701, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18209-18228; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818209 - 27 Jul 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5856

Abstract

The κ -Nearest Neighbors ( κNN) query is an important spatial query in mobile sensor networks. In this work we extend κNN to include a distance constraint, calling it a l-distant κ-nearest-neighbors ( l-κNN) query, which finds the κ sensor nodes [...] Read more.

The κ -Nearest Neighbors ( κNN) query is an important spatial query in mobile sensor networks. In this work we extend κNN to include a distance constraint, calling it a l-distant κ-nearest-neighbors ( l-κNN) query, which finds the κ sensor nodes nearest to a query point that are also at or greater distance from each other. The query results indicate the objects nearest to the area of interest that are scattered from each other by at least distance l. The l-κNN query can be used in most κNN applications for the case of well distributed query results. To process an l-κNN query, we must discover all sets of κNN sensor nodes and then find all pairs of sensor nodes in each set that are separated by at least a distance l. Given the limited battery and computing power of sensor nodes, this l-κNN query processing is problematically expensive in terms of energy consumption. In this paper, we propose a greedy approach for l-κNN query processing in mobile sensor networks. The key idea of the proposed approach is to divide the search space into subspaces whose all sides are l. By selecting κ sensor nodes from the other subspaces near the query point, we guarantee accurate query results for l-κNN. In our experiments, we show that the proposed method exhibits superior performance compared with a post-processing based method using the κNN query in terms of energy efficiency, query latency, and accuracy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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10 pages, 1417 KiB

Open AccessArticle

In-Situ Cure Monitoring of Wind Turbine Blades by Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors and Fresnel Reflection Measurement

by Umesh Sampath, Hyunjin Kim, Dae-gil Kim, Young-Chon Kim

and Minho Song^*

Division of Electronics and Information Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18229-18238; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818229 - 27 Jul 2015

Cited by 49 | Viewed by 7393

Abstract

A fiber-optic cure monitoring system is proposed to measure curing status of composite structure such as a large scale wind turbine blade. The monitoring is based on the measurement of Fresnel reflectivity at the optical fiber/epoxy resin interface. The refractive index of epoxy [...] Read more.

A fiber-optic cure monitoring system is proposed to measure curing status of composite structure such as a large scale wind turbine blade. The monitoring is based on the measurement of Fresnel reflectivity at the optical fiber/epoxy resin interface. The refractive index of epoxy resin varies throughout curing stages, changing the Fresnel reflectivity. The curing status is decided by monitoring the reflected intensity variation. The usage of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor helps to separate the temperature-induced cross effects. A Gaussian curve fitting algorithm was applied to FBG spectra which were distorted in curing procedure. The substantial measurement errors could be minimized by locating the centroids of the Gaussian curve-fitted spectra. From the experiments performed in various isothermal conditions, the proposed system successfully identified the onset of gelation and the completion of curing of epoxy resins. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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17 pages, 833 KiB

Open AccessReview

Sol-Gel Material-Enabled Electro-Optic Polymer Modulators

by Roland Himmelhuber^1,*, Robert A. Norwood¹, Yasufumi Enami² and Nasser Peyghambarian¹

¹ College of Optical Sciences, The University of Arizona, 1630 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA

² School of System Engineering, Kochi University of Technology, 185 Miyanoguchi Tosayamada, Kochi 782-8502, Japan

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18239-18255; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818239 - 27 Jul 2015

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 7296

Abstract

Sol-gels are an important material class, as they provide easy modification of material properties, good processability and are easy to synthesize. In general, an electro-optic (EO) modulator transforms an electrical signal into an optical signal. The incoming electrical signal is most commonly information [...] Read more.

Sol-gels are an important material class, as they provide easy modification of material properties, good processability and are easy to synthesize. In general, an electro-optic (EO) modulator transforms an electrical signal into an optical signal. The incoming electrical signal is most commonly information encoded in a voltage change. This voltage change is then transformed into either a phase change or an intensity change in the light signal. The less voltage needed to drive the modulator and the lower the optical loss, the higher the link gain and, therefore, the better the performance of the modulator. In this review, we will show how sol-gels can be used to enhance the performance of electro-optic modulators by allowing for designs with low optical loss, increased poling efficiency and manipulation of the electric field used for driving the modulator. The optical loss is influenced by the propagation loss in the device, as well as the losses occurring during fiber coupling in and out of the device. In both cases, the use of sol-gel materials can be beneficial due to the wide range of available refractive indices and low optical attenuation. The influence of material properties and synthesis conditions on the device performance will be discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sol-Gel Based Sensors and Devices)

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14 pages, 3569 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optical Characterization of Lorentz Force Based CMOS-MEMS Magnetic Field Sensor

by John Ojur Dennis^1,*, Farooq Ahmad^2,*, M. Haris Bin Md Khir² and Nor Hisham Bin Hamid²

¹ Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610 Tronoh, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia

² Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610 Tronoh, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18256-18269; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818256 - 27 Jul 2015

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6589

Abstract

Magnetic field sensors are becoming an essential part of everyday life due to the improvements in their sensitivities and resolutions, while at the same time they have become compact, smaller in size and economical. In the work presented herein a Lorentz force based [...] Read more.

Magnetic field sensors are becoming an essential part of everyday life due to the improvements in their sensitivities and resolutions, while at the same time they have become compact, smaller in size and economical. In the work presented herein a Lorentz force based CMOS-MEMS magnetic field sensor is designed, fabricated and optically characterized. The sensor is fabricated by using CMOS thin layers and dry post micromachining is used to release the device structure and finally the sensor chip is packaged in DIP. The sensor consists of a shuttle which is designed to resonate in the lateral direction (first mode of resonance). In the presence of an external magnetic field, the Lorentz force actuates the shuttle in the lateral direction and the amplitude of resonance is measured using an optical method. The differential change in the amplitude of the resonating shuttle shows the strength of the external magnetic field. The resonance frequency of the shuttle is determined to be 8164 Hz experimentally and from the resonance curve, the quality factor and damping ratio are obtained. In an open environment, the quality factor and damping ratio are found to be 51.34 and 0.00973 respectively. The sensitivity of the sensor is determined in static mode to be 0.034 µm/mT when a current of 10 mA passes through the shuttle, while it is found to be higher at resonance with a value of 1.35 µm/mT at 8 mA current. Finally, the resolution of the sensor is found to be 370.37 µT. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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17 pages, 879 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Comparative Study on the Suitability of Smartphones and IMU for Mobile, Unsupervised Energy Expenditure Calculi

by Angel Ruiz-Zafra^*, Eva Orantes-González, Manuel Noguera

, Kawtar Benghazi and Jose Heredia-Jimenez

University of Granada, Avda. del Hospicio, Granada 18071, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18270-18286; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818270 - 27 Jul 2015

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6174

Abstract

The metabolic equivalent of task (MET) is currently the most used indicator for measuring the energy expenditure (EE) of a physical activity (PA) and has become an important measure for determining and supervising a person’s state of health. The use of new devices [...] Read more.

The metabolic equivalent of task (MET) is currently the most used indicator for measuring the energy expenditure (EE) of a physical activity (PA) and has become an important measure for determining and supervising a person’s state of health. The use of new devices which are capable of measuring inertial movements by means of built-in accelerometers enable the PA to be measured objectively on the basis of the reckoning of “counts”. These devices are also known as inertial measurement units (IMUs) and each count is an aggregated value indicating the intensity of a movement and can be used in conjunction with other parameters to determine the MET rate of a particular physical activity and thus it’s associated EE. Various types of inertial devices currently exist that enable count calculus and physical activity to be monitored. The advent of mobile devices, such as smartphones, with empowered computation capabilities and integrated inertial sensors, has enabled EE to be measure in a distributed, ubiquitous and natural way, thereby overcoming the reluctance of users and practitioners associated with in-lab studies. From the point of view of the process analysis and infrastructure needed to manage data from inertial devices, there are also various differences in count computing: extra devices are required, out-of-device processing, etc. This paper presents a study to discover whether the estimation of energy expenditure is dependent on the accelerometer of the device used in measurements and to discover the suitability of each device for performing certain physical activities. In order to achieve this objective, we have conducted several experiments with different subjects on the basis of the performance of various daily activities with different smartphones and IMUs. 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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15 pages, 963 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Distributed Synchronization Technique for OFDMA-Based Wireless Mesh Networks Using a Bio-Inspired Algorithm

by Mi Jeong Kim, Sung Joon Maeng and Yong Soo Cho^*

School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18287-18301; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818287 - 28 Jul 2015

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4882

Abstract

In this paper, a distributed synchronization technique based on a bio-inspired algorithm is proposed for an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA)-based wireless mesh network (WMN) with a time difference of arrival. The proposed time- and frequency-synchronization technique uses only the signals received [...] Read more.

In this paper, a distributed synchronization technique based on a bio-inspired algorithm is proposed for an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA)-based wireless mesh network (WMN) with a time difference of arrival. The proposed time- and frequency-synchronization technique uses only the signals received from the neighbor nodes, by considering the effect of the propagation delay between the nodes. It achieves a fast synchronization with a relatively low computational complexity because it is operated in a distributed manner, not requiring any feedback channel for the compensation of the propagation delays. In addition, a self-organization scheme that can be effectively used to construct 1-hop neighbor nodes is proposed for an OFDMA-based WMN with a large number of nodes. The performance of the proposed technique is evaluated with regard to the convergence property and synchronization success probability using a computer simulation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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13 pages, 1840 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Different Sensitive Behaviors of a Hydrogen-Bond Acidic Polymer-Coated SAW Sensor for Chemical Warfare Agents and Their Simulants

by Yin Long, Yang Wang, Xiaosong Du^*, Luhua Cheng, Penglin Wu and Yadong Jiang

State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Information, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu 610054, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18302-18314; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818302 - 28 Jul 2015

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 7520

Abstract

A linear hydrogen-bond acidic (HBA) linear functionalized polymer (PLF), was deposited onto a bare surface acoustic wave (SAW) device to fabricate a chemical sensor. Real-time responses of the sensor to a series of compounds including sarin (GB), dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), mustard gas (HD), [...] Read more.

A linear hydrogen-bond acidic (HBA) linear functionalized polymer (PLF), was deposited onto a bare surface acoustic wave (SAW) device to fabricate a chemical sensor. Real-time responses of the sensor to a series of compounds including sarin (GB), dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), mustard gas (HD), chloroethyl ethyl sulphide (2-CEES), 1,5-dichloropentane (DCP) and some organic solvents were studied. The results show that the sensor is highly sensitive to GB and DMMP, and has low sensitivity to HD and DCP, as expected. However, the sensor possesses an unexpected high sensitivity toward 2-CEES. This good sensing performance can’t be solely or mainly attributed to the dipole-dipole interaction since the sensor is not sensitive to some high polarity solvents. We believe the lone pair electrons around the sulphur atom of 2-CEES provide an electron-rich site, which facilitates the formation of hydrogen bonding between PLF and 2-CEES. On the contrary, the electron cloud on the sulphur atom of the HD molecule is offset or depleted by its two neighbouring strong electron-withdrawing groups, hence, hydrogen bonding can hardly be formed. Full article

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

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19 pages, 2771 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Non-Contact Measurement System for the Range of Motion of the Hand

by Trieu Pham^1,*, Pubudu N. Pathirana¹, Hieu Trinh¹ and Pearse Fay²

¹ School of Engineering, Faculty of Science, Engineering & Built Environment, Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia

² School of Health and Social Development Occupational Therapy, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Australia

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18315-18333; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818315 - 28 Jul 2015

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 18315

Abstract

An accurate and standardised tool to measure the active range of motion (ROM) of the hand is essential to any progressive assessment scenario in hand therapy practice. Goniometers are widely used in clinical settings for measuring the ROM of the hand. However, such [...] Read more.

An accurate and standardised tool to measure the active range of motion (ROM) of the hand is essential to any progressive assessment scenario in hand therapy practice. Goniometers are widely used in clinical settings for measuring the ROM of the hand. However, such measurements have limitations with regard to inter-rater and intra-rater reliability and involve direct physical contact with the hand, possibly increasing the risk of transmitting infections. The system proposed in this paper is the first non-contact measurement system utilising Intel Perceptual Technology and a Senz3D Camera for measuring phalangeal joint angles. To enhance the accuracy of the system, we developed a new approach to achieve the total active movement without measuring three joint angles individually. An equation between the actual spacial position and measurement value of the proximal inter-phalangeal joint was established through the measurement values of the total active movement, so that its actual position can be inferred. Verified by computer simulations, experimental results demonstrated a significant improvement in the calculation of the total active movement and successfully recovered the actual position of the proximal inter-phalangeal joint angles. A trial that was conducted to examine the clinical applicability of the system involving 40 healthy subjects confirmed the practicability and consistency in the proposed system. The time efficiency conveyed a stronger argument for this system to replace the current practice of using goniometers. Full article

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

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26 pages, 1800 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Feasibility of Using Synthetic Aperture Radar to Aid UAV Navigation

by Davide O. Nitti¹

, Fabio Bovenga^2,*, Maria T. Chiaradia³, Mario Greco⁴ and Gianpaolo Pinelli⁴

¹ Geophysical Applications Processing s.r.l., Via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari, Italy

² National Research Council of Italy, ISSIA institute, Via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari, Italy

³ Dipartimento di Fisica "M. Merlin", Politecnico di Bari, Via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari, Italy

⁴ IDS—Ingegneria Dei Sistemi S.p.A., Via Enrica Calabresi 24, 56121 Pisa, Italy

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18334-18359; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818334 - 28 Jul 2015

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 9184

Abstract

This study explores the potential of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to aid Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) navigation when Inertial Navigation System (INS) measurements are not accurate enough to eliminate drifts from a planned trajectory. This problem can affect medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV class, [...] Read more.

This study explores the potential of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to aid Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) navigation when Inertial Navigation System (INS) measurements are not accurate enough to eliminate drifts from a planned trajectory. This problem can affect medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV class, which permits heavy and wide payloads (as required by SAR) and flights for thousands of kilometres accumulating large drifts. The basic idea is to infer position and attitude of an aerial platform by inspecting both amplitude and phase of SAR images acquired onboard. For the amplitude-based approach, the system navigation corrections are obtained by matching the actual coordinates of ground landmarks with those automatically extracted from the SAR image. When the use of SAR amplitude is unfeasible, the phase content can be exploited through SAR interferometry by using a reference Digital Terrain Model (DTM). A feasibility analysis was carried out to derive system requirements by exploring both radiometric and geometric parameters of the acquisition setting. We showed that MALE UAV, specific commercial navigation sensors and SAR systems, typical landmark position accuracy and classes, and available DTMs lead to estimated UAV coordinates with errors bounded within ±12 m, thus making feasible the proposed SAR-based backup system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue UAV Sensors for Environmental Monitoring)

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21 pages, 4705 KiB

Open AccessArticle

From Laser Scanning to Finite Element Analysis of Complex Buildings by Using a Semi-Automatic Procedure

by Giovanni Castellazzi^*, Antonio Maria D'Altri, Gabriele Bitelli, Ilenia Selvaggi and Alessandro Lambertini

Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering (DICAM), University of Bologna, V.le Risorgimento 2, Bologna 40136, Italy

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18360-18380; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818360 - 28 Jul 2015

Cited by 184 | Viewed by 11491

Abstract

In this paper, a new semi-automatic procedure to transform three-dimensional point clouds of complex objects to three-dimensional finite element models is presented and validated. The procedure conceives of the point cloud as a stacking of point sections. The complexity of the clouds is [...] Read more.

In this paper, a new semi-automatic procedure to transform three-dimensional point clouds of complex objects to three-dimensional finite element models is presented and validated. The procedure conceives of the point cloud as a stacking of point sections. The complexity of the clouds is arbitrary, since the procedure is designed for terrestrial laser scanner surveys applied to buildings with irregular geometry, such as historical buildings. The procedure aims at solving the problems connected to the generation of finite element models of these complex structures by constructing a fine discretized geometry with a reduced amount of time and ready to be used with structural analysis. If the starting clouds represent the inner and outer surfaces of the structure, the resulting finite element model will accurately capture the whole three-dimensional structure, producing a complex solid made by voxel elements. A comparison analysis with a CAD-based model is carried out on a historical building damaged by a seismic event. The results indicate that the proposed procedure is effective and obtains comparable models in a shorter time, with an increased level of automation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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21 pages, 2851 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tip Effect of the Tapping Mode of Atomic Force Microscope in Viscous Fluid Environments

by Hua-Ju Shih and Po-Jen Shih^*

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Kaohsiung, No. 700, Kaohsiung University Rd., Nanzih District, 81148 Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18381-18401; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818381 - 28 Jul 2015

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4610

Abstract

Atomic force microscope with applicable types of operation in a liquid environment is widely used to scan the contours of biological specimens. The contact mode of operation allows a tip to touch a specimen directly but sometimes it damages the specimen; thus, a [...] Read more.

Atomic force microscope with applicable types of operation in a liquid environment is widely used to scan the contours of biological specimens. The contact mode of operation allows a tip to touch a specimen directly but sometimes it damages the specimen; thus, a tapping mode of operation may replace the contact mode. The tapping mode triggers the cantilever of the microscope approximately at resonance frequencies, and so the tip periodically knocks the specimen. It is well known that the cantilever induces extra liquid pressure that leads to drift in the resonance frequency. Studies have noted that the heights of protein surfaces measured via the tapping mode of an atomic force microscope are ~25% smaller than those measured by other methods. This discrepancy may be attributable to the induced superficial hydrodynamic pressure, which is worth investigating. In this paper, we introduce a semi-analytical method to analyze the pressure distribution of various tip geometries. According to our analysis, the maximum hydrodynamic pressure on the specimen caused by a cone-shaped tip is ~0.5 Pa, which can, for example, pre-deform a cell by several nanometers in compression before the tip taps it. Moreover, the pressure calculated on the surface of the specimen is 20 times larger than the pressure without considering the tip effect; these results have not been motioned in other papers. Dominating factors, such as surface heights of protein surface, mechanical stiffness of protein increasing with loading velocity, and radius of tip affecting the local pressure of specimen, are also addressed in this study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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14 pages, 427 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Speed Compensation Method for ISAR Imaging with Low SNR

by Yongxiang Liu^*, Shuanghui Zhang, Dekang Zhu and Xiang Li

College of Electronic Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18402-18415; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818402 - 28 Jul 2015

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5718

Abstract

In this paper, two novel speed compensation algorithms for ISAR imaging under a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) condition have been proposed, which are based on the cubic phase function (CPF) and the integrated cubic phase function (ICPF), respectively. These two algorithms can estimate [...] Read more.

In this paper, two novel speed compensation algorithms for ISAR imaging under a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) condition have been proposed, which are based on the cubic phase function (CPF) and the integrated cubic phase function (ICPF), respectively. These two algorithms can estimate the speed of the target from the wideband radar echo directly, which breaks the limitation of speed measuring in a radar system. With the utilization of non-coherent accumulation, the ICPF-based speed compensation algorithm is robust to noise and can meet the requirement of speed compensation for ISAR imaging under a low SNR condition. Moreover, a fast searching implementation strategy, which consists of coarse search and precise search, has been introduced to decrease the computational burden of speed compensation based on CPF and ICPF. Experimental results based on radar data validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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11 pages, 1953 KiB

Open AccessArticle

AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistor-Based Biosensor for the Detection of C-Reactive Protein

by Hee Ho Lee, Myunghan Bae, Sung-Hyun Jo, Jang-Kyoo Shin^*, Dong Hyeok Son, Chul-Ho Won, Hyun-Min Jeong, Jung-Hee Lee and Shin-Won Kang

School of Electronics Engineering, Kyunpook National University, 80 Daehakro, Buk-gu, Daegu 702-701, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18416-18426; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818416 - 28 Jul 2015

Cited by 47 | Viewed by 11842

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT)-based biosensor for the detection of C-reactive protein (CRP) using a null-balancing circuit. A null-balancing circuit was used to measure the output voltage of the sensor directly. The output voltage of the [...] Read more.

In this paper, we propose an AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT)-based biosensor for the detection of C-reactive protein (CRP) using a null-balancing circuit. A null-balancing circuit was used to measure the output voltage of the sensor directly. The output voltage of the proposed biosensor was varied by antigen-antibody interactions on the gate surface due to CRP charges. The AlGaN/GaN HFET-based biosensor with null-balancing circuit applied shows that CRP can be detected in a wide range of concentrations, varying from 10 ng/mL to 1000 ng/mL. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was carried out to verify the immobilization of self-assembled monolayer with Au on the gated region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)

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16 pages, 3407 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Automated Mobile System for Accurate Outdoor Tree Crop Enumeration Using an Uncalibrated Camera

by Thuy Tuong Nguyen^1,*, David C. Slaughter^2,*, Bradley D. Hanson³, Andrew Barber², Amy Freitas², Daniel Robles² and Erin Whelan²

¹ Department of Computer Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA

² Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA

³ Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18427-18442; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818427 - 28 Jul 2015

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6314

Abstract

This paper demonstrates an automated computer vision system for outdoor tree crop enumeration in a seedling nursery. The complete system incorporates both hardware components (including an embedded microcontroller, an odometry encoder, and an uncalibrated digital color camera) and software algorithms (including microcontroller algorithms [...] Read more.

This paper demonstrates an automated computer vision system for outdoor tree crop enumeration in a seedling nursery. The complete system incorporates both hardware components (including an embedded microcontroller, an odometry encoder, and an uncalibrated digital color camera) and software algorithms (including microcontroller algorithms and the proposed algorithm for tree crop enumeration) required to obtain robust performance in a natural outdoor environment. The enumeration system uses a three-step image analysis process based upon: (1) an orthographic plant projection method integrating a perspective transform with automatic parameter estimation; (2) a plant counting method based on projection histograms; and (3) a double-counting avoidance method based on a homography transform. Experimental results demonstrate the ability to count large numbers of plants automatically with no human effort. Results show that, for tree seedlings having a height up to 40 cm and a within-row tree spacing of approximately 10 cm, the algorithms successfully estimated the number of plants with an average accuracy of 95.2% for trees within a single image and 98% for counting of the whole plant population in a large sequence of images. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agriculture and Forestry: Sensors, Technologies and Procedures)

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16 pages, 1651 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Accurate Calibration Method Based on Velocity in a Rotational Inertial Navigation System

by Qian Zhang, Lei Wang^*, Zengjun Liu and Peide Feng

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

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18443-18458; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818443 - 28 Jul 2015

Cited by 53 | Viewed by 7682

Abstract

Rotation modulation is an effective method to enhance the accuracy of an inertial navigation system (INS) by modulating the gyroscope drifts and accelerometer bias errors into periodically varying components. The typical RINS drives the inertial measurement unit (IMU) rotation along the vertical axis [...] Read more.

Rotation modulation is an effective method to enhance the accuracy of an inertial navigation system (INS) by modulating the gyroscope drifts and accelerometer bias errors into periodically varying components. The typical RINS drives the inertial measurement unit (IMU) rotation along the vertical axis and the horizontal sensors’ errors are modulated, however, the azimuth angle error is closely related to vertical gyro drift, and the vertical gyro drift also should be modulated effectively. In this paper, a new rotation strategy in a dual-axis rotational INS (RINS) is proposed and the drifts of three gyros could be modulated, respectively. Experimental results from a real dual-axis RINS demonstrate that the maximum azimuth angle error is decreased from 0.04° to less than 0.01° during 1 h. Most importantly, the changing of rotation strategy leads to some additional errors in the velocity which is unacceptable in a high-precision INS. Then the paper studies the basic reason underlying horizontal velocity errors in detail and a relevant new calibration method is designed. Experimental results show that after calibration and compensation, the fluctuation and stages in the velocity curve disappear and velocity precision is improved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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21 pages, 2381 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Decentralized Wireless Solution to Monitor and Diagnose PV Solar Module Performance Based on Symmetrized-Shifted Gompertz Functions

by Angel Molina-García^1,*

, José Carlos Campelo²

, Sara Blanc², Juan José Serrano², Tania García-Sánchez³ and María C. Bueso⁴

¹ Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, 30202 Cartagena, Spain

² Institute ITACA, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46071 Valencia, Spain

³ Renewable Energy Institute DEEEAC, Universidad de Castilla La-Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain

⁴ Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, 30202 Cartagena, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18459-18479; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818459 - 29 Jul 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 7066

Abstract

This paper proposes and assesses an integrated solution to monitor and diagnose photovoltaic (PV) solar modules based on a decentralized wireless sensor acquisition system. Both DC electrical variables and environmental data are collected at PV module level using low-cost and high-energy efficiency node [...] Read more.

This paper proposes and assesses an integrated solution to monitor and diagnose photovoltaic (PV) solar modules based on a decentralized wireless sensor acquisition system. Both DC electrical variables and environmental data are collected at PV module level using low-cost and high-energy efficiency node sensors. Data is real-time processed locally and compared with expected PV module performances obtained by a PV module model based on symmetrized-shifted Gompertz functions (as previously developed and assessed by the authors). Sensor nodes send data to a centralized sink-computing module using a multi-hop wireless sensor network architecture. Such integration thus provides extensive analysis of PV installations, and avoids off-line tests or post-processing processes. In comparison with previous approaches, this solution is enhanced with a low-cost system and non-critical performance constraints, and it is suitable for extensive deployment in PV power plants. Moreover, it is easily implemented in existing PV installations, since no additional wiring is required. The system has been implemented and assessed in a Spanish PV power plant connected to the grid. Results and estimations of PV module performances are also included in the paper. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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26 pages, 3165 KiB

Open AccessArticle

V-Alert: Description and Validation of a Vulnerable Road User Alert System in the Framework of a Smart City

by Unai Hernandez-Jayo^*, Idoia De-la-Iglesia^† and Jagoba Perez^†

¹ Deusto Institute of Technology (DeustoTech), University of Deusto, Bilbao 48007, Spain

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18480-18505; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818480 - 29 Jul 2015

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 7319

Abstract

V-Alert is a cooperative application to be deployed in the frame of Smart Cities with the aim of reducing the probability of accidents involving Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) and vehicles. The architecture of V-Alert combines short- and long-range communication technologies in order to [...] Read more.

V-Alert is a cooperative application to be deployed in the frame of Smart Cities with the aim of reducing the probability of accidents involving Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) and vehicles. The architecture of V-Alert combines short- and long-range communication technologies in order to provide more time to the drivers and VRU to take the appropriate maneuver and avoid a possible collision. The information generated by mobile sensors (vehicles and cyclists) is sent over this heterogeneous communication architecture and processed in a central server, the Drivers Cloud, which is in charge of generating the messages that are shown on the drivers’ and cyclists’ Human Machine Interface (HMI). First of all, V-Alert has been tested in a simulated scenario to check the communications architecture in a complex scenario and, once it was validated, all the elements of V-Alert have been moved to a real scenario to check the application reliability. All the results are shown along the length of this paper. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Smart Cities)

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20 pages, 2168 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Temporal and Spatial Denoising of Depth Maps

by Bor-Shing Lin^1,*

, Mei-Ju Su², Po-Hsun Cheng³, Po-Jui Tseng⁴ and Sao-Jie Chen⁴

¹ Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Taipei University, New Taipei City 23741, Taiwan

² Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Hsinchu 30015, Taiwan

³ Department of Software Engineering and Management, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung 82444, Taiwan

⁴ Graduate Institute of Electronics Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18506-18525; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818506 - 29 Jul 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6192

Abstract

This work presents a procedure for refining depth maps acquired using RGB-D (depth) cameras. With numerous new structured-light RGB-D cameras, acquiring high-resolution depth maps has become easy. However, there are problems such as undesired occlusion, inaccurate depth values, and temporal variation of pixel [...] Read more.

This work presents a procedure for refining depth maps acquired using RGB-D (depth) cameras. With numerous new structured-light RGB-D cameras, acquiring high-resolution depth maps has become easy. However, there are problems such as undesired occlusion, inaccurate depth values, and temporal variation of pixel values when using these cameras. In this paper, a proposed method based on an exemplar-based inpainting method is proposed to remove artefacts in depth maps obtained using RGB-D cameras. Exemplar-based inpainting has been used to repair an object-removed image. The concept underlying this inpainting method is similar to that underlying the procedure for padding the occlusions in the depth data obtained using RGB-D cameras. Therefore, our proposed method enhances and modifies the inpainting method for application in and the refinement of RGB-D depth data image quality. For evaluating the experimental results of the proposed method, our proposed method was tested on the Tsukuba Stereo Dataset, which contains a 3D video with the ground truths of depth maps, occlusion maps, RGB images, the peak signal-to-noise ratio, and the computational time as the evaluation metrics. Moreover, a set of self-recorded RGB-D depth maps and their refined versions are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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24 pages, 935 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Rapid Convergent Low Complexity Interference Alignment Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks

by Lihui Jiang¹, Zhilu Wu^1,*, Guanghui Ren¹, Gangyi Wang² and Nan Zhao³

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

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

³ School of Information and Communication Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18526-18549; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818526 - 29 Jul 2015

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4701

Abstract

Interference alignment (IA) is a novel technique that can effectively eliminate the interference and approach the sum capacity of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is high, by casting the desired signal and interference into different signal subspaces. The traditional [...] Read more.

Interference alignment (IA) is a novel technique that can effectively eliminate the interference and approach the sum capacity of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is high, by casting the desired signal and interference into different signal subspaces. The traditional alternating minimization interference leakage (AMIL) algorithm for IA shows good performance in high SNR regimes, however, the complexity of the AMIL algorithm increases dramatically as the number of users and antennas increases, posing limits to its applications in the practical systems. In this paper, a novel IA algorithm, called directional quartic optimal (DQO) algorithm, is proposed to minimize the interference leakage with rapid convergence and low complexity. The properties of the AMIL algorithm are investigated, and it is discovered that the difference between the two consecutive iteration results of the AMIL algorithm will approximately point to the convergence solution when the precoding and decoding matrices obtained from the intermediate iterations are sufficiently close to their convergence values. Based on this important property, the proposed DQO algorithm employs the line search procedure so that it can converge to the destination directly. In addition, the optimal step size can be determined analytically by optimizing a quartic function. Numerical results show that the proposed DQO algorithm can suppress the interference leakage more rapidly than the traditional AMIL algorithm, and can achieve the same level of sum rate as that of AMIL algorithm with far less iterations and execution time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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15 pages, 1138 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Parameter Estimation Methods for Alpha Stable Noise in a Laser Gyroscope’s Random Error

by Xueyun Wang¹, Kui Li^2,*, Pengyu Gao¹ and Suxia Meng³

¹ School of Instrumentation and Opto-electronics Engineering, Beihang University, No.37, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China

² School of Electric and Information Engineering, Beihang University, No.37, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China

³ School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, Beihang University, No.37, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18550-18564; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818550 - 29 Jul 2015

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 5227

Abstract

Alpha stable noise, determined by four parameters, has been found in the random error of a laser gyroscope. Accurate estimation of the four parameters is the key process for analyzing the properties of alpha stable noise. Three widely used estimation methods—quantile, empirical characteristic [...] Read more.

Alpha stable noise, determined by four parameters, has been found in the random error of a laser gyroscope. Accurate estimation of the four parameters is the key process for analyzing the properties of alpha stable noise. Three widely used estimation methods—quantile, empirical characteristic function (ECF) and logarithmic moment method—are analyzed in contrast with Monte Carlo simulation in this paper. The estimation accuracy and the application conditions of all methods, as well as the causes of poor estimation accuracy, are illustrated. Finally, the highest precision method, ECF, is applied to 27 groups of experimental data to estimate the parameters of alpha stable noise in a laser gyroscope’s random error. The cumulative probability density curve of the experimental data fitted by an alpha stable distribution is better than that by a Gaussian distribution, which verifies the existence of alpha stable noise in a laser gyroscope’s random error. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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14 pages, 1078 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Impedance Aptasensor with Microfluidic Chips for Specific Detection of H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

by Jacob Lum¹, Ronghui Wang², Billy Hargis³, Steve Tung⁴, Walter Bottje³, Huaguang Lu⁵ and Yanbin Li^2,3,*

¹ Cell and Molecular Biology Program, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA

² Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA

³ Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA

⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA

⁵ Animal Diagnostic Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18565-18578; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818565 - 29 Jul 2015

Cited by 75 | Viewed by 9410

Abstract

In this research a DNA aptamer, which was selected through SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) to be specific against the H5N1 subtype of the avian influenza virus (AIV), was used as an alternative reagent to monoclonal antibodies in an impedance [...] Read more.

In this research a DNA aptamer, which was selected through SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) to be specific against the H5N1 subtype of the avian influenza virus (AIV), was used as an alternative reagent to monoclonal antibodies in an impedance biosensor utilizing a microfluidics flow cell and an interdigitated microelectrode for the specific detection of H5N1 AIV. The gold surface of the interdigitated microelectrode embedded in a microfluidics flow cell was modified using streptavidin. The biotinylated aptamer against H5N1 was then immobilized on the electrode surface using biotin–streptavidin binding. The target virus was captured on the microelectrode surface, causing an increase in impedance magnitude. The aptasensor had a detection time of 30 min with a detection limit of 0.0128 hemagglutinin units (HAU). Scanning electron microscopy confirmed the binding of the target virus onto the electrode surface. The DNA aptamer was specific to H5N1 and had no cross-reaction to other subtypes of AIV (e.g., H1N1, H2N2, H7N2). The newly developed aptasensor offers a portable, rapid, low-cost alternative to current methods with the same sensitivity and specificity. Full article

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

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8 pages, 1515 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Stress Monitoring System with Fiber-Optic Mandrels and Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors in a Sagnac Loop

by Hyunjin Kim, Umesh Sampath and Minho Song^*

Division of Electronics and Information Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18579-18586; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818579 - 29 Jul 2015

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5506

Abstract

Fiber Bragg grating sensors are placed in a fiber-optic Sagnac loop to combine the grating temperature sensors and the fiber-optic mandrel acoustic emission sensors in single optical circuit. A wavelength-scanning fiber-optic laser is used as a common light source for both sensors. A [...] Read more.

Fiber Bragg grating sensors are placed in a fiber-optic Sagnac loop to combine the grating temperature sensors and the fiber-optic mandrel acoustic emission sensors in single optical circuit. A wavelength-scanning fiber-optic laser is used as a common light source for both sensors. A fiber-optic attenuator is placed at a specific position in the Sagnac loop in order to separate buried Bragg wavelengths from the Sagnac interferometer output. The Bragg wavelength shifts are measured with scanning band-pass filter demodulation and the mandrel output is analyzed by applying a fast Fourier transform to the interference signal. This hybrid-scheme could greatly reduce the size and the complexity of optical circuitry and signal processing unit, making it suitable for low cost multi-stress monitoring of large scale power systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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26 pages, 3367 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Structured Light-Based 3D Reconstruction System for Plants

by Thuy Tuong Nguyen^1,*, David C. Slaughter^2,*, Nelson Max¹, Julin N. Maloof³ and Neelima Sinha³

¹ Department of Computer Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA

² Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA

³ Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18587-18612; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818587 - 29 Jul 2015

Cited by 147 | Viewed by 17644

Abstract

Camera-based 3D reconstruction of physical objects is one of the most popular computer vision trends in recent years. Many systems have been built to model different real-world subjects, but there is lack of a completely robust system for plants. This paper presents a [...] Read more.

Camera-based 3D reconstruction of physical objects is one of the most popular computer vision trends in recent years. Many systems have been built to model different real-world subjects, but there is lack of a completely robust system for plants. This paper presents a full 3D reconstruction system that incorporates both hardware structures (including the proposed structured light system to enhance textures on object surfaces) and software algorithms (including the proposed 3D point cloud registration and plant feature measurement). This paper demonstrates the ability to produce 3D models of whole plants created from multiple pairs of stereo images taken at different viewing angles, without the need to destructively cut away any parts of a plant. The ability to accurately predict phenotyping features, such as the number of leaves, plant height, leaf size and internode distances, is also demonstrated. Experimental results show that, for plants having a range of leaf sizes and a distance between leaves appropriate for the hardware design, the algorithms successfully predict phenotyping features in the target crops, with a recall of 0.97 and a precision of 0.89 for leaf detection and less than a 13-mm error for plant size, leaf size and internode distance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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28 pages, 992 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Scalable and Cost-Effective Assignment of Mobile Crowdsensing Tasks Based on Profiling Trends and Prediction: The ParticipAct Living Lab Experience

by Paolo Bellavista

, Antonio Corradi, Luca Foschini^*

and Raffaele Ianniello

Dipartimento di Informatica—Scienza e Ingegneria (DISI), University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento, 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18613-18640; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818613 - 30 Jul 2015

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 7290

Abstract

Nowadays, sensor-rich smartphones potentially enable the harvesting of huge amounts of valuable sensing data in urban environments, by opportunistically involving citizens to play the role of mobile virtual sensors to cover Smart City areas of interest. This paper proposes an in-depth study of [...] Read more.

Nowadays, sensor-rich smartphones potentially enable the harvesting of huge amounts of valuable sensing data in urban environments, by opportunistically involving citizens to play the role of mobile virtual sensors to cover Smart City areas of interest. This paper proposes an in-depth study of the challenging technical issues related to the efficient assignment of Mobile Crowd Sensing (MCS) data collection tasks to volunteers in a crowdsensing campaign. In particular, the paper originally describes how to increase the effectiveness of the proposed sensing campaigns through the inclusion of several new facilities, including accurate participant selection algorithms able to profile and predict user mobility patterns, gaming techniques, and timely geo-notification. The reported results show the feasibility of exploiting profiling trends/prediction techniques from volunteers’ behavior; moreover, they quantitatively compare different MCS task assignment strategies based on large-scale and real MCS data campaigns run in the ParticipAct living lab, an ongoing MCS real-world experiment that involved more than 170 students of the University of Bologna for more than one year. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Smart Cities)

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25 pages, 2892 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Ultrasonic Multiple-Access Ranging Core Based on Frequency Shift Keying Towards Indoor Localization

by Laurent Segers^1,*, David Van Bavegem¹, Sam De Winne¹, An Braeken¹

, Abdellah Touhafi¹ and Kris Steenhaut^1,2

¹ Department of Industrial Sciences and Technology (INDI), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, Elsene 1050, Belgium

² Department of Electronics and Informatics (ETRO), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, Elsene 1050, Belgium

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18641-18665; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818641 - 30 Jul 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6221

Abstract

This paper describes a new approach and implementation methodology for indoor ranging based on the time difference of arrival using code division multiple access with ultrasound signals. A novel implementation based on a field programmable gate array using finite impulse response filters and [...] Read more.

This paper describes a new approach and implementation methodology for indoor ranging based on the time difference of arrival using code division multiple access with ultrasound signals. A novel implementation based on a field programmable gate array using finite impulse response filters and an optimized correlation demodulator implementation for ultrasound orthogonal signals is developed. Orthogonal codes are modulated onto ultrasound signals using frequency shift keying with carrier frequencies of 24.5 kHz and 26 kHz. This implementation enhances the possibilities for real-time, embedded and low-power tracking of several simultaneous transmitters. Due to the high degree of parallelism offered by field programmable gate arrays, up to four transmitters can be tracked simultaneously. The implementation requires at most 30% of the available logic gates of a Spartan-6 XC6SLX45 device and is evaluated on accuracy and precision through several ranging topologies. In the first topology, the distance between one transmitter and one receiver is evaluated. Afterwards, ranging analyses are applied between two simultaneous transmitters and one receiver. Ultimately, the position of the receiver against four transmitters using trilateration is also demonstrated. Results show enhanced distance measurements with distances ranging from a few centimeters up to 17 m, while keeping a centimeter-level accuracy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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48 pages, 1568 KiB

Open AccessReview

Fibre Optic Sensors for Structural Health Monitoring of Aircraft Composite Structures: Recent Advances and Applications

by Raffaella Di Sante

Department of Industrial Engineering—DIN, University of Bologna, Forlì 47121, Italy

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18666-18713; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818666 - 30 Jul 2015

Cited by 616 | Viewed by 44305

Abstract

In-service structural health monitoring of composite aircraft structures plays a key role in the assessment of their performance and integrity. In recent years, Fibre Optic Sensors (FOS) have proved to be a potentially excellent technique for real-time in-situ monitoring of these structures due [...] Read more.

In-service structural health monitoring of composite aircraft structures plays a key role in the assessment of their performance and integrity. In recent years, Fibre Optic Sensors (FOS) have proved to be a potentially excellent technique for real-time in-situ monitoring of these structures due to their numerous advantages, such as immunity to electromagnetic interference, small size, light weight, durability, and high bandwidth, which allows a great number of sensors to operate in the same system, and the possibility to be integrated within the material. However, more effort is still needed to bring the technology to a fully mature readiness level. In this paper, recent research and applications in structural health monitoring of composite aircraft structures using FOS have been critically reviewed, considering both the multi-point and distributed sensing techniques. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Sensors for Chemical, Biological and Industrial Applications)

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10 pages, 1445 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Electrochemical Glucose Sensor Based on Zinc Oxide Nanorods

by Mohammed Marie^1,*, Sanghamitra Mandal^2,† and Omar Manasreh^2,†

¹ Microelectronics and Photonics graduate program, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA

² Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18714-18723; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818714 - 30 Jul 2015

Cited by 106 | Viewed by 15363

Abstract

A glucose electrochemical sensor based on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods was investigated. The hydrothermal sol–gel growth method was utilized to grow ZnO nanorods on indium tin oxide-coated glass substrates. The total active area of the working electrode was 0.3 × 0.3 cm² [...] Read more.

A glucose electrochemical sensor based on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods was investigated. The hydrothermal sol–gel growth method was utilized to grow ZnO nanorods on indium tin oxide-coated glass substrates. The total active area of the working electrode was 0.3 × 0.3 cm² wheretitanium metal was deposited to enhance the contact. Well aligned hexagonal structured ZnO nanorods with a diameter from 68 to 116 nm were obtained. The excitonic peak obtained from the absorbance spectroscopy was observed at ~370 nm. The dominant peak of Raman spectroscopy measurement was at 440 cm⁻¹, matching with the lattice vibration of ZnO. The uniform distribution of the GO_x and Nafion membrane that has been done using spin coating technique at 4000 rotations per minute helps in enhancing the ion exchange and increasing the sensitivity of the fabricated electrochemical sensor. The amperometric response of the fabricated electrochemical sensor was 3 s. The obtained sensitivity of the fabricated ZnO electrochemical sensor was 10.911 mA/mM·cm² and the lower limit of detection was 0.22 µM. Full article

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

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18 pages, 896 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Diazonium Chemistry for the Bio-Functionalization of Glassy Nanostring Resonator Arrays

by Wei Zheng¹, Rongbing Du², Yong Cao², Mohammad A. Mohammad¹, Steven K. Dew¹, Mark T. McDermott² and Stephane Evoy^1,*

¹ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V4, Canada

² Department of Chemistry and National Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G2, Canada

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18724-18741; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818724 - 30 Jul 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6493

Abstract

Resonant glassy nanostrings have been employed for the detection of biomolecules. These devices offer high sensitivity and amenability to large array integration and multiplexed assays. Such a concept has however been impaired by the lack of stable and biocompatible linker chemistries. Diazonium salt [...] Read more.

Resonant glassy nanostrings have been employed for the detection of biomolecules. These devices offer high sensitivity and amenability to large array integration and multiplexed assays. Such a concept has however been impaired by the lack of stable and biocompatible linker chemistries. Diazonium salt reduction-induced aryl grafting is an aqueous-based process providing strong chemical adhesion. In this work, diazonium-based linker chemistry was performed for the first time on glassy nanostrings, which enabled the bio-functionalization of such devices. Large arrays of nanostrings with ultra-narrow widths down to 10 nm were fabricated employing electron beam lithography. Diazonium modification was first developed on SiCN surfaces and validated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Similarly modified nanostrings were then covalently functionalized with anti-rabbit IgG as a molecular probe. Specific enumeration of rabbit IgG was successfully performed through observation of downshifts of resonant frequencies. The specificity of this enumeration was confirmed through proper negative control experiments. Helium ion microscopy further verified the successful functionalization of nanostrings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomechanics for Sensing and Spectrometry)

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25 pages, 1150 KiB

Open AccessArticle

RGB-D SLAM Combining Visual Odometry and Extended Information Filter

by Heng Zhang^1,2, Yanli Liu^1,2,*, Jindong Tan² and Naixue Xiong³

¹ School of Information Engineering, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang 330013, China

² Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA

³ School of Computer Science, Colorado Technical University, Colorado Springs, CO 80907, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18742-18766; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818742 - 30 Jul 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 9350

Abstract

In this paper, we present a novel RGB-D SLAM system based on visual odometry and an extended information filter, which does not require any other sensors or odometry. In contrast to the graph optimization approaches, this is more suitable for online applications. A [...] Read more.

In this paper, we present a novel RGB-D SLAM system based on visual odometry and an extended information filter, which does not require any other sensors or odometry. In contrast to the graph optimization approaches, this is more suitable for online applications. A visual dead reckoning algorithm based on visual residuals is devised, which is used to estimate motion control input. In addition, we use a novel descriptor called binary robust appearance and normals descriptor (BRAND) to extract features from the RGB-D frame and use them as landmarks. Furthermore, considering both the 3D positions and the BRAND descriptors of the landmarks, our observation model avoids explicit data association between the observations and the map by marginalizing the observation likelihood over all possible associations. Experimental validation is provided, which compares the proposed RGB-D SLAM algorithm with just RGB-D visual odometry and a graph-based RGB-D SLAM algorithm using the publicly-available RGB-D dataset. The results of the experiments demonstrate that our system is quicker than the graph-based RGB-D SLAM algorithm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors for Robots)

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34 pages, 2409 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Initial Results Obtained with the First TWIN VLBI Radio Telescope at the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell

by Torben Schüler^1,2,*, Gerhard Kronschnabl¹, Christian Plötz¹, Alexander Neidhardt³, Alessandra Bertarini^4,5, Simone Bernhart⁴, Laura La Porta⁴, Sebastian Halsig⁴ and Axel Nothnagel⁴

¹ Geodetic Observatory Wettzell, Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy, Sackenrieder Str. 25, 93444 Bad Koetzting, Germany

² Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich, 85777 Neubiberg, Germany

³ Geodetic Observatory Wettzell, Technische Universität München, Sackenrieder Str. 25, 93444 Bad Koetzting, Germany

⁴ Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation, University of Bonn, Nußallee 17, 53115 Bonn, Germany

⁵ Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn, Germany

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18767-18800; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818767 - 30 Jul 2015

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 9844

Abstract

Geodetic Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) uses radio telescopes as sensor networks to determine Earth orientation parameters and baseline vectors between the telescopes. The TWIN Telescope Wettzell 1 (TTW1), the first of the new 13.2 m diameter telescope pair at the Geodetic Observatory [...] Read more.

Geodetic Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) uses radio telescopes as sensor networks to determine Earth orientation parameters and baseline vectors between the telescopes. The TWIN Telescope Wettzell 1 (TTW1), the first of the new 13.2 m diameter telescope pair at the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell, Germany, is currently in its commissioning phase. The technology behind this radio telescope including the receiving system and the tri-band feed horn is depicted. Since VLBI telescopes must operate at least in pairs, the existing 20 m diameter Radio Telescope Wettzell (RTW) is used together with TTW1 for practical tests. In addition, selected long baseline setups are investigated. Correlation results portraying the data quality achieved during first initial experiments are discussed. Finally, the local 123 m baseline between the old RTW telescope and the new TTW1 is analyzed and compared with an existing high-precision local survey. Our initial results are very satisfactory for X-band group delays featuring a 3D distance agreement between VLBI data analysis and local ties of 1 to 2 mm in the majority of the experiments. However, S-band data, which suffer much from local radio interference due to WiFi and mobile communications, are about 10 times less precise than X-band data and require further analysis, but evidence is provided that S-band data are well-usable over long baselines where local radio interference patterns decorrelate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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12 pages, 460 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Structure Design of Piezoelectric Poly(vinylidene Fluoride) (PVDF) Polymer-Based Sensor Patch for the Respiration Monitoring under Dynamic Walking Conditions

by Kin-Fong Lei^1,2,†

, Yi-Zheng Hsieh^3,†, Yi-Yuan Chiu^3,† and Min-Hsien Wu^3,*

¹ Graduate Institute of Medical Mechatronics, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan

² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan

³ Graduate Institute of Biochemical and Biomedical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18801-18812; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818801 - 31 Jul 2015

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 9622

Abstract

This study reports a piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymer-based sensor patch for respiration detections in dynamic walking condition. The working mechanism of respiration signal generation is based on the periodical deformations on a human chest wall during the respiratory movements, which in turn [...] Read more.

This study reports a piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymer-based sensor patch for respiration detections in dynamic walking condition. The working mechanism of respiration signal generation is based on the periodical deformations on a human chest wall during the respiratory movements, which in turn mechanically stretch the piezoelectric PVDF film to generate the corresponding electrical signals. In this study, the PVDF sensing film was completely encapsulated within the sensor patch forming a mass-spring-damper mechanical system to prevent the noises generated in a dynamic condition. To verify the design of sensor patch to prevent dynamic noises, experimental investigations were carried out. Results demonstrated the respiration signals generated and the respiratory rates measured by the proposed sensor patch were in line with the same measurements based on a commercial respiratory effort transducer both in a static (e.g., sitting) or dynamic (e.g., walking) condition. As a whole, this study has developed a PVDF-based sensor patch which is capable of monitoring respirations in a dynamic walking condition with high fidelity. Other distinctive features include its small size, light weight, ease of use, low cost, and portability. All these make it a promising sensing device to monitor respirations particularly in home care units. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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21 pages, 1200 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Upper Limb Kinematics Using Inertial and Magnetic Sensors: Comparison of Sensor-to-Segment Calibrations

by Brice Bouvier^1,2,3,4,*, Sonia Duprey^2,3,4,†, Laurent Claudon^1,†, Raphaël Dumas^2,3,4,† and Adriana Savescu¹

¹ Institut National de Recherche et de Sécurité (INRS), 54519 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France

² Université de Lyon, F-69622 Lyon, France

³ Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France

⁴ IFSTTAR, UMR_T9406, LBMC Laboratoire de Biomécanique et Mécanique des Chocs, F69675 Bron, France

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18813-18833; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818813 - 31 Jul 2015

Cited by 111 | Viewed by 11809

Abstract

Magneto-Inertial Measurement Unit sensors (MIMU) display high potential for the quantitative evaluation of upper limb kinematics, as they allow monitoring ambulatory measurements. The sensor-to-segment calibration step, consisting of establishing the relation between MIMU sensors and human segments, plays an important role in the [...] Read more.

Magneto-Inertial Measurement Unit sensors (MIMU) display high potential for the quantitative evaluation of upper limb kinematics, as they allow monitoring ambulatory measurements. The sensor-to-segment calibration step, consisting of establishing the relation between MIMU sensors and human segments, plays an important role in the global accuracy of joint angles. The aim of this study was to compare sensor-to-segment calibrations for the MIMU-based estimation of wrist, elbow, and shoulder joint angles, by examining trueness (“close to the reference”) and precision (reproducibility) validity criteria. Ten subjects performed five sessions with three different operators. Three classes of calibrations were studied: segment axes equal to technical MIMU axes (TECH), segment axes generated during a static pose (STATIC), and those generated during functional movements (FUNCT). The calibrations were compared during the maximal uniaxial movements of each joint, plus an extra multi-joint movement. Generally, joint angles presented good trueness and very good precision in the range 5°–10°. Only small discrepancy between calibrations was highlighted, with the exception of a few cases. The very good overall accuracy (trueness and precision) of MIMU-based joint angle data seems to be more dependent on the level of rigor of the experimental procedure (operator training) than on the choice of calibration itself. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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17 pages, 1851 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Nano-Thin Film-Based Prototype QCM Sensor Array for Monitoring Human Breath and Respiratory Patterns

by Roman Selyanchyn^1,2

, Shunichi Wakamatsu³, Kenshi Hayashi⁴ and Seung-Woo Lee^1,*

¹ Graduate School of Environmental Engineering, The University of Kitakyushu, 1-1 Hibikino, Wakamatsu, Kitakyushu 808-0135, Japan

² WPI International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (WPI-I2CNER), Kyushu University, 744, Motooka, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan

³ Chitose Technical Center, Nihon Dempa Kogyo Co. Ltd., 1-3-1, Minami-Chitose, Hokkaido 066-0009, Japan

⁴ Graduate School of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18834-18850; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818834 - 31 Jul 2015

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 8752

Abstract

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor array was developed for multi-purpose human respiration assessment. The sensor system was designed to provide feedback for human respiration. Thorough optimization of measurement conditions: air flow, temperature in the QCM chamber, frequency measurement rate, and electrode position regarding [...] Read more.

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor array was developed for multi-purpose human respiration assessment. The sensor system was designed to provide feedback for human respiration. Thorough optimization of measurement conditions: air flow, temperature in the QCM chamber, frequency measurement rate, and electrode position regarding to the gas flow—was performed. As shown, acquisition of respiratory parameters (rate and respiratory pattern) could be achieved even with a single electrode used in the system. The prototype system contains eight available QCM channels that can be potentially used for selective responses to certain breath chemicals. At present, the prototype machine is ready for the assessment of respiratory functions in larger populations in order to gain statistical validation. To the best of our knowledge, the developed prototype is the only respiratory assessment system based on surface modified QCM sensors. Full article

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

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14 pages, 6365 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mechanical and Electrical Characterization of Piezoelectric Artificial Cochlear Device and Biocompatible Packaging

by Youngdo Jung, Jun-Hyuk Kwak, Hanmi Kang, Wan Doo Kim and Shin Hur^*

Department of Nature-Inspired Nanoconvergence System, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Daejeon 304-343, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18851-18864; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818851 - 31 Jul 2015

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 8816

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a piezoelectric artificial cochlea (PAC) device capable of analyzing vibratory signal inputs and converting them into electrical signal outputs without an external power source by mimicking the function of human cochlea within an audible frequency range. The [...] Read more.

This paper presents the development of a piezoelectric artificial cochlea (PAC) device capable of analyzing vibratory signal inputs and converting them into electrical signal outputs without an external power source by mimicking the function of human cochlea within an audible frequency range. The PAC consists of an artificial basilar membrane (ABM) part and an implantable packaged part. The packaged part provides a liquid environment through which incoming vibrations are transmitted to the membrane part. The membrane part responds to the transmitted signal, and the local area of the ABM part vibrates differently depending on its local resonant frequency. The membrane was designed to have a logarithmically varying width from 0.97 mm to 8.0 mm along the 28 mm length. By incorporating a micro-actuator in an experimental platform for the package part that mimics the function of a stapes bone in the middle ear, we created a similar experimental environment to cochlea where the human basilar membrane vibrates. The mechanical and electrical responses of fabricated PAC were measured with a laser Doppler vibrometer and a data acquisition system, and were compared with simulation results. Finally, the fabricated PAC in a biocompatible package was developed and its mechanical and electrical characteristics were measured. The experimental results shows successful frequency separation of incoming mechanical signal from micro-actuator into frequency bandwidth within the 0.4 kHz–5 kHz range. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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22 pages, 2250 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimal Atmospheric Correction for Above-Ground Forest Biomass Estimation with the ETM+ Remote Sensor

by Hieu Cong Nguyen¹, Jaehoon Jung¹, Jungbin Lee¹, Sung-Uk Choi¹, Suk-Young Hong² and Joon Heo^1,*

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, 134 Shinchon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749, Korea

² National Academy of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, 166 Nongsaengmyeong-ro, Iseo-myeon, Wanju-gun, Jeollabuk-do 565-851, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18865-18886; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818865 - 31 Jul 2015

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 7384

Abstract

The reflectance of the Earth’s surface is significantly influenced by atmospheric conditions such as water vapor content and aerosols. Particularly, the absorption and scattering effects become stronger when the target features are non-bright objects, such as in aqueous or vegetated areas. For any [...] Read more.

The reflectance of the Earth’s surface is significantly influenced by atmospheric conditions such as water vapor content and aerosols. Particularly, the absorption and scattering effects become stronger when the target features are non-bright objects, such as in aqueous or vegetated areas. For any remote-sensing approach, atmospheric correction is thus required to minimize those effects and to convert digital number (DN) values to surface reflectance. The main aim of this study was to test the three most popular atmospheric correction models, namely (1) Dark Object Subtraction (DOS); (2) Fast Line-of-sight Atmospheric Analysis of Spectral Hypercubes (FLAASH) and (3) the Second Simulation of Satellite Signal in the Solar Spectrum (6S) and compare them with Top of Atmospheric (TOA) reflectance. By using the k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN) algorithm, a series of experiments were conducted for above-ground forest biomass (AGB) estimations of the Gongju and Sejong region of South Korea, in order to check the effectiveness of atmospheric correction methods for Landsat ETM+. Overall, in the forest biomass estimation, the 6S model showed the bestRMSE’s, followed by FLAASH, DOS and TOA. In addition, a significant improvement of RMSE by 6S was found with images when the study site had higher total water vapor and temperature levels. Moreover, we also tested the sensitivity of the atmospheric correction methods to each of the Landsat ETM+ bands. The results confirmed that 6S dominates the other methods, especially in the infrared wavelengths covering the pivotal bands for forest applications. Finally, we suggest that the 6S model, integrating water vapor and aerosol optical depth derived from MODIS products, is better suited for AGB estimation based on optical remote-sensing data, especially when using satellite images acquired in the summer during full canopy development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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14 pages, 847 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a Novel, Low-Cost, Disposable Wooden Pencil Graphite Electrode for Use in the Determination of Antioxidants and Other Biological Compounds

by James Kariuki^*,†, Emily Ervin^† and Carly Olafson

¹ Department of Science, Augustana Campus, University of Alberta, 4901-46th Ave, Camrose, AB T4V 2R3, Canada

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18887-18900; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818887 - 31 Jul 2015

Cited by 47 | Viewed by 8655

Abstract

The development of portable sensors that can be used outside the lab is an active area of research in the electroanalytical field. A major focus of such research is the development of low-cost electrodes for use in these sensors. Current electrodes, such as [...] Read more.

The development of portable sensors that can be used outside the lab is an active area of research in the electroanalytical field. A major focus of such research is the development of low-cost electrodes for use in these sensors. Current electrodes, such as glassy-carbon electrodes (GCEs), are costly and require time-consuming preparation. Alternatives have been proposed, including mechanical pencil-lead electrodes (MPEs). However, MPEs themselves possess numerous drawbacks, particularly structural fragility. In this paper, we present a novel pencil-graphite electrode (PGE) fabricated from a regular HB#2 pencil. This PGE is a simple, disposable, extremely low-cost alternative to GCEs ($0.30 per PGE, vs. $190 + per GCE), and possesses the structural stability that MPEs lack. PGEs were characterized by square-wave voltammetry of ferricyanide, gallic acid, uric acid, dopamine, and several foodstuffs. In all cases, PGEs demonstrated sensitivities comparable or superior to those of the GCE and MPE (LOD = 5.62 × 10⁻⁴ M PGE, 4.80 × 10⁻⁴ M GCE, 2.93 × 10⁻⁴ M MPE). Signal areas and peak heights were typically four to ten times larger for the PGE relative to the GCE. Full article

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

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33 pages, 1890 KiB

Open AccessReview

Tracking the Evolution of Smartphone Sensing for Monitoring Human Movement

by Michael B. Del Rosario, Stephen J. Redmond^† and Nigel H. Lovell^*,†

¹ Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, UNSW Australia, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18901-18933; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818901 - 31 Jul 2015

Cited by 169 | Viewed by 20136

Abstract

Advances in mobile technology have led to the emergence of the “smartphone”, a new class of device with more advanced connectivity features that have quickly made it a constant presence in our lives. Smartphones are equipped with comparatively advanced computing capabilities, a global [...] Read more.

Advances in mobile technology have led to the emergence of the “smartphone”, a new class of device with more advanced connectivity features that have quickly made it a constant presence in our lives. Smartphones are equipped with comparatively advanced computing capabilities, a global positioning system (GPS) receivers, and sensing capabilities (i.e., an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and more recently magnetometer and barometer) which can be found in wearable ambulatory monitors (WAMs). As a result, algorithms initially developed for WAMs that “count” steps (i.e., pedometers); gauge physical activity levels; indirectly estimate energy expenditure and monitor human movement can be utilised on the smartphone. These algorithms may enable clinicians to “close the loop” by prescribing timely interventions to improve or maintain wellbeing in populations who are at risk of falling or suffer from a chronic disease whose progression is linked to a reduction in movement and mobility. The ubiquitous nature of smartphone technology makes it the ideal platform from which human movement can be remotely monitored without the expense of purchasing, and inconvenience of using, a dedicated WAM. In this paper, an overview of the sensors that can be found in the smartphone are presented, followed by a summary of the developments in this field with an emphasis on the evolution of algorithms used to classify human movement. The limitations identified in the literature will be discussed, as well as suggestions about future research directions. Full article

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

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16 pages, 1483 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Arduino-Based Resonant Cradle Design with Infant Cries Recognition

by Chun-Tang Chao, Chia-Wei Wang, Juing-Shian Chiou^* and Chi-Jo Wang

Department of Electrical Engineering, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 1, Nan-Tai St., Yongkang District, Tainan City 71005, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18934-18949; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818934 - 3 Aug 2015

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 9688

Abstract

This paper proposes a resonant electric cradle design with infant cries recognition, employing an Arduino UNO as the core processor. For most commercially available electric cradles, the drive motor is closely combined with the bearing on the top, resulting in a lot of [...] Read more.

This paper proposes a resonant electric cradle design with infant cries recognition, employing an Arduino UNO as the core processor. For most commercially available electric cradles, the drive motor is closely combined with the bearing on the top, resulting in a lot of energy consumption. In this proposal, a ball bearing design was adopted and the driving force is under the cradle to increase the distance from the object to fulcrum and torque. The sensors are designed to detect the oscillation state, and then the force is driven at the critical time to achieve the maximum output response while saving energy according to the principle of resonance. As for the driving forces, the winding power and motors are carefully placed under the cradle. The sensors, including the three-axis accelerometer and infrared sensor, are tested and applied under swinging amplitude control. In addition, infant cry recognition technology was incorporated in the design to further develop its functionality, which is a rare feature in this kind of hardware. The proposed nonlinear operator of fundamental frequency ( ) analysis is able to identify different types of infant cries. In conclusion, this paper proposes an energy-saving electric cradle with infant cries recognition and the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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15 pages, 545 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Monitoring of Weekly Sleep Pattern Variations at Home with a Contactless Biomotion Sensor

by Masanori Hashizaki^1,2, Hiroshi Nakajima² and Kazuhiko Kume^1,*

¹ Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan

² Technology and Intellectual Property H.Q., Omron Corporation, Kyoto 619-0283, Japan

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18950-18964; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818950 - 3 Aug 2015

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 6319

Abstract

Many people find that their sleep is restricted or disturbed by social obligations, including work. Sleep phase delays can affect an individual’s circadian rhythms on the following day and cause daytime sleepiness and/or poor performance. In this study, to examine weekly variations in [...] Read more.

Many people find that their sleep is restricted or disturbed by social obligations, including work. Sleep phase delays can affect an individual’s circadian rhythms on the following day and cause daytime sleepiness and/or poor performance. In this study, to examine weekly variations in sleep patterns, we analyzed sleep data for seven-day periods (from Sunday to Saturday) that had been collected from 2914 subjects (aged 20–79 years) over a total of 24,899 subject-weeks using contactless biomotion sensors. On the weekend, the subjects’ mean sleep midpoint, bedtime, and wake-up time were delayed by 40, 26 and 53 min, respectively, compared with those seen on weekdays. In addition, on weekdays, the mean difference between the maximum and median sleep midpoint ranged from 35 to 47 min among the subjects in their 20 s–70 s. The weekend delay and weekday variation in the subjects’ sleep patterns tended to decrease with age. This study detected sleep pattern disturbances on both weekdays and weekends. The serial changes in weekday bedtimes detected in this study suggest that sleep habits are influenced by changes in the temporal patterns of social activities/duties. We need further study the advantages of getting extra sleep and the disadvantages of sleep pattern disturbances in daily lifestyle. Full article

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

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20 pages, 3432 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multiple-Layer Visibility Propagation-Based Synthetic Aperture Imaging through Occlusion

by Tao Yang^1,*

, Jing Li², Jingyi Yu³, Yanning Zhang¹, Wenguang Ma³, Xiaomin Tong¹, Rui Yu⁴ and Lingyan Ran¹

¹ ShaanXi Provincial Key Lab of Speech and Image Information Processing, School of Computer Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710129, China

² School of Telecommunications Engineering, Xidian University, Xi'an 710126, China

³ Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA

⁴ Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18965-18984; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818965 - 4 Aug 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6020

Abstract

Heavy occlusions in cluttered scenes impose significant challenges to many computer vision applications. Recent light field imaging systems provide new see-through capabilities through synthetic aperture imaging (SAI) to overcome the occlusion problem. Existing synthetic aperture imaging methods, however, emulate focusing at a specific [...] Read more.

Heavy occlusions in cluttered scenes impose significant challenges to many computer vision applications. Recent light field imaging systems provide new see-through capabilities through synthetic aperture imaging (SAI) to overcome the occlusion problem. Existing synthetic aperture imaging methods, however, emulate focusing at a specific depth layer, but are incapable of producing an all-in-focus see-through image. Alternative in-painting algorithms can generate visually-plausible results, but cannot guarantee the correctness of the results. In this paper, we present a novel depth-free all-in-focus SAI technique based on light field visibility analysis. Specifically, we partition the scene into multiple visibility layers to directly deal with layer-wise occlusion and apply an optimization framework to propagate the visibility information between multiple layers. On each layer, visibility and optimal focus depth estimation is formulated as a multiple-label energy minimization problem. The layer-wise energy integrates all of the visibility masks from its previous layers, multi-view intensity consistency and depth smoothness constraint together. We compare our method with state-of-the-art solutions, and extensive experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of our approach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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21 pages, 464 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Extrinsic Calibration of Camera Networks Using a Sphere

by Junzhi Guan^*, Francis Deboeverie, Maarten Slembrouck

, Dirk Van Haerenborgh, Dimitri Van Cauwelaert, Peter Veelaert and Wilfried Philips

Image Processing and Interpretation, TELIN, Ghent University/iMinds, Sint Pietersnieuwstraat 41, 9000 Gent, Belgium

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 18985-19005; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150818985 - 4 Aug 2015

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 7555

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a novel extrinsic calibration method for camera networks using a sphere as the calibration object. First of all, we propose an easy and accurate method to estimate the 3D positions of the sphere center w.r.t. the local camera [...] Read more.

In this paper, we propose a novel extrinsic calibration method for camera networks using a sphere as the calibration object. First of all, we propose an easy and accurate method to estimate the 3D positions of the sphere center w.r.t. the local camera coordinate system. Then, we propose to use orthogonal procrustes analysis to pairwise estimate the initial camera relative extrinsic parameters based on the aforementioned estimation of 3D positions. Finally, an optimization routine is applied to jointly refine the extrinsic parameters for all cameras. Compared to existing sphere-based 3D position estimators which need to trace and analyse the outline of the sphere projection in the image, the proposed method requires only very simple image processing: estimating the area and the center of mass of the sphere projection. Our results demonstrate that we can get a more accurate estimate of the extrinsic parameters compared to other sphere-based methods. While existing state-of-the-art calibration methods use point like features and epipolar geometry, the proposed method uses the sphere-based 3D position estimate. This results in simpler computations and a more flexible and accurate calibration method. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is accurate, robust, flexible and easy to use. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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15 pages, 3931 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Daily Quantity of Infant Leg Movement: Wearable Sensor Algorithm and Relationship to Walking Onset

by Beth A. Smith^1,*

, Ivan A. Trujillo-Priego¹, Christianne J. Lane², James M. Finley¹ and Fay B. Horak³

¹ Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9006, USA

² Department of Preventative Medicine, Division of Biostatistics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9234, USA

³ Department of Neurology, Oregon Health & Science University and Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, OR 97239-3098, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19006-19020; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819006 - 4 Aug 2015

Cited by 70 | Viewed by 8638

Abstract

Background: Normative values are lacking for daily quantity of infant leg movements. This is critical for understanding the relationship between the quantity of leg movements and onset of independent walking, and will begin to inform early therapy intervention for infants at risk [...] Read more.

Background: Normative values are lacking for daily quantity of infant leg movements. This is critical for understanding the relationship between the quantity of leg movements and onset of independent walking, and will begin to inform early therapy intervention for infants at risk for developmental delay. Methods: We used wearable inertial movement sensors to record full-day leg movement activity from 12 infants with typical development, ages 1–12 months. Each infant was tested three times across 5 months, and followed until the onset of independent walking. We developed and validated an algorithm to identify infant-produced leg movements. Results: Infants moved their legs tens of thousands of times per day. There was a significant effect of leg movement quantity on walking onset. Infants who moved their legs more walked later than infants who moved their legs less, even when adjusting for age, developmental level or percentile length. We will need a much larger sample to adequately capture and describe the effect of movement experience on developmental rate. Our algorithm defines a leg movement in a specific way (each pause or change in direction is counted as a new movement), and further assessment of movement characteristics are necessary before we can fully understand and interpret our finding that infants who moved their legs more walked later than infants who moved their legs less. Conclusions: We have shown that typically-developing infants produce thousands of leg movements in a typical day, and that this can be accurately captured in the home environment using wearable sensors. In our small sample we can identify there is an effect of leg movement quantity on walking onset, however we cannot fully explain it. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wearable Sensors)

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26 pages, 3367 KiB

Open AccessReview

Raman Spectroscopy of Optically Trapped Single Biological Micro-Particles

by Brandon Redding, Mark J. Schwab and Yong-le Pan^*

U.S. Army Research Laboratory, 2800 Powder Mill Road, Adelphi, MD 20783, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19021-19046; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819021 - 4 Aug 2015

Cited by 56 | Viewed by 9677

Abstract

The combination of optical trapping with Raman spectroscopy provides a powerful method for the study, characterization, and identification of biological micro-particles. In essence, optical trapping helps to overcome the limitation imposed by the relative inefficiency of the Raman scattering process. This allows Raman [...] Read more.

The combination of optical trapping with Raman spectroscopy provides a powerful method for the study, characterization, and identification of biological micro-particles. In essence, optical trapping helps to overcome the limitation imposed by the relative inefficiency of the Raman scattering process. This allows Raman spectroscopy to be applied to individual biological particles in air and in liquid, providing the potential for particle identification with high specificity, longitudinal studies of changes in particle composition, and characterization of the heterogeneity of individual particles in a population. In this review, we introduce the techniques used to integrate Raman spectroscopy with optical trapping in order to study individual biological particles in liquid and air. We then provide an overview of some of the most promising applications of this technique, highlighting the unique types of measurements enabled by the combination of Raman spectroscopy with optical trapping. Finally, we present a brief discussion of future research directions in the field. Full article

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

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22 pages, 388 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Distributed Density Estimation Based on a Mixture of Factor Analyzers in a Sensor Network

by Xin Wei^1,*, Chunguang Li²

, Liang Zhou¹ and Li Zhao³

¹ College of Telecommunications and Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210003, China

² Department of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China

³ School of Information Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19047-19068; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819047 - 5 Aug 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4497

Abstract

Distributed density estimation in sensor networks has received much attention due to its broad applicability. When encountering high-dimensional observations, a mixture of factor analyzers (MFA) is taken to replace mixture of Gaussians for describing the distributions of observations. In this paper, we study [...] Read more.

Distributed density estimation in sensor networks has received much attention due to its broad applicability. When encountering high-dimensional observations, a mixture of factor analyzers (MFA) is taken to replace mixture of Gaussians for describing the distributions of observations. In this paper, we study distributed density estimation based on a mixture of factor analyzers. Existing estimation algorithms of the MFA are for the centralized case, which are not suitable for distributed processing in sensor networks. We present distributed density estimation algorithms for the MFA and its extension, the mixture of Student’s t-factor analyzers (MtFA). We first define an objective function as the linear combination of local log-likelihoods. Then, we give the derivation process of the distributed estimation algorithms for the MFA and MtFA in details, respectively. In these algorithms, the local sufficient statistics (LSS) are calculated at first and diffused. Then, each node performs a linear combination of the received LSS from nodes in its neighborhood to obtain the combined sufficient statistics (CSS). Parameters of the MFA and the MtFA can be obtained by using the CSS. Finally, we evaluate the performance of these algorithms by numerical simulations and application example. Experimental results validate the promising performance of the proposed algorithms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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33 pages, 2967 KiB

Open AccessReview

Non-Destructive Evaluation for Corrosion Monitoring in Concrete: A Review and Capability of Acoustic Emission Technique

by Ahmad Zaki¹, Hwa Kian Chai^1,*, Dimitrios G. Aggelis² and Ninel Alver³

¹ Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia

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

³ Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ege University, Bornova, Izmir 35100, Turkey

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19069-19101; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819069 - 5 Aug 2015

Cited by 233 | Viewed by 22310

Abstract

Corrosion of reinforced concrete (RC) structures has been one of the major causes of structural failure. Early detection of the corrosion process could help limit the location and the extent of necessary repairs or replacement, as well as reduce the cost associated with [...] Read more.

Corrosion of reinforced concrete (RC) structures has been one of the major causes of structural failure. Early detection of the corrosion process could help limit the location and the extent of necessary repairs or replacement, as well as reduce the cost associated with rehabilitation work. Non-destructive testing (NDT) methods have been found to be useful for in-situ evaluation of steel corrosion in RC, where the effect of steel corrosion and the integrity of the concrete structure can be assessed effectively. A complementary study of NDT methods for the investigation of corrosion is presented here. In this paper, acoustic emission (AE) effectively detects the corrosion of concrete structures at an early stage. The capability of the AE technique to detect corrosion occurring in real-time makes it a strong candidate for serving as an efficient NDT method, giving it an advantage over other NDT methods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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22 pages, 1485 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Occurrence and Concentrations of Toxic VOCs in the Ambient Air of Gumi, an Electronics-Industrial City in Korea

by Sung-Ok Baek^*, Lakshmi Narayana Suvarapu and Young-Kyo Seo

Department of Environmental Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 712-749, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19102-19123; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819102 - 5 Aug 2015

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 7340

Abstract

This study was carried out to characterize the occurrence and concentrations of a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including aliphatic, aromatic, halogenated, nitrogenous, and carbonyl compounds, in the ambient air of Gumi City, where a large number of electronics industries are found. [...] Read more.

This study was carried out to characterize the occurrence and concentrations of a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including aliphatic, aromatic, halogenated, nitrogenous, and carbonyl compounds, in the ambient air of Gumi City, where a large number of electronics industries are found. Two field monitoring campaigns were conducted for a one year period in 2003/2004 and 2010/2011 at several sampling sites in the city, representing industrial, residential and commercial areas. More than 80 individual compounds were determined in this study, and important compounds were then identified according to their abundance, ubiquity and toxicity. The monitoring data revealed toluene, trichloroethylene and acetaldehyde to be the most significant air toxics in the city, and their major sources were mainly industrial activities. On the other hand, there was no clear evidence of an industrial impact on the concentrations of benzene and formaldehyde in the ambient air of the city. Overall, seasonal variations were not as distinct as locational variations in the VOCs concentrations, whereas the within-day variations showed a typical pattern of urban air pollution, i.e., increase in the morning, decrease in the afternoon, and an increase again in the evening. Considerable decreases in the concentrations of VOCs from 2003 to 2011 were observed. The reductions in the ambient concentrations were confirmed further by the Korean PRTR data in industrial emissions within the city. Significant decreases in the concentrations of benzene and acetaldehyde were also noted, whereas formaldehyde appeared to be almost constant between the both campaigns. The decreased trends in the ambient levels were attributed not only to the stricter regulations for VOCs in Korea, but also to the voluntary agreement of major companies to reduce the use of organic solvents. In addition, a site planning project for an eco-friendly industrial complex is believed to play a contributory role in improving the air quality of the city. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modern Technologies for Sensing Pollution in Air, Water, and Soil)

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16 pages, 2735 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Thirty Gigahertz Instrument Receiver for the QUIJOTE Experiment: Preliminary Polarization Measurements and Systematic-Error Analysis

by Francisco J. Casas^1,*

, David Ortiz¹, Enrique Villa², Juan L. Cano², Jaime Cagigas², Ana R. Pérez², Beatriz Aja², J. Vicente Terán², Luisa De la Fuente², Eduardo Artal², Roger Hoyland³ and Ricardo Génova-Santos³

¹ Instituto de Física de Cantabria (IFCA), Avda. Los Castros s/n, Santander 39005, Spain

² Departamento Ingeniería de Comunicaciones (DICOM), Universidad de Cantabria, Plaza de la Ciencia s/n, Santander 39005, Spain

³ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), Vía Láctea s/n, La Laguna 38205, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19124-19139; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819124 - 5 Aug 2015

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4895

Abstract

This paper presents preliminary polarization measurements and systematic-error characterization of the Thirty Gigahertz Instrument receiver developed for the QUIJOTE experiment. The instrument has been designed to measure the polarization of Cosmic Microwave Background radiation from the sky, obtaining the Q, U, and I [...] Read more.

This paper presents preliminary polarization measurements and systematic-error characterization of the Thirty Gigahertz Instrument receiver developed for the QUIJOTE experiment. The instrument has been designed to measure the polarization of Cosmic Microwave Background radiation from the sky, obtaining the Q, U, and I Stokes parameters of the incoming signal simultaneously. Two kinds of linearly polarized input signals have been used as excitations in the polarimeter measurement tests in the laboratory; these show consistent results in terms of the Stokes parameters obtained. A measurement-based systematic-error characterization technique has been used in order to determine the possible sources of instrumental errors and to assist in the polarimeter calibration process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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17 pages, 1282 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study of QCL Laser Sources for the Realization of Advanced Sensors

by Giuseppe De Risi¹, Lorenzo Luigi Columbo^1,2,* and Massimo Brambilla^1,2

¹ Dipartimento Interareneo di Fisica, Università degli Studi e Politecnico di Bari, via Amendola 173, I-70126 Bari, Italy

² CNR—Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie UOS Bari, via Amendola 173, I-70126 Bari, Italy

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19140-19156; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819140 - 5 Aug 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5172

Abstract

We study the nonlinear dynamics of a quantum cascade laser (QCL) with a strong reinjection provided by the feedback from two external targets in a double cavity configuration. The nonlinear coupling of interferometric signals from the two targets allows us to propose a [...] Read more.

We study the nonlinear dynamics of a quantum cascade laser (QCL) with a strong reinjection provided by the feedback from two external targets in a double cavity configuration. The nonlinear coupling of interferometric signals from the two targets allows us to propose a displacement sensor with nanometric resolution. The system exploits the ultra-stability of QCLs in self-mixing configuration to access the intrinsic nonlinearity of the laser, described by the Lang–Kobayashi model, and it relies on a stroboscopic-like effect in the voltage signal registered at the QCL terminals that relates the “slow” target motion to the “fast” target one. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infrared and THz Sensing and Imaging)

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24 pages, 498 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Decision Fusion with Channel Errors in Distributed Decode-Then-Fuse Sensor Networks

by Yongsheng Yan^1,*, Haiyan Wang¹, Xiaohong Shen¹ and Xionghu Zhong²

¹ School of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University,127 Youyi West Road, Xi'an 710072, China

² School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19157-19180; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819157 - 5 Aug 2015

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5119

Abstract

Decision fusion for distributed detection in sensor networks under non-ideal channels is investigated in this paper. Usually, the local decisions are transmitted to the fusion center (FC) and decoded, and a fusion rule is then applied to achieve a global decision. We propose [...] Read more.

Decision fusion for distributed detection in sensor networks under non-ideal channels is investigated in this paper. Usually, the local decisions are transmitted to the fusion center (FC) and decoded, and a fusion rule is then applied to achieve a global decision. We propose an optimal likelihood ratio test (LRT)-based fusion rule to take the uncertainty of the decoded binary data due to modulation, reception mode and communication channel into account. The average bit error rate (BER) is employed to characterize such an uncertainty. Further, the detection performance is analyzed under both non-identical and identical local detection performance indices. In addition, the performance of the proposed method is compared with the existing optimal and suboptimal LRT fusion rules. The results show that the proposed fusion rule is more robust compared to these existing ones. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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18 pages, 1992 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigating Driver Fatigue versus Alertness Using the Granger Causality Network

by Wanzeng Kong^1,2, Weicheng Lin¹, Fabio Babiloni^3,*

, Sanqing Hu¹ and Gianluca Borghini^4,5

¹ College of Computer Science, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China

² College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China

³ Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome 00185, Italy

⁴ Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome 00185, Italy

⁵ IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, via Ardeatina, 306, Rome 00142, Italy

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19181-19198; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819181 - 5 Aug 2015

Cited by 78 | Viewed by 8516

Abstract

Driving fatigue has been identified as one of the main factors affecting drivers’ safety. The aim of this study was to analyze drivers’ different mental states, such as alertness and drowsiness, and find out a neurometric indicator able to detect drivers’ fatigue level [...] Read more.

Driving fatigue has been identified as one of the main factors affecting drivers’ safety. The aim of this study was to analyze drivers’ different mental states, such as alertness and drowsiness, and find out a neurometric indicator able to detect drivers’ fatigue level in terms of brain networks. Twelve young, healthy subjects were recruited to take part in a driver fatigue experiment under different simulated driving conditions. The Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals of the subjects were recorded during the whole experiment and analyzed by using Granger-Causality-based brain effective networks. It was that the topology of the brain networks and the brain’s ability to integrate information changed when subjects shifted from the alert to the drowsy stage. In particular, there was a significant difference in terms of strength of Granger causality (GC) in the frequency domain and the properties of the brain effective network i.e., causal flow, global efficiency and characteristic path length between such conditions. Also, some changes were more significant over the frontal brain lobes for the alpha frequency band. These findings might be used to detect drivers’ fatigue levels, and as reference work for future studies. Full article

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

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13 pages, 859 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Security Analysis of Image Encryption Based on Gyrator Transform by Searching the Rotation Angle with Improved PSO Algorithm

by Jun Sang^1,2,*

, Jun Zhao³, Zhili Xiang^1,2, Bin Cai^1,2 and Hong Xiang^1,2

¹ Key Laboratory of Dependable Service Computing in Cyber Physical Society of Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China

² School of Software Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, China

³ School of Automation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19199-19211; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819199 - 5 Aug 2015

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5484

Abstract

Gyrator transform has been widely used for image encryption recently. For gyrator transform-based image encryption, the rotation angle used in the gyrator transform is one of the secret keys. In this paper, by analyzing the properties of the gyrator transform, an improved particle [...] Read more.

Gyrator transform has been widely used for image encryption recently. For gyrator transform-based image encryption, the rotation angle used in the gyrator transform is one of the secret keys. In this paper, by analyzing the properties of the gyrator transform, an improved particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm was proposed to search the rotation angle in a single gyrator transform. Since the gyrator transform is continuous, it is time-consuming to exhaustedly search the rotation angle, even considering the data precision in a computer. Therefore, a computational intelligence-based search may be an alternative choice. Considering the properties of severe local convergence and obvious global fluctuations of the gyrator transform, an improved PSO algorithm was proposed to be suitable for such situations. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed improved PSO algorithm can significantly improve the efficiency of searching the rotation angle in a single gyrator transform. Since gyrator transform is the foundation of image encryption in gyrator transform domains, the research on the method of searching the rotation angle in a single gyrator transform is useful for further study on the security of such image encryption algorithms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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13 pages, 1669 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electrochemical Impedance Immunosensor Based on Self-Assembled Monolayers for Rapid Detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 with Signal Amplification Using Lectin

by Zhanming Li¹, Yingchun Fu¹, Weihuan Fang² and Yanbin Li^1,3,*

¹ College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China

² College of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China

³ Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19212-19224; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819212 - 5 Aug 2015

Cited by 88 | Viewed by 8537

Abstract

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a predominant foodborne pathogen with severe pathogenicity, leading to increasing attention given to rapid and sensitive detection. Herein, we propose an impedance biosensor using new kinds of screen-printed interdigitated microelectrodes (SPIMs) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) for signal amplification [...] Read more.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a predominant foodborne pathogen with severe pathogenicity, leading to increasing attention given to rapid and sensitive detection. Herein, we propose an impedance biosensor using new kinds of screen-printed interdigitated microelectrodes (SPIMs) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) for signal amplification to detect E. coli O157:H7 with high sensitivity and time-efficiency. The SPIMs integrate the high sensitivity and short response time of the interdigitated electrodes and the low cost of the screen-printed electrodes. Self-assembling of bi-functional 3-dithiobis-(sulfosuccinimidyl-propionate) (DTSP) on the SPIMs was investigated and was proved to be able to improve adsorption quantity and stability of biomaterials. WGA was further adopted to enhance the signal taking advantage of the abundant lectin-binding sites on the bacteria surface. The immunosensor exhibited a detection limit of 10² cfu·mL⁻¹, with a linear detection range from 10² to 10⁷ cfu·mL⁻¹ (r² = 0.98). The total detection time was less than 1 h, showing its comparable sensitivity and rapid response. Furthermore, the low cost of one SPIM significantly reduced the detection cost of the biosensor. The biosensor may have great promise in food safety analysis and lead to a portable biosensing system for routine monitoring of foodborne pathogens. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)

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12 pages, 1794 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simultaneous Detection of α-Fetoprotein and Carcinoembryonic Antigen Based on Si Nanowire Field-Effect Transistors

by Kuiyu Zhu^1,†, Ye Zhang^2,†, Zengyao Li¹, Fan Zhou¹, Kang Feng¹, Huiqiang Dou² and Tong Wang^1,2,*

¹ Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China

² Wuxi People's Hospital, Wuxi 214023, China

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19225-19236; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819225 - 5 Aug 2015

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 5483

Abstract

Primary hepatic carcinoma (PHC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, resulting in death within six to 20 months. The survival rate can be improved by effective treatments when diagnosed at an early stage. The α-fetoprotein (AFP) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) have [...] Read more.

Primary hepatic carcinoma (PHC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, resulting in death within six to 20 months. The survival rate can be improved by effective treatments when diagnosed at an early stage. The α-fetoprotein (AFP) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) have been identified as markers that are expressed at higher levels in PHC patients. In this study, we employed silicon nanowire field-effect transistors (SiNW-FETs) with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic channels to simultaneously detect AFP and CEA in desalted human serum. Dual-channel PDMS was first utilized for the selective modification of AFP and CEA antibodies on SiNWs, while single-channel PDMS offers faster and more sensitive detection of AFP and CEA in serum. During the SiNW modification process, 0.1% BSA was utilized to minimize nonspecific protein binding from serum. The linear dynamic ranges for the AFP and CEA detection were measured to be 500 fg/mL to 50 ng/mL and 50 fg/mL to 10 ng/mL, respectively. Our work demonstrates the promising potential of fabricated SiNW-FETs as a direct detection kit for multiple tumor markers in serum; therefore, it provides a chance for early stage diagnose and, hence, more effective treatments for PHC patients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)

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14 pages, 1616 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Hygroscopic Sensor Electrode for Fast Stabilized Non-Contact ECG Signal Acquisition

by Ee-May Fong and Wan-Young Chung^*

Department of Electronic Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19237-19250; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819237 - 5 Aug 2015

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 9598

Abstract

A capacitive electrocardiography (cECG) technique using a non-invasive ECG measuring technology that does not require direct contact between the sensor and the skin has attracted much interest. The system encounters several challenges when the sensor electrode and subject’s skin are weakly coupled. Because [...] Read more.

A capacitive electrocardiography (cECG) technique using a non-invasive ECG measuring technology that does not require direct contact between the sensor and the skin has attracted much interest. The system encounters several challenges when the sensor electrode and subject’s skin are weakly coupled. Because there is no direct physical contact between the subject and any grounding point, there is no discharge path for the built-up electrostatic charge. Subsequently, the electrostatic charge build-up can temporarily contaminate the ECG signal from being clearly visible; a stabilization period (3–15 min) is required for the measurement of a clean, stable ECG signal at low humidity levels (below 55% relative humidity). Therefore, to obtain a clear ECG signal without noise and to reduce the ECG signal stabilization time to within 2 min in a dry ambient environment, we have developed a fabric electrode with embedded polymer (FEEP). The designed hygroscopic FEEP has an embedded superabsorbent polymer layer. The principle of FEEP as a conductive electrode is to provide humidity to the capacitive coupling to ensure strong coupling and to allow for the measurement of a stable, clear biomedical signal. The evaluation results show that hygroscopic FEEP is capable of rapidly measuring high-accuracy ECG signals with a higher SNR ratio. Full article

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

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13 pages, 2778 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Three Three-Axis IEPE Accelerometers on the Inner Liner of a Tire for Finding the Tire-Road Friction Potential Indicators

by Arto Niskanen^* and Ari J. Tuononen

School of Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 14300, Espoo 00076, Finland

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19251-19263; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819251 - 5 Aug 2015

Cited by 54 | Viewed by 8725

Abstract

Direct tire-road contact friction estimation is essential for future autonomous cars and active safety systems. Friction estimation methods have been proposed earlier for driving conditions in the presence of a slip angle or slip ratio. However, the estimation of the friction from a [...] Read more.

Direct tire-road contact friction estimation is essential for future autonomous cars and active safety systems. Friction estimation methods have been proposed earlier for driving conditions in the presence of a slip angle or slip ratio. However, the estimation of the friction from a freely-rolling tire is still an unsolved topic. Knowing the existing friction potential would be beneficial since vehicle control systems could be adjusted before any remarkable tire force has been produced. Since accelerometers are well-known and robust, and thus a promising sensor type for intelligent tires, this study uses three three-axis IEPE accelerometers on the inner liner of a tire to detect friction potential indicators on two equally smooth surfaces with different friction levels. The equal roughness was chosen for both surfaces in order to study the friction phenomena by neglecting the effect of surface texture on vibrations. The acceleration data before the contact is used to differentiate the two friction levels between the tire and the road. In addition, the contact lengths from the three accelerometers are used to validate the acceleration data. A method to differentiate the friction levels on the basis of the acceleration signal is also introduced. Full article

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

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38 pages, 9951 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Suppression of Systematic Errors of Electronic Distance Meters for Measurement of Short Distances

by Jaroslav Braun^*, Martin Štroner^†, Rudolf Urban^† and Filip Dvořáček

¹ Department of Special Geodesy, Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Thákurova 7, 166 29 Prague 6, Czech Republic

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19264-19301; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819264 - 6 Aug 2015

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 9651

Abstract

In modern industrial geodesy, high demands are placed on the final accuracy, with expectations currently falling below 1 mm. The measurement methodology and surveying instruments used have to be adjusted to meet these stringent requirements, especially the total stations as the most often [...] Read more.

In modern industrial geodesy, high demands are placed on the final accuracy, with expectations currently falling below 1 mm. The measurement methodology and surveying instruments used have to be adjusted to meet these stringent requirements, especially the total stations as the most often used instruments. A standard deviation of the measured distance is the accuracy parameter, commonly between 1 and 2 mm. This parameter is often discussed in conjunction with the determination of the real accuracy of measurements at very short distances (5–50 m) because it is generally known that this accuracy cannot be increased by simply repeating the measurement because a considerable part of the error is systematic. This article describes the detailed testing of electronic distance meters to determine the absolute size of their systematic errors, their stability over time, their repeatability and the real accuracy of their distance measurement. Twenty instruments (total stations) have been tested, and more than 60,000 distances in total were measured to determine the accuracy and precision parameters of the distance meters. Based on the experiments’ results, calibration procedures were designed, including a special correction function for each instrument, whose usage reduces the standard deviation of the measurement of distance by at least 50%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Sensors for Chemical, Biological and Industrial Applications)

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29 pages, 4792 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Keeping a Good Attitude: A Quaternion-Based Orientation Filter for IMUs and MARGs

by Roberto G. Valenti¹, Ivan Dryanovski² and Jizhong Xiao^1,*

¹ The City College of New York, The City University of New York, Convent Avenue and 140th Street, New York, NY 10031, USA

² The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19302-19330; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819302 - 6 Aug 2015

Cited by 301 | Viewed by 48585

Abstract

Orientation estimation using low cost sensors is an important task for Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) in order to obtain a good feedback for the attitude controller. The challenges come from the low accuracy and noisy data of the MicroElectroMechanical System (MEMS) technology, which [...] Read more.

Orientation estimation using low cost sensors is an important task for Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) in order to obtain a good feedback for the attitude controller. The challenges come from the low accuracy and noisy data of the MicroElectroMechanical System (MEMS) technology, which is the basis of modern, miniaturized inertial sensors. In this article, we describe a novel approach to obtain an estimation of the orientation in quaternion form from the observations of gravity and magnetic field. Our approach provides a quaternion estimation as the algebraic solution of a system from inertial/magnetic observations. We separate the problems of finding the “tilt” quaternion and the heading quaternion in two sub-parts of our system. This procedure is the key for avoiding the impact of the magnetic disturbances on the roll and pitch components of the orientation when the sensor is surrounded by unwanted magnetic flux. We demonstrate the validity of our method first analytically and then empirically using simulated data. We propose a novel complementary filter for MAVs that fuses together gyroscope data with accelerometer and magnetic field readings. The correction part of the filter is based on the method described above and works for both IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) and MARG (Magnetic, Angular Rate, and Gravity) sensors. We evaluate the effectiveness of the filter and show that it significantly outperforms other common methods, using publicly available datasets with ground-truth data recorded during a real flight experiment of a micro quadrotor helicopter. Full article

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

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20 pages, 663 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Distributed Data-Gathering Protocol Using AUV in Underwater Sensor Networks

by Jawaad Ullah Khan and Ho-Shin Cho^*

Department of Electronic Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 702-701, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19331-19350; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819331 - 6 Aug 2015

Cited by 96 | Viewed by 9433

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a distributed data-gathering scheme using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) working as a mobile sink to gather data from a randomly distributed underwater sensor network where sensor nodes are clustered around several cluster headers. Unlike conventional data-gathering schemes [...] Read more.

In this paper, we propose a distributed data-gathering scheme using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) working as a mobile sink to gather data from a randomly distributed underwater sensor network where sensor nodes are clustered around several cluster headers. Unlike conventional data-gathering schemes where the AUV visits either every node or every cluster header, the proposed scheme allows the AUV to visit some selected nodes named path-nodes in a way that reduces the overall transmission power of the sensor nodes. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to investigate the performance of the proposed scheme compared with several preexisting techniques employing the AUV in terms of total amount of energy consumption, standard deviation of each node’s energy consumption, latency to gather data at a sink, and controlling overhead. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme not only reduces the total energy consumption but also distributes the energy consumption more uniformly over the network, thereby increasing the lifetime of the network. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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18 pages, 1148 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mass Detection in Viscous Fluid Utilizing Vibrating Micro- and Nanomechanical Mass Sensors under Applied Axial Tensile Force

by Ivo Stachiv^1,2,*

, Te-Hua Fang¹ and Yeau-Ren Jeng^3,4,*

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, Kaohsiung 80778, Taiwan

² Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 18221, Czech Republic

³ Advanced Institute of Manufacturing with High-tech Innovations (AIM-HI), National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi County 62102, Taiwan

⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi County 62102, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19351-19368; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819351 - 6 Aug 2015

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6534

Abstract

Vibrating micro- and nanomechanical mass sensors are capable of quantitatively determining attached mass from only the first three (two) measured cantilever (suspended) resonant frequencies. However, in aqueous solutions that are relevant to most biological systems, the mass determination is challenging because the quality [...] Read more.

Vibrating micro- and nanomechanical mass sensors are capable of quantitatively determining attached mass from only the first three (two) measured cantilever (suspended) resonant frequencies. However, in aqueous solutions that are relevant to most biological systems, the mass determination is challenging because the quality factor (Q-factor) due to fluid damping decreases and, as a result, usually just the fundamental resonant frequencies can be correctly identified. Moreover, for higher modes the resonance coupling, noise, and internal damping have been proven to strongly affect the measured resonances and, correspondingly, the accuracy of estimated masses. In this work, a technique capable of determining the mass for the cantilever and also the position of nanobeads attached on the vibrating micro-/nanomechanical beam under intentionally applied axial tensile force from the measured fundamental flexural resonant frequencies is proposed. The axial force can be created and controlled through an external electrostatic or magnetostatic field. Practicality of the proposed technique is confirmed on the suspended multi-walled carbon nanotube and the rectangular silicon cantilever-based mass sensors. We show that typically achievable force resolution has a negligibly small impact on the accuracy of mass measurement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resonant Sensors and Sensor Fusion)

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24 pages, 1935 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Automated Tracking of Drosophila Specimens

by Rubén Chao¹, Germán Macía-Vázquez¹, Eduardo Zalama², Jaime Gómez-García-Bermejo^2,*

and José-Ramón Perán³

¹ University of Valladolid, Paseo del Cauce 59. Valladolid 47011, Spain

² University of Valladolid, Instituto de las Tecnologías Avanzadas de la Producción, Paseo del Cauce 59. Valladolid 47011, Spain

³ Fundación Cartif, Parque Tecnológico de Boecillo, Valladolid 47151, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19369-19392; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819369 - 6 Aug 2015

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 7275

Abstract

The fruit fly Drosophila Melanogaster has become a model organism in the study of neurobiology and behavior patterns. The analysis of the way the fly moves and its behavior is of great scientific interest for research on aspects such as drug tolerance, aggression [...] Read more.

The fruit fly Drosophila Melanogaster has become a model organism in the study of neurobiology and behavior patterns. The analysis of the way the fly moves and its behavior is of great scientific interest for research on aspects such as drug tolerance, aggression or ageing in humans. In this article, a procedure for detecting, identifying and tracking numerous specimens of Drosophila by means of computer vision-based sensing systems is presented. This procedure allows dynamic information about each specimen to be collected at each moment, and then for its behavior to be quantitatively characterized. The proposed algorithm operates in three main steps: a pre-processing step, a detection and segmentation step, and tracking shape. The pre-processing and segmentation steps allow some limits of the image acquisition system and some visual artifacts (such as shadows and reflections) to be dealt with. The improvements introduced in the tracking step allow the problems corresponding to identity loss and swaps, caused by the interaction between individual flies, to be solved efficiently. Thus, a robust method that compares favorably to other existing methods is obtained. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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23 pages, 2381 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ultrasonic Technique for Density Measurement of Liquids in Extreme Conditions

by Rymantas Kazys, Reimondas Sliteris, Regina Rekuviene^*, Egidijus Zukauskas and Liudas Mazeika

Ultrasound Research Institute, Kaunas University of Technology, Barsausko st. 59, Kaunas LT-51368, Lithuania

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19393-19415; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819393 - 7 Aug 2015

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 10837

Abstract

An ultrasonic technique, invariant to temperature changes, for a density measurement of different liquids under in situ extreme conditions is presented. The influence of geometry and material parameters of the measurement system (transducer, waveguide, matching layer) on measurement accuracy and reliability is analyzed [...] Read more.

An ultrasonic technique, invariant to temperature changes, for a density measurement of different liquids under in situ extreme conditions is presented. The influence of geometry and material parameters of the measurement system (transducer, waveguide, matching layer) on measurement accuracy and reliability is analyzed theoretically along with experimental results. The proposed method is based on measurement of the amplitude of the ultrasonic wave, reflected from the interface of the solid/liquid medium under investigation. In order to enhance sensitivity, the use of a quarter wavelength acoustic matching layer is proposed. Therefore, the sensitivity of the measurement system increases significantly. Density measurements quite often must be performed in extreme conditions at high temperature (up to 220 °C) and high pressure. In this case, metal waveguides between piezoelectric transducer and the measured liquid are used in order to protect the conventional transducer from the influence of high temperature and to avoid depolarization. The presented ultrasonic density measurement technique is suitable for density measurement in different materials, including liquids and polymer melts in extreme conditions. A new calibration algorithm was proposed. The metrological evaluation of the measurement method was performed. The expanded measurement uncertainty U_ρ = 7.4 × 10⁻³ g/cm³ (1%). Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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13 pages, 1397 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ocean Wave Separation Using CEEMD-Wavelet in GPS Wave Measurement

by Junjie Wang, Xiufeng He^* and Vagner G. Ferreira

School of Earth Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19416-19428; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819416 - 7 Aug 2015

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5921

Abstract

Monitoring ocean waves plays a crucial role in, for example, coastal environmental and protection studies. Traditional methods for measuring ocean waves are based on ultrasonic sensors and accelerometers. However, the Global Positioning System (GPS) has been introduced recently and has the advantage of [...] Read more.

Monitoring ocean waves plays a crucial role in, for example, coastal environmental and protection studies. Traditional methods for measuring ocean waves are based on ultrasonic sensors and accelerometers. However, the Global Positioning System (GPS) has been introduced recently and has the advantage of being smaller, less expensive, and not requiring calibration in comparison with the traditional methods. Therefore, for accurately measuring ocean waves using GPS, further research on the separation of the wave signals from the vertical GPS-mounted carrier displacements is still necessary. In order to contribute to this topic, we present a novel method that combines complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition (CEEMD) with a wavelet threshold denoising model (i.e., CEEMD-Wavelet). This method seeks to extract wave signals with less residual noise and without losing useful information. Compared with the wave parameters derived from the moving average skill, high pass filter and wave gauge, the results show that the accuracy of the wave parameters for the proposed method was improved with errors of about 2 cm and 0.2 s for mean wave height and mean period, respectively, verifying the validity of the proposed method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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14 pages, 1248 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electrochemical Characterization of Protein Adsorption onto YNGRT-Au and VLGXE-Au Surfaces

by Hanna Trzeciakiewicz¹, Jose Esteves-Villanueva¹, Rania Soudy², Kamaljit Kaur^2,3 and Sanela Martic-Milne^1,*

¹ Department of Chemistry, Oakland University, 2200 North Squirrel Road, Rochester, MI 48309, USA

² Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, 87 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada

³ Chapman University School of Pharmacy, Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus, Chapman University, Irvine, CA 92618-1908, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19429-19442; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819429 - 7 Aug 2015

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 6949

Abstract

The adsorption of the proteins CD13, mucin and bovine serum albumin on VLGXE-Au and YNGRT-Au interfaces was monitored by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in the presence of [Fe(CN)₆]^3−/4−. The hydrophobicity of the Au surface was tailored using specific peptides, blocking [...] Read more.

The adsorption of the proteins CD13, mucin and bovine serum albumin on VLGXE-Au and YNGRT-Au interfaces was monitored by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in the presence of [Fe(CN)₆]^3−/4−. The hydrophobicity of the Au surface was tailored using specific peptides, blocking agents and diluents. The combination of blocking agents (ethanolamine or n-butylamine) and diluents (hexanethiol or 2-mercaptoethanol) was used to prepare various peptide-modified Au surfaces. Protein adsorption onto the peptide-Au surfaces modified with the combination of n-butylamine and hexanethiol produced a dramatic decrease in the charge transfer resistance, R_ct, for all three proteins. In contrast, polar peptide-surfaces induced a minimal change in R_ct for all three proteins. Furthermore, an increase in R_ct was observed with CD13 (an aminopeptidase overexpressed in certain cancers) in comparison to the other proteins when the VLGXE-Au surface was modified with n-butylamine as a blocking agent. The electrochemical data indicated that protein adsorption may be modulated by tailoring the peptide sequence on Au surfaces and that blocking agents and diluents play a key role in promoting or preventing protein adsorption. The peptide-Au platform may also be used for targeting cancer biomarkers with designer peptides. Full article

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

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23 pages, 2622 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Efficient Data Compression Model Based on Spatial Clustering and Principal Component Analysis in Wireless Sensor Networks

by Yihang Yin¹, Fengzheng Liu¹, Xiang Zhou¹ and Quanzhong Li^1,2,*

¹ School of Data Science and Computer, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China

² Collaborative Innovation Center of High Performance Computing,National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19443-19465; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819443 - 7 Aug 2015

Cited by 49 | Viewed by 6829

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been widely used to monitor the environment, and sensors in WSNs are usually power constrained. Because inner-node communication consumes most of the power, efficient data compression schemes are needed to reduce the data transmission to prolong the lifetime [...] Read more.

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been widely used to monitor the environment, and sensors in WSNs are usually power constrained. Because inner-node communication consumes most of the power, efficient data compression schemes are needed to reduce the data transmission to prolong the lifetime of WSNs. In this paper, we propose an efficient data compression model to aggregate data, which is based on spatial clustering and principal component analysis (PCA). First, sensors with a strong temporal-spatial correlation are grouped into one cluster for further processing with a novel similarity measure metric. Next, sensor data in one cluster are aggregated in the cluster head sensor node, and an efficient adaptive strategy is proposed for the selection of the cluster head to conserve energy. Finally, the proposed model applies principal component analysis with an error bound guarantee to compress the data and retain the definite variance at the same time. Computer simulations show that the proposed model can greatly reduce communication and obtain a lower mean square error than other PCA-based algorithms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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21 pages, 1423 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A High Performance Delta-Sigma Modulator for Neurosensing

by Jian Xu^1,2,*, Menglian Zhao³, Xiaobo Wu³, Md. Kafiul Islam¹ and Zhi Yang^1,2

¹ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576, Singapore

² Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

³ Institute of VLSI Design, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou 310027, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19466-19486; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819466 - 7 Aug 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 9910

Abstract

Recorded neural data are frequently corrupted by large amplitude artifacts that are triggered by a variety of sources, such as subject movements, organ motions, electromagnetic interferences and discharges at the electrode surface. To prevent the system from saturating and the electronics from malfunctioning [...] Read more.

Recorded neural data are frequently corrupted by large amplitude artifacts that are triggered by a variety of sources, such as subject movements, organ motions, electromagnetic interferences and discharges at the electrode surface. To prevent the system from saturating and the electronics from malfunctioning due to these large artifacts, a wide dynamic range for data acquisition is demanded, which is quite challenging to achieve and would require excessive circuit area and power for implementation. In this paper, we present a high performance Delta-Sigma modulator along with several design techniques and enabling blocks to reduce circuit area and power. The modulator was fabricated in a 0.18-µm CMOS process. Powered by a 1.0-V supply, the chip can achieve an 85-dB peak signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio (SNDR) and an 87-dB dynamic range when integrated over a 10-kHz bandwidth. The total power consumption of the modulator is 13 µW, which corresponds to a figure-of-merit (FOM) of 45 fJ/conversion step. These competitive circuit specifications make this design a good candidate for building high precision neurosensors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Power Schemes for Biosensors and Biomedical Devices)

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8 pages, 663 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Human-Computer Interaction in Smart Environments

by Gianluca Paravati^* and Valentina Gatteschi

Politecnico di Torino, Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, Torino 10129, Italy

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19487-19494; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819487 - 7 Aug 2015

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 11559

Abstract

Here, we provide an overview of the content of the Special Issue on “Human-computer interaction in smart environments”. The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight technologies and solutions encompassing the use of mass-market sensors in current and emerging applications for interacting [...] Read more.

Here, we provide an overview of the content of the Special Issue on “Human-computer interaction in smart environments”. The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight technologies and solutions encompassing the use of mass-market sensors in current and emerging applications for interacting with Smart Environments. Selected papers address this topic by analyzing different interaction modalities, including hand/body gestures, face recognition, gaze/eye tracking, biosignal analysis, speech and activity recognition, and related issues. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue HCI In Smart Environments)

12 pages, 2153 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Distributed Wireless Monitoring System for Ullage and Temperature in Wine Barrels

by Wenqi Zhang¹, George K. Skouroumounis², Tanya M. Monro³ and Dennis Taylor^2,*

¹ Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing and School of Physical Sciences, the University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia

² School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, the University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, PMB 1, Glen Osmond 5064, Australia

³ The University of South Australia, Adelaide 5000, Australia

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19495-19506; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819495 - 10 Aug 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 8999

Abstract

This paper presents a multipurpose and low cost sensor for the simultaneous monitoring of temperature and ullage of wine in barrels in two of the most important stages of winemaking, that being fermentation and maturation. The distributed sensor subsystem is imbedded within the [...] Read more.

This paper presents a multipurpose and low cost sensor for the simultaneous monitoring of temperature and ullage of wine in barrels in two of the most important stages of winemaking, that being fermentation and maturation. The distributed sensor subsystem is imbedded within the bung of the barrel and runs on battery for a period of at least 12 months and costs around $27 AUD for all parts. In addition, software was designed which allows for the remote transmission and easy visual interpretation of the data for the winemaker. Early warning signals can be sent when the temperature or ullage deviates from a winemakers expectations so remedial action can be taken, such as when topping is required or the movement of the barrels to a cooler cellar location. Such knowledge of a wine’s properties or storage conditions allows for a more precise control of the final wine quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors for Food Safety and Quality)

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34 pages, 1837 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Scalable Context-Aware Objective Function (SCAOF) of Routing Protocol for Agricultural Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPAL)

by Yibo Chen^1,2, Jean-Pierre Chanet^1,*, Kun-Mean Hou², Hongling Shi² and Gil De Sousa¹

¹ IRSTEA – Centre de Clermont-FD, TSCF, 63173 Aubière, France

² Laboratoire LIMOS UMR 6158 CNRS, 63173 Aubière, France

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19507-19540; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819507 - 10 Aug 2015

Cited by 54 | Viewed by 7607

Abstract

In recent years, IoT (Internet of Things) technologies have seen great advances, particularly, the IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low-power and Lossy Networks (RPL), which provides a powerful and flexible routing framework that can be applied in a variety of application scenarios. In this [...] Read more.

In recent years, IoT (Internet of Things) technologies have seen great advances, particularly, the IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low-power and Lossy Networks (RPL), which provides a powerful and flexible routing framework that can be applied in a variety of application scenarios. In this context, as an important role of IoT, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) can utilize RPL to design efficient routing protocols for a specific application to increase the ubiquity of networks with resource-constrained WSN nodes that are low-cost and easy to deploy. In this article, our work starts with the description of Agricultural Low-power and Lossy Networks (A-LLNs) complying with the LLN framework, and to clarify the requirements of this application-oriented routing solution. After a brief review of existing optimization techniques for RPL, our contribution is dedicated to a Scalable Context-Aware Objective Function (SCAOF) that can adapt RPL to the environmental monitoring of A-LLNs, through combining energy-aware, reliability-aware, robustness-aware and resource-aware contexts according to the composite routing metrics approach. The correct behavior of this enhanced RPL version (RPAL) was verified by performance evaluations on both simulation and field tests. The obtained experimental results confirm that SCAOF can deliver the desired advantages on network lifetime extension, and high reliability and efficiency in different simulation scenarios and hardware testbeds. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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19 pages, 730 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Balanced Cross-Layer Design Routing Algorithm in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Fuzzy Logic

by Ning Li^*

, José-Fernán Martínez and Vicente Hernández Díaz

Centro de Investigación en Tecnologías Software y Sistemal Multimedia para la Sostenibilidad (CITSEM), Campus Sur Universidad Ploitécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid 28031, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19541-19559; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819541 - 10 Aug 2015

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6117

Abstract

Recently, the cross-layer design for the wireless sensor network communication protocol has become more and more important and popular. Considering the disadvantages of the traditional cross-layer routing algorithms, in this paper we propose a new fuzzy logic-based routing algorithm, named the Balanced Cross-layer [...] Read more.

Recently, the cross-layer design for the wireless sensor network communication protocol has become more and more important and popular. Considering the disadvantages of the traditional cross-layer routing algorithms, in this paper we propose a new fuzzy logic-based routing algorithm, named the Balanced Cross-layer Fuzzy Logic (BCFL) routing algorithm. In BCFL, we use the cross-layer parameters’ dispersion as the fuzzy logic inference system inputs. Moreover, we give each cross-layer parameter a dynamic weight according the value of the dispersion. For getting a balanced solution, the parameter whose dispersion is large will have small weight, and vice versa. In order to compare it with the traditional cross-layer routing algorithms, BCFL is evaluated through extensive simulations. The simulation results show that the new routing algorithm can handle the multiple constraints without increasing the complexity of the algorithm and can achieve the most balanced performance on selecting the next hop relay node. Moreover, the Balanced Cross-layer Fuzzy Logic routing algorithm can adapt to the dynamic changing of the network conditions and topology effectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Sensor Computing: Theory and Applications)

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23 pages, 1102 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Secure and Authenticated Data Communication in Wireless Sensor Networks

by Omar Alfandi^1,2,*, Arne Bochem², Ansgar Kellner², Christian Göge² and Dieter Hogrefe²

¹ College of Technological Innovations, Zayed University, Khalifa City B,P.O. Box 144534 Abu Dhabi, UAE

² Institute of Computer Science, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Goldschmidtstrasse 7, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19560-19582; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819560 - 10 Aug 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 7128

Abstract

Securing communications in wireless sensor networks is increasingly important as the diversity of applications increases. However, even today, it is equally important for the measures employed to be energy efficient. For this reason, this publication analyzes the suitability of various cryptographic primitives for [...] Read more.

Securing communications in wireless sensor networks is increasingly important as the diversity of applications increases. However, even today, it is equally important for the measures employed to be energy efficient. For this reason, this publication analyzes the suitability of various cryptographic primitives for use in WSNs according to various criteria and, finally, describes a modular, PKI-based framework for confidential, authenticated, secure communications in which most suitable primitives can be employed. Due to the limited capabilities of common WSN motes, criteria for the selection of primitives are security, power efficiency and memory requirements. The implementation of the framework and the singular components have been tested and benchmarked in our testbed of IRISmotes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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14 pages, 1141 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Sensor Approach for the Monitoring of Halitosis Treatment via Lactobacillus brevis (CD2)—Containing Lozenges—A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

by Enrico Marchetti^1,*, Simona Tecco²

, Marco Santonico³, Chiara Vernile³, Daniele Ciciarelli¹, Ester Tarantino¹, Giuseppe Marzo¹ and Giorgio Pennazza³

¹ Department MESVA, University of L'Aquila, Via Vetoio ed. Delta 6, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy

² University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, I.R.R.C.S. San Raffaele Hospital, 20100 Milano, Italy

³ Center for Integrated Research—CIR, Unit of Electronics for Sensor Systems, "Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma", Via Alvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Rome, Italy

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19583-19596; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819583 - 10 Aug 2015

Cited by 44 | Viewed by 7265

Abstract

The aim of this randomized clinical trial was to evaluate whether a recently described multi-sensor approach called BIONOTE^® is accurate enough to verify the efficacy of treatment of patients with halitosis. A treatment with Lactobacillus brevis (CD2)–containing lozenges, compared with placebo was [...] Read more.

The aim of this randomized clinical trial was to evaluate whether a recently described multi-sensor approach called BIONOTE^® is accurate enough to verify the efficacy of treatment of patients with halitosis. A treatment with Lactobacillus brevis (CD2)–containing lozenges, compared with placebo was tested. The BIONOTE^® was compared with traditional techniques used to detect halitosis: OralChroma™ and two calibrated odor judges enrolled for the organoleptic assessments. Twenty patients (10 treated and 10 placebo), suffering from active phase halitosis were included in the study. Treatment consisted of Lactobacillus brevis (CD2)—containing lozenges or placebo, 4 tablets/day for 14 days. t₀ was before the beginning of the study; t₁ was day 7 and t₂ was day 14. The effectiveness of treatment was assessed through: (1) Rosenberg score; (2) Winkel tongue coating index (WTCI) anterior and posterior; (2) OralChroma™; (3) the new developed multi-sensor approach, called BIONOTE^® (test technique). Only the WTCI anterior revealed statistically significant changes between t₀ and t₂ data (p = 0.014) in the treated group. Except for the WTCI anterior, all diagnostic methods revealed the lack of effectiveness for halitosis of a 14-days treatment with Lactobacillus brevis (CD2)–containing lozenges. The BIONOTE^®multisensor system seems accurate in addition to OralChroma™ to assess the initial condition of halitosis and its mitigation during treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Chemical Sensors)

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21 pages, 2002 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On the Optimization of a Probabilistic Data Aggregation Framework for Energy Efficiency in Wireless Sensor Networks

by Stella Kafetzoglou, Giorgos Aristomenopoulos and Symeon Papavassiliou^*

School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), 9 Iroon Polytechniou str., Zografou, 15780 Athens, Greece

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19597-19617; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819597 - 11 Aug 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5198

Abstract

Among the key aspects of the Internet of Things (IoT) is the integration of heterogeneous sensors in a distributed system that performs actions on the physical world based on environmental information gathered by sensors and application-related constraints and requirements. Numerous applications of Wireless [...] Read more.

Among the key aspects of the Internet of Things (IoT) is the integration of heterogeneous sensors in a distributed system that performs actions on the physical world based on environmental information gathered by sensors and application-related constraints and requirements. Numerous applications of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have appeared in various fields, from environmental monitoring, to tactical fields, and healthcare at home, promising to change our quality of life and facilitating the vision of sensor network enabled smart cities. Given the enormous requirements that emerge in such a setting—both in terms of data and energy—data aggregation appears as a key element in reducing the amount of traffic in wireless sensor networks and achieving energy conservation. Probabilistic frameworks have been introduced as operational efficient and performance effective solutions for data aggregation in distributed sensor networks. In this work, we introduce an overall optimization approach that improves and complements such frameworks towards identifying the optimal probability for a node to aggregate packets as well as the optimal aggregation period that a node should wait for performing aggregation, so as to minimize the overall energy consumption, while satisfying certain imposed delay constraints. Primal dual decomposition is employed to solve the corresponding optimization problem while simulation results demonstrate the operational efficiency of the proposed approach under different traffic and topology scenarios. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Smart Cities)

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15 pages, 858 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Low-Power and Portable Biomedical Device for Respiratory Monitoring with a Stable Power Source

by Jiachen Yang¹, Bobo Chen^1,*, Jianxiong Zhou¹ and Zhihan Lv²

¹ School of Electronic Information Engineering, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin 300072, China

² Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology(SIAT), Chinese Academy of Science, Shenzhen 518055, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19618-19632; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819618 - 11 Aug 2015

Cited by 105 | Viewed by 9665

Abstract

Continuous respiratory monitoring is an important tool for clinical monitoring. Associated with the development of biomedical technology, it has become more and more important, especially in the measuring of gas flow and CO2 concentration, which can reflect the status of the patient. In [...] Read more.

Continuous respiratory monitoring is an important tool for clinical monitoring. Associated with the development of biomedical technology, it has become more and more important, especially in the measuring of gas flow and CO2 concentration, which can reflect the status of the patient. In this paper, a new type of biomedical device is presented, which uses low-power sensors with a piezoresistive silicon differential pressure sensor to measure gas flow and with a pyroelectric sensor to measure CO2 concentration simultaneously. For the portability of the biomedical device, the sensors and low-power measurement circuits are integrated together, and the airway tube also needs to be miniaturized. Circuits are designed to ensure the stability of the power source and to filter out the existing noise. Modulation technology is used to eliminate the fluctuations at the trough of the waveform of the CO2 concentration signal. Statistical analysis with the coefficient of variation was performed to find out the optimal driving voltage of the pressure transducer. Through targeted experiments, the biomedical device showed a high accuracy, with a measuring precision of 0.23 mmHg, and it worked continuously and stably, thus realizing the real-time monitoring of the status of patients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Power Schemes for Biosensors and Biomedical Devices)

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16 pages, 4232 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Pyroelectric Harvesters with Various Geometry

by An-Shen Siao¹, Ching-Kong Chao¹ and Chun-Ching Hsiao^2,*

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, No. 43, Keelung Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei 10607, Taiwan

² Department of Mechanical Design Engineering, National Formosa University, No. 64, Wunhua Rd., Huwei Township, Yunlin County 632, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19633-19648; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819633 - 11 Aug 2015

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5206

Abstract

Pyroelectric harvesters convert time-dependent temperature variations into electric current. The appropriate geometry of the pyroelectric cells, coupled with the optimal period of temperature fluctuations, is key to driving the optimal load resistance, which enhances the performance of pyroelectric harvesters. The induced charge increases [...] Read more.

Pyroelectric harvesters convert time-dependent temperature variations into electric current. The appropriate geometry of the pyroelectric cells, coupled with the optimal period of temperature fluctuations, is key to driving the optimal load resistance, which enhances the performance of pyroelectric harvesters. The induced charge increases when the thickness of the pyroelectric cells decreases. Moreover, the induced charge is extremely reduced for the thinner pyroelectric cell when not used for the optimal period. The maximum harvested power is achieved when a 100 μm-thick PZT (Lead zirconate titanate) cell is used to drive the optimal load resistance of about 40 MΩ. Moreover, the harvested power is greatly reduced when the working resistance diverges even slightly from the optimal load resistance. The stored voltage generated from the 75 μm-thick PZT cell is less than that from the 400 μm-thick PZT cell for a period longer than 64 s. Although the thinner PZT cell is advantageous in that it enhances the efficiency of the pyroelectric harvester, the much thinner 75 μm-thick PZT cell and the divergence from the optimal period further diminish the performance of the pyroelectric cell. Therefore, the designers of pyroelectric harvesters need to consider the coupling effect between the geometry of the pyroelectric cells and the optimal period of temperature fluctuations to drive the optimal load resistance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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18 pages, 1016 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Trajectory-Based Coverage Assessment Approach for Universal Sensor Networks

by Ningning Qin^1,*, Xin Zheng¹ and Guiyun Tian²

¹ Key Laboratory of Advanced Process Control for Light Industry Ministry of Education, College of IOT Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China

² School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19649-19666; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819649 - 11 Aug 2015

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4326

Abstract

To solve the problem of coverage performance assessment, this study proposes an evaluation method based on the trajectory of the target, which is applicable to universal sensor networks, including both heterogeneous and homogeneous sensor networks. Different from the traditional Voronoi algorithm, the proposed [...] Read more.

To solve the problem of coverage performance assessment, this study proposes an evaluation method based on the trajectory of the target, which is applicable to universal sensor networks, including both heterogeneous and homogeneous sensor networks. Different from the traditional Voronoi algorithm, the proposed Improved Coverage Force Division (ICFD) plans a coverage force division map whichscales the qualitative coverage performancebasedon both covering intensities andlocations of the nodes. Furthermore, the Trajectory-based Evaluating Schedule (TES) is responsible for solving the quantitative coverage evaluationproblem by measuringthe resulting trajectories’ Balance Values (BVs). A model of weak-point ranking conjoined in consideration of coverage force and distance can guide future deployment to compensate coverage. Comparative trials using the greedy algorithm, Voronoi algorithm, and the proposed TES verify that TES achieves the approximate results for two-stage and multistage heterogeneous sensor networks with acceptable difference and lower complexity, and it is superior to the Voronoi algorithm in homogeneous sensor networks interms of breaking the four-point circle block. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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21 pages, 11403 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Towards the Development of a Low Cost Airborne Sensing System to Monitor Dust Particles after Blasting at Open-Pit Mine Sites

by Miguel Alvarado^1,*, Felipe Gonzalez², Andrew Fletcher¹ and Ashray Doshi³

¹ Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Mineral Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia

² Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane 4000, Australia

³ Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology, School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia 4072, Australia

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19667-19687; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819667 - 12 Aug 2015

Cited by 113 | Viewed by 15981 | Correction

Abstract

Blasting is an integral part of large-scale open cut mining that often occurs in close proximity to population centers and often results in the emission of particulate material and gases potentially hazardous to health. Current air quality monitoring methods rely on limited numbers [...] Read more.

Blasting is an integral part of large-scale open cut mining that often occurs in close proximity to population centers and often results in the emission of particulate material and gases potentially hazardous to health. Current air quality monitoring methods rely on limited numbers of fixed sampling locations to validate a complex fluid environment and collect sufficient data to confirm model effectiveness. This paper describes the development of a methodology to address the need of a more precise approach that is capable of characterizing blasting plumes in near-real time. The integration of the system required the modification and integration of an opto-electrical dust sensor, SHARP GP2Y10, into a small fixed-wing and multi-rotor copter, resulting in the collection of data streamed during flight. The paper also describes the calibration of the optical sensor with an industry grade dust-monitoring device, Dusttrak 8520, demonstrating a high correlation between them, with correlation coefficients (R²) greater than 0.9. The laboratory and field tests demonstrate the feasibility of coupling the sensor with the UAVs. However, further work must be done in the areas of sensor selection and calibration as well as flight planning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue UAV Sensors for Environmental Monitoring)

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21 pages, 4721 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Quality Evaluation of Resampled Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Imagery for Weed Mapping

by Irene Borra-Serrano^1,*, José Manuel Peña¹, Jorge Torres-Sánchez¹

, Francisco Javier Mesas-Carrascosa² and Francisca López-Granados¹

¹ Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, IAS-CSIC, P.O. Box 4084, Córdoba 14080, Spain

² Department of Graphic Engineering and Geomatics, Campus de Rabanales, University of Cordoba, Córdoba 14071, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19688-19708; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819688 - 12 Aug 2015

Cited by 44 | Viewed by 8392

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) combined with different spectral range sensors are an emerging technology for providing early weed maps for optimizing herbicide applications. Considering that weeds, at very early phenological stages, are similar spectrally and in appearance, three major components are relevant: spatial [...] Read more.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) combined with different spectral range sensors are an emerging technology for providing early weed maps for optimizing herbicide applications. Considering that weeds, at very early phenological stages, are similar spectrally and in appearance, three major components are relevant: spatial resolution, type of sensor and classification algorithm. Resampling is a technique to create a new version of an image with a different width and/or height in pixels, and it has been used in satellite imagery with different spatial and temporal resolutions. In this paper, the efficiency of resampled-images (RS-images) created from real UAV-images (UAV-images; the UAVs were equipped with two types of sensors, i.e., visible and visible plus near-infrared spectra) captured at different altitudes is examined to test the quality of the RS-image output. The performance of the object-based-image-analysis (OBIA) implemented for the early weed mapping using different weed thresholds was also evaluated. Our results showed that resampling accurately extracted the spectral values from high spatial resolution UAV-images at an altitude of 30 m and the RS-image data at altitudes of 60 and 100 m, was able to provide accurate weed cover and herbicide application maps compared with UAV-images from real flights. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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14 pages, 1423 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High Frequency Sampling of TTL Pulses on a Raspberry Pi for Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy Applications

by Matthew Tivnan^1,2, Rajan Gurjar^1,3, David E. Wolf^1,4 and Karthik Vishwanath^1,5,*

¹ Radiation Monitoring Devices Inc., 44 Hunt Street, Watertown, MA 02472, USA

² Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA

³ MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA 02421, USA

⁴ Pendar Medical, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

⁵ Department of Physics, 500 E Spring Street, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19709-19722; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819709 - 12 Aug 2015

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 7786

Abstract

Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy (DCS) is a well-established optical technique that has been used for non-invasive measurement of blood flow in tissues. Instrumentation for DCS includes a correlation device that computes the temporal intensity autocorrelation of a coherent laser source after it has undergone [...] Read more.

Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy (DCS) is a well-established optical technique that has been used for non-invasive measurement of blood flow in tissues. Instrumentation for DCS includes a correlation device that computes the temporal intensity autocorrelation of a coherent laser source after it has undergone diffuse scattering through a turbid medium. Typically, the signal acquisition and its autocorrelation are performed by a correlation board. These boards have dedicated hardware to acquire and compute intensity autocorrelations of rapidly varying input signal and usually are quite expensive. Here we show that a Raspberry Pi minicomputer can acquire and store a rapidly varying time-signal with high fidelity. We show that this signal collected by a Raspberry Pi device can be processed numerically to yield intensity autocorrelations well suited for DCS applications. DCS measurements made using the Raspberry Pi device were compared to those acquired using a commercial hardware autocorrelation board to investigate the stability, performance, and accuracy of the data acquired in controlled experiments. This paper represents a first step toward lowering the instrumentation cost of a DCS system and may offer the potential to make DCS become more widely used in biomedical applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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27 pages, 10511 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Auto-Tuning PI Control System for an Open-Circuit Low-Speed Wind Tunnel Designed for Greenhouse Technology

by Karlos Espinoza, Diego L. Valera^*

, José A. Torres, Alejandro López

and Francisco D. Molina-Aiz

Research Centre BITAL, University of Almería, Ctra. Sacramento s/n, 04120 Almería, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19723-19749; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819723 - 12 Aug 2015

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 11391

Abstract

Wind tunnels are a key experimental tool for the analysis of airflow parameters in many fields of application. Despite their great potential impact on agricultural research, few contributions have dealt with the development of automatic control systems for wind tunnels in the field [...] Read more.

Wind tunnels are a key experimental tool for the analysis of airflow parameters in many fields of application. Despite their great potential impact on agricultural research, few contributions have dealt with the development of automatic control systems for wind tunnels in the field of greenhouse technology. The objective of this paper is to present an automatic control system that provides precision and speed of measurement, as well as efficient data processing in low-speed wind tunnel experiments for greenhouse engineering applications. The system is based on an algorithm that identifies the system model and calculates the optimum PI controller. The validation of the system was performed on a cellulose evaporative cooling pad and on insect-proof screens to assess its response to perturbations. The control system provided an accuracy of <0.06 m·s‾¹ for airflow speed and <0.50 Pa for pressure drop, thus permitting the reproducibility and standardization of the tests. The proposed control system also incorporates a fully-integrated software unit that manages the tests in terms of airflow speed and pressure drop set points. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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18 pages, 1464 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Shaft Diameter Measurement Using Structured Light Vision

by Siyuan Liu, Qingchang Tan^* and Yachao Zhang

College of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19750-19767; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819750 - 12 Aug 2015

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 10458

Abstract

A method for measuring shaft diameters is presented using structured light vision measurement. After calibrating a model of the structured light measurement, a virtual plane is established perpendicular to the measured shaft axis and the image of the light stripe on the shaft [...] Read more.

A method for measuring shaft diameters is presented using structured light vision measurement. After calibrating a model of the structured light measurement, a virtual plane is established perpendicular to the measured shaft axis and the image of the light stripe on the shaft is projected to the virtual plane. On the virtual plane, the center of the measured shaft is determined by fitting the projected image under the geometrical constraints of the light stripe, and the shaft diameter is measured by the determined center and the projected image. Experiments evaluated the measuring accuracy of the method and the effects of some factors on the measurement are analyzed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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15 pages, 844 KiB

Open AccessArticle

UWB Wind Turbine Blade Deflection Sensing for Wind Energy Cost Reduction

by Shuai Zhang^1,*, Tobias Lindstrøm Jensen², Ondrej Franek¹, Patrick C. F. Eggers¹, Kim Olesen¹, Claus Byskov³ and Gert Frølund Pedersen¹

¹ Antennas, Propagation and Radio Networking section at the Department of Electronic Systems, Faculty of Engineering and Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg 9100, Denmark

² Signal and Information Processing section at the Department of Electronic Systems, Faculty of Engineering and Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg 9100, Denmark

³ LM Wind Power, Jupitervej 6, Kolding DK-6000, Denmark

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19768-19782; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819768 - 12 Aug 2015

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 10814

Abstract

A new application of utilizing ultra-wideband (UWB) technology to sense wind turbine blade deflections is introduced in this paper for wind energy cost reduction. The lower UWB band of 3.1–5.3 GHz is applied. On each blade, there will be one UWB blade deflection [...] Read more.

A new application of utilizing ultra-wideband (UWB) technology to sense wind turbine blade deflections is introduced in this paper for wind energy cost reduction. The lower UWB band of 3.1–5.3 GHz is applied. On each blade, there will be one UWB blade deflection sensing system, which consists of two UWB antennas at the blade root and one UWB antenna at the blade tip. The detailed topology and challenges of this deflection sensing system are addressed. Due to the complexity of the problem, this paper will first realize the on-blade UWB radio link in the simplest case, where the tip antenna is situated outside (and on the surface of) a blade tip. To investigate this case, full-blade time-domain measurements are designed and conducted under different deflections. The detailed measurement setups and results are provided. If the root and tip antenna locations are properly selected, the first pulse is always of sufficient quality for accurate estimations under different deflections. The measured results reveal that the blade tip-root distance and blade deflection can be accurately estimated in the complicated and lossy wireless channels around a wind turbine blade. Some future research topics on this application are listed finally. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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36 pages, 1622 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Energy-Efficient Spectrum-Aware Reinforcement Learning-Based Clustering Algorithm for Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks

by Ibrahim Mustapha^1,2,†, Borhanuddin Mohd Ali^1,*, Mohd Fadlee A. Rasid^1,†, Aduwati Sali^1,† and Hafizal Mohamad^3,†

¹ Department of Computer and Communications Systems Engineering and Wireless and Photonics Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang Selangor, Malaysia

² Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Maiduguri, P. M. B. 1069, Maiduguri, Nigeria

³ Wireless Networks and Protocol Research Lab, MIMOS Berhad, Technology Park Malaysia, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19783-19818; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819783 - 13 Aug 2015

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 9647

Abstract

It is well-known that clustering partitions network into logical groups of nodes in order to achieve energy efficiency and to enhance dynamic channel access in cognitive radio through cooperative sensing. While the topic of energy efficiency has been well investigated in conventional wireless [...] Read more.

It is well-known that clustering partitions network into logical groups of nodes in order to achieve energy efficiency and to enhance dynamic channel access in cognitive radio through cooperative sensing. While the topic of energy efficiency has been well investigated in conventional wireless sensor networks, the latter has not been extensively explored. In this paper, we propose a reinforcement learning-based spectrum-aware clustering algorithm that allows a member node to learn the energy and cooperative sensing costs for neighboring clusters to achieve an optimal solution. Each member node selects an optimal cluster that satisfies pairwise constraints, minimizes network energy consumption and enhances channel sensing performance through an exploration technique. We first model the network energy consumption and then determine the optimal number of clusters for the network. The problem of selecting an optimal cluster is formulated as a Markov Decision Process (MDP) in the algorithm and the obtained simulation results show convergence, learning and adaptability of the algorithm to dynamic environment towards achieving an optimal solution. Performance comparisons of our algorithm with the Groupwise Spectrum Aware (GWSA)-based algorithm in terms of Sum of Square Error (SSE), complexity, network energy consumption and probability of detection indicate improved performance from the proposed approach. The results further reveal that an energy savings of 9% and a significant Primary User (PU) detection improvement can be achieved with the proposed approach. Full article

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

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11 pages, 353 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Antigen-Antibody Affinity for Dry Eye Biomarkers by Label Free Biosensing. Comparison with the ELISA Technique

by Maríafe Laguna^1,2,*, Miguel Holgado^1,2, Ana L. Hernandez¹, Beatriz Santamaría^1,3, Alvaro Lavín^1,2, Javier Soria⁴, Tatiana Suarez⁴, Carlota Bardina⁵, Mónica Jara⁵, Francisco J. Sanza^1,3 and Rafael Casquel^1,2

¹ Center for Biomedical Technology, Optics, Photonics and Biophotonics Lab, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Campus Montegancedo, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain

² Department of Applied Physics and Material, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales (ETSII), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Jose Gutiérrez Abascal, 2. 28006 Madrid, Spain

³ BioOpticalDetection, Centro de Empresas de la UPM, Campus Montegancedo, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain

⁴ Bioftalmik. Parque Tecnológico Zamudio Ed. 800 2ª Planta 48160, Bizkaia, Spain

⁵ AntibodyBcn, MRB 104 Modul b UAB Campus, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19819-19829; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819819 - 13 Aug 2015

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6402

Abstract

The specificity and affinity of antibody-antigen interactions is a fundamental way to achieve reliable biosensing responses. Different proteins involved with dry eye dysfunction: ANXA1, ANXA11, CST4, PRDX5, PLAA and S100A6; were validated as biomarkers. In this work several antibodies were tested for ANXA1, [...] Read more.

The specificity and affinity of antibody-antigen interactions is a fundamental way to achieve reliable biosensing responses. Different proteins involved with dry eye dysfunction: ANXA1, ANXA11, CST4, PRDX5, PLAA and S100A6; were validated as biomarkers. In this work several antibodies were tested for ANXA1, ANXA11 and PRDX5 to select the best candidates for each biomarker. The results were obtained by using Biophotonic Sensing Cells (BICELLs) as an efficient methodology for label-free biosensing and compared with the Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) technique. Full article

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

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22 pages, 1374 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Efficient VLSI Architecture for Multi-Channel Spike Sorting Using a Generalized Hebbian Algorithm

by Ying-Lun Chen, Wen-Jyi Hwang^*

and Chi-En Ke

Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 116, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19830-19851; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819830 - 13 Aug 2015

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5076

Abstract

A novel VLSI architecture for multi-channel online spike sorting is presented in this paper. In the architecture, the spike detection is based on nonlinear energy operator (NEO), and the feature extraction is carried out by the generalized Hebbian algorithm (GHA). To lower the [...] Read more.

A novel VLSI architecture for multi-channel online spike sorting is presented in this paper. In the architecture, the spike detection is based on nonlinear energy operator (NEO), and the feature extraction is carried out by the generalized Hebbian algorithm (GHA). To lower the power consumption and area costs of the circuits, all of the channels share the same core for spike detection and feature extraction operations. Each channel has dedicated buffers for storing the detected spikes and the principal components of that channel. The proposed circuit also contains a clock gating system supplying the clock to only the buffers of channels currently using the computation core to further reduce the power consumption. The architecture has been implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) with 90-nm technology. Comparisons to the existing works show that the proposed architecture has lower power consumption and hardware area costs for real-time multi-channel spike detection and feature extraction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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28 pages, 2734 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping with Iterative Sparse Extended Information Filter for Autonomous Vehicles

by Bo He¹, Yang Liu¹, Diya Dong¹, Yue Shen^1,*

, Tianhong Yan² and Rui Nian¹

¹ School of Information Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, 238 Songling Road, Qingdao 266100, China

² School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, China Jiliang University, 258 Xueyuan Street, Xiasha High-Edu Park, Hangzhou 310018, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19852-19879; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819852 - 13 Aug 2015

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6251

Abstract

In this paper, a novel iterative sparse extended information filter (ISEIF) was proposed to solve the simultaneous localization and mapping problem (SLAM), which is very crucial for autonomous vehicles. The proposed algorithm solves the measurement update equations with iterative methods adaptively to reduce [...] Read more.

In this paper, a novel iterative sparse extended information filter (ISEIF) was proposed to solve the simultaneous localization and mapping problem (SLAM), which is very crucial for autonomous vehicles. The proposed algorithm solves the measurement update equations with iterative methods adaptively to reduce linearization errors. With the scalability advantage being kept, the consistency and accuracy of SEIF is improved. Simulations and practical experiments were carried out with both a land car benchmark and an autonomous underwater vehicle. Comparisons between iterative SEIF (ISEIF), standard EKF and SEIF are presented. All of the results convincingly show that ISEIF yields more consistent and accurate estimates compared to SEIF and preserves the scalability advantage over EKF, as well. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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32 pages, 872 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Efficient Sparse Signal Transmission over a Lossy Link Using Compressive Sensing

by Liantao Wu¹, Kai Yu¹

, Dongyu Cao¹, Yuhen Hu² and Zhi Wang^1,*

¹ State Key Laboratory of Industrial Control Technology, Zhejiang University, Zheda Road 38th, Hangzhou 310027, China

² Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19880-19911; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819880 - 13 Aug 2015

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5462

Abstract

Reliable data transmission over lossy communication link is expensive due to overheads for error protection. For signals that have inherent sparse structures, compressive sensing (CS) is applied to facilitate efficient sparse signal transmissions over lossy communication links without data compression or error protection. [...] Read more.

Reliable data transmission over lossy communication link is expensive due to overheads for error protection. For signals that have inherent sparse structures, compressive sensing (CS) is applied to facilitate efficient sparse signal transmissions over lossy communication links without data compression or error protection. The natural packet loss in the lossy link is modeled as a random sampling process of the transmitted data, and the original signal will be reconstructed from the lossy transmission results using the CS-based reconstruction method at the receiving end. The impacts of packet lengths on transmission efficiency under different channel conditions have been discussed, and interleaving is incorporated to mitigate the impact of burst data loss. Extensive simulations and experiments have been conducted and compared to the traditional automatic repeat request (ARQ) interpolation technique, and very favorable results have been observed in terms of both accuracy of the reconstructed signals and the transmission energy consumption. Furthermore, the packet length effect provides useful insights for using compressed sensing for efficient sparse signal transmission via lossy links. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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13 pages, 1614 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quadruplex Integrated DNA (QuID) Nanosensors for Monitoring Dopamine

by Jennifer M. Morales, Christopher G. Skipwith and Heather A. Clark^*

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, 206 The Fenway, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19912-19924; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819912 - 13 Aug 2015

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6659

Abstract

Dopamine is widely innervated throughout the brain and critical for many cognitive and motor functions. Imbalances or loss in dopamine transmission underlie various psychiatric disorders and degenerative diseases. Research involving cellular studies and disease states would benefit from a tool for measuring dopamine [...] Read more.

Dopamine is widely innervated throughout the brain and critical for many cognitive and motor functions. Imbalances or loss in dopamine transmission underlie various psychiatric disorders and degenerative diseases. Research involving cellular studies and disease states would benefit from a tool for measuring dopamine transmission. Here we show a Quadruplex Integrated DNA (QuID) nanosensor platform for selective and dynamic detection of dopamine. This nanosensor exploits DNA technology and enzyme recognition systems to optically image dopamine levels. The DNA quadruplex architecture is designed to be compatible in physically constrained environments (110 nm) with high flexibility, homogeneity, and a lower detection limit of 110 µM. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluorescent Probes for Intracellular Imaging and Super Resolution Microscopy)

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12 pages, 340 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Underwater Acoustic Wavefront Visualization by Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer for the Characterization of Focused Ultrasonic Transducers

by Roberto Longo^1,2,3,*, Steve Vanlanduit^1,†, Galid Arroud^1,† and Patrick Guillaume^1,†

¹ Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium

² ESEO Group–GSII, 49107 Angers, France

³ LUNAM Université, LAUM–CNRS UMR 6613, 72085 Le Mans, France

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19925-19936; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819925 - 13 Aug 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 10175

Abstract

The analysis of acoustic wave fields is important for a large number of engineering designs, communication and health-related reasons. The visualization of wavefronts gives valuable information about the type of transducers and excitation signals more suitable for the test itself. This article is [...] Read more.

The analysis of acoustic wave fields is important for a large number of engineering designs, communication and health-related reasons. The visualization of wavefronts gives valuable information about the type of transducers and excitation signals more suitable for the test itself. This article is dedicated to the development of a fast procedure for acoustic fields visualization in underwater conditions, by means of laser Doppler vibrometer measurements. The ultrasonic probe is a focused transducer excited by a chirp signal. The scope of this work is to evaluate experimentally the properties of the sound beam in order to get reliable information about the transducer itself to be used in many kinds of engineering tests and transducer design. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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31 pages, 1562 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Fast Robot Identification and Mapping Algorithm Based on Kinect Sensor

by Liang Zhang^1,†, Peiyi Shen^1,†, Guangming Zhu^1,†, Wei Wei^2,3 and Houbing Song^4,*,†

¹ National School of Software, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China

² School of Computer Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology,5 Jinhua S. Rd., Xi’an 710048, China

³ State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, Xi’an Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning W. Rd., Xi’an 710049, China

⁴ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, West Virginia University, 405 Fayette Pike, Montgomery, WV 25136, USA

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19937-19967; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819937 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 7574

Abstract

Internet of Things (IoT) is driving innovation in an ever-growing set of application domains such as intelligent processing for autonomous robots. For an autonomous robot, one grand challenge is how to sense its surrounding environment effectively. The Simultaneous Localization and Mapping with RGB-D [...] Read more.

Internet of Things (IoT) is driving innovation in an ever-growing set of application domains such as intelligent processing for autonomous robots. For an autonomous robot, one grand challenge is how to sense its surrounding environment effectively. The Simultaneous Localization and Mapping with RGB-D Kinect camera sensor on robot, called RGB-D SLAM, has been developed for this purpose but some technical challenges must be addressed. Firstly, the efficiency of the algorithm cannot satisfy real-time requirements; secondly, the accuracy of the algorithm is unacceptable. In order to address these challenges, this paper proposes a set of novel improvement methods as follows. Firstly, the ORiented Brief (ORB) method is used in feature detection and descriptor extraction. Secondly, a bidirectional Fast Library for Approximate Nearest Neighbors (FLANN) k-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) algorithm is applied to feature match. Then, the improved RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) estimation method is adopted in the motion transformation. In the meantime, high precision General Iterative Closest Points (GICP) is utilized to register a point cloud in the motion transformation optimization. To improve the accuracy of SLAM, the reduced dynamic covariance scaling (DCS) algorithm is formulated as a global optimization problem under the G2O framework. The effectiveness of the improved algorithm has been verified by testing on standard data and comparing with the ground truth obtained on Freiburg University’s datasets. The Dr Robot X80 equipped with a Kinect camera is also applied in a building corridor to verify the correctness of the improved RGB-D SLAM algorithm. With the above experiments, it can be seen that the proposed algorithm achieves higher processing speed and better accuracy. Full article

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

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24 pages, 2292 KiB

Open AccessReview

Porous Silicon Structures as Optical Gas Sensors

by Igor A. Levitsky

Emitech, Inc., Fall River, MA 02720, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19968-19991; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819968 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 122 | Viewed by 11038

Abstract

We present a short review of recent progress in the field of optical gas sensors based on porous silicon (PSi) and PSi composites, which are separate from PSi optochemical and biological sensors for a liquid medium. Different periodical and nonperiodical PSi photonic structures [...] Read more.

We present a short review of recent progress in the field of optical gas sensors based on porous silicon (PSi) and PSi composites, which are separate from PSi optochemical and biological sensors for a liquid medium. Different periodical and nonperiodical PSi photonic structures (bares, modified by functional groups or infiltrated with sensory polymers) are described for gas sensing with an emphasis on the device specificity, sensitivity and stability to the environment. Special attention is paid to multiparametric sensing and sensor array platforms as effective trends for the improvement of analyte classification and quantification. Mechanisms of gas physical and chemical sorption inside PSi mesopores and pores of PSi functional composites are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Silicon Based Optical Sensors)

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14 pages, 2521 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Damage Detection Based on Static Strain Responses Using FBG in a Wind Turbine Blade

by Shaohua Tian^1,2, Zhibo Yang^1,2,*, Xuefeng Chen^1,2 and Yong Xie^3,4

¹ The State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi’an 710049, China

² School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

³ State Key Laboratory of Strength and Vibration for Mechanical Structures, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

⁴ School of Aerospace, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 19992-20005; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150819992 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 47 | Viewed by 6150

Abstract

The damage detection of a wind turbine blade enables better operation of the turbines, and provides an early alert to the destroyed events of the blade in order to avoid catastrophic losses. A new non-baseline damage detection method based on the Fiber Bragg [...] Read more.

The damage detection of a wind turbine blade enables better operation of the turbines, and provides an early alert to the destroyed events of the blade in order to avoid catastrophic losses. A new non-baseline damage detection method based on the Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) in a wind turbine blade is developed in this paper. Firstly, the Chi-square distribution is proven to be an effective damage-sensitive feature which is adopted as the individual information source for the local decision. In order to obtain the global and optimal decision for the damage detection, the feature information fusion (FIF) method is proposed to fuse and optimize information in above individual information sources, and the damage is detected accurately through of the global decision. Then a 13.2 m wind turbine blade with the distributed strain sensor system is adopted to describe the feasibility of the proposed method, and the strain energy method (SEM) is used to describe the advantage of the proposed method. Finally results show that the proposed method can deliver encouraging results of the damage detection in the wind turbine blade. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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24 pages, 7467 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Visual Sensing for Urban Flood Monitoring

by Shi-Wei Lo^1,2, Jyh-Horng Wu¹, Fang-Pang Lin^1,* and Ching-Han Hsu^2,*

¹ National Center for High-Performance Computing, No. 7, R&D 6th Rd., Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu City 30076, Taiwan

² Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, No. 101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20006-20029; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820006 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 134 | Viewed by 15531

Abstract

With the increasing climatic extremes, the frequency and severity of urban flood events have intensified worldwide. In this study, image-based automated monitoring of flood formation and analyses of water level fluctuation were proposed as value-added intelligent sensing applications to turn a passive monitoring [...] Read more.

With the increasing climatic extremes, the frequency and severity of urban flood events have intensified worldwide. In this study, image-based automated monitoring of flood formation and analyses of water level fluctuation were proposed as value-added intelligent sensing applications to turn a passive monitoring camera into a visual sensor. Combined with the proposed visual sensing method, traditional hydrological monitoring cameras have the ability to sense and analyze the local situation of flood events. This can solve the current problem that image-based flood monitoring heavily relies on continuous manned monitoring. Conventional sensing networks can only offer one-dimensional physical parameters measured by gauge sensors, whereas visual sensors can acquire dynamic image information of monitored sites and provide disaster prevention agencies with actual field information for decision-making to relieve flood hazards. The visual sensing method established in this study provides spatiotemporal information that can be used for automated remote analysis for monitoring urban floods. This paper focuses on the determination of flood formation based on image-processing techniques. The experimental results suggest that the visual sensing approach may be a reliable way for determining the water fluctuation and measuring its elevation and flood intrusion with respect to real-world coordinates. The performance of the proposed method has been confirmed; it has the capability to monitor and analyze the flood status, and therefore, it can serve as an active flood warning system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Smart Cities)

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23 pages, 2968 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Designing a Microfluidic Device with Integrated Ratiometric Oxygen Sensors for the Long-Term Control and Monitoring of Chronic and Cyclic Hypoxia

by Samantha M. Grist, Jonathan C. Schmok^†, Meng-Chi (Andy) Liu^†, Lukas Chrostowski and Karen C. Cheung^*

¹ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of British Columbia, 2332 Main Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z4, BC, Canada

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20030-20052; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820030 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 37 | Viewed by 10568

Abstract

Control of oxygen over cell cultures in vitro is a topic of considerable interest, as chronic and cyclic hypoxia can alter cell behaviour. Both static and transient hypoxic levels have been found to affect tumour cell behaviour; it is potentially valuable to include [...] Read more.

Control of oxygen over cell cultures in vitro is a topic of considerable interest, as chronic and cyclic hypoxia can alter cell behaviour. Both static and transient hypoxic levels have been found to affect tumour cell behaviour; it is potentially valuable to include these effects in early, in vitro stages of drug screening. A barrier to their inclusion is that rates of transient hypoxia can be a few cycles/hour, which is difficult to reproduce in traditional in vitro cell culture environments due to long diffusion distances from control gases to the cells. We use a gas-permeable three-layer microfluidic device to achieve spatial and temporal oxygen control with biologically-relevant switching times. We measure the oxygen profiles with integrated, ratiometric optical oxygen sensors, demonstrate sensor and system stability over multi-day experiments, and characterize a pre-bleaching process to improve sensor stability. We show, with both finite-element modelling and experimental data, excellent control over the oxygen levels by the device, independent of fluid flow rate and oxygenation for the operating flow regime. We measure equilibration times of approximately 10 min, generate complex, time-varying oxygen profiles, and study the effects of oxygenated media flow rates on the measured oxygen levels. This device could form a useful tool for future long-term studies of cell behaviour under hypoxia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Sensors for Chemical, Biological and Industrial Applications)

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16 pages, 922 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Measurement Model and Precision Analysis of Accelerometers for Maglev Vibration Isolation Platforms

by Qianqian Wu^1,*, Honghao Yue^1,*, Rongqiang Liu¹, Xiaoyou Zhang², Liang Ding¹, Tian Liang³ and Zongquan Deng¹

¹ School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nippon Institute of Technology, Saitama 345-8501, Japan

³ School of Engine and Energy, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 71000, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20053-20068; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820053 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 7075

Abstract

High precision measurement of acceleration levels is required to allow active control for vibration isolation platforms. It is necessary to propose an accelerometer configuration measurement model that yields such a high measuring precision. In this paper, an accelerometer configuration to improve measurement accuracy [...] Read more.

High precision measurement of acceleration levels is required to allow active control for vibration isolation platforms. It is necessary to propose an accelerometer configuration measurement model that yields such a high measuring precision. In this paper, an accelerometer configuration to improve measurement accuracy is proposed. The corresponding calculation formulas of the angular acceleration were derived through theoretical analysis. A method is presented to minimize angular acceleration noise based on analysis of the root mean square noise of the angular acceleration. Moreover, the influence of installation position errors and accelerometer orientation errors on the calculation precision of the angular acceleration is studied. Comparisons of the output differences between the proposed configuration and the previous planar triangle configuration under the same installation errors are conducted by simulation. The simulation results show that installation errors have a relatively small impact on the calculation accuracy of the proposed configuration. To further verify the high calculation precision of the proposed configuration, experiments are carried out for both the proposed configuration and the planar triangle configuration. On the basis of the results of simulations and experiments, it can be concluded that the proposed configuration has higher angular acceleration calculation precision and can be applied to different platforms. Full article

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

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17 pages, 4519 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gas-Sensing Performance of M-Doped CuO-Based Thin Films Working at Different Temperatures upon Exposure to Propane

by Artur Rydosz^1,* and Aleksandra Szkudlarek²

¹ AGH University of Science and Technology, Av. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland

² Academic Centre for Materials and Nanotechnology, AGH University of Science and Technology, Av. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20069-20085; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820069 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 54 | Viewed by 7465

Abstract

Cupric oxide (CuO) thin films are promising materials in gas sensor applications. The CuO-based gas sensors behaved as p-type semiconductors and can be used as part of an e-nose or smart sensor array for breath analysis. The authors present the investigation results on [...] Read more.

Cupric oxide (CuO) thin films are promising materials in gas sensor applications. The CuO-based gas sensors behaved as p-type semiconductors and can be used as part of an e-nose or smart sensor array for breath analysis. The authors present the investigation results on M-doped CuO-based (M = Ag, Au, Cr, Pd, Pt, Sb, Si) sensors working at various temperatures upon exposure to a low concentration of C3H8, which can be found in exhaled human breath, and it can be considered as a one of the biomarkers of several diseases. The films have been deposited in magnetron sputtering technology on low temperature cofired ceramics substrates. The results of the gas sensors’ response are also presented and discussed. The Cr:CuO-based structure, annealed at 400 °C for 4 h in air, showed the highest sensor response, of the order of 2.7 at an operation temperature of 250 °C. The response and recovery time(s) were 10 s and 24 s, respectively. The results show that the addition of M-dopants in the cupric oxide films effectively act as catalysts in propane sensors and improve the gas sensing properties. The films’ phase composition, microstructure and surface topography have been assessed by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) methods. Full article

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

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11 pages, 1468 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ag-Modified In₂O₃/ZnO Nanobundles with High Formaldehyde Gas-Sensing Performance

by Fang Fang¹, Lu Bai², Dongsheng Song¹, Hongping Yang¹, Xiaoming Sun³, Hongyu Sun^1,* and Jing Zhu^1,*

¹ Beijing National Center for Electron Microscopy, School of Materials Science and Engineering, The State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials (MOE), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

² National Center for Nanoscience & Technology University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 11 First North Road, Zhongguancun, Beijing 100190, China

³ State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20086-20096; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820086 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 6765

Abstract

Ag-modified In₂O₃/ZnO bundles with micro/nano porous structures have been designed and synthesized with by hydrothermal method continuing with dehydration process. Each bundle consists of nanoparticles, where nanogaps of 10–30 nm are present between the nanoparticles, leading to a porous [...] Read more.

Ag-modified In₂O₃/ZnO bundles with micro/nano porous structures have been designed and synthesized with by hydrothermal method continuing with dehydration process. Each bundle consists of nanoparticles, where nanogaps of 10–30 nm are present between the nanoparticles, leading to a porous structure. This porous structure brings high surface area and fast gas diffusion, enhancing the gas sensitivity. Consequently, the HCHO gas-sensing performance of the Ag-modified In₂O₃/ZnO bundles have been tested, with the formaldehyde-detection limit of 100 ppb (parts per billion) and the response and recover times as short as 6 s and 3 s, respectively, at 300 °C and the detection limit of 100 ppb, response time of 12 s and recover times of 6 s at 100 °C. The HCHO sensing detect limitation matches the health standard limitation on the concentration of formaldehyde for indoor air. Moreover, the strategy to synthesize the nanobundles is just two-step heating and easy to scale up. Therefore, the Ag-modified In₂O₃/ZnO bundles are ready for industrialization and practical applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Chemical Sensors)

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18 pages, 1667 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Framework to Automate Assessment of Upper-Limb Motor Function Impairment: A Feasibility Study

by Paul Otten¹, Jonghyun Kim^2,*,† and Sang Hyuk Son^3,*,†

¹ Epic Systems Corporation, 1979 Milky Way, Verona, WI 53705, USA

² Department of Robotics Engineering, DGIST, 333 Techno jungang-daero, Hyeonpung-myeon, Dalseong-gun, Daegu 42988, Korea

³ Department of Information and Communication Engineering, DGIST, 333 Techno jungang-daero, Hyeonpung-myeon, Dalseong-gun, Daegu 42988, Korea

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20097-20114; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820097 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 80 | Viewed by 8521

Abstract

Standard upper-limb motor function impairment assessments, such as the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), are a critical aspect of rehabilitation after neurological disorders. These assessments typically take a long time (about 30 min for the FMA) for a clinician to perform on a patient, which [...] Read more.

Standard upper-limb motor function impairment assessments, such as the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), are a critical aspect of rehabilitation after neurological disorders. These assessments typically take a long time (about 30 min for the FMA) for a clinician to perform on a patient, which is a severe burden in a clinical environment. In this paper, we propose a framework for automating upper-limb motor assessments that uses low-cost sensors to collect movement data. The sensor data is then processed through a machine learning algorithm to determine a score for a patient’s upper-limb functionality. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach, we implemented a system based on the proposed framework that can automate most of the FMA. Our experiment shows that the system provides similar FMA scores to clinician scores, and reduces the time spent evaluating each patient by 82%. Moreover, the proposed framework can be used to implement customized tests or tests specified in other existing standard assessment methods. Full article

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

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25 pages, 1095 KiB

Open AccessReview

Review of Trackside Monitoring Solutions: From Strain Gages to Optical Fibre Sensors

by Georges Kouroussis^1,*, Christophe Caucheteur², Damien Kinet², Georgios Alexandrou¹, Olivier Verlinden¹ and Véronique Moeyaert²

¹ Department of Theoretical Mechanics, Dynamics and Vibrations, University of Mons—UMONS, Faculty of Engineering, Place du Parc 20, B-7000 Mons, Belgium

² Department of Electromagnetism and Telecommunications, University of Mons—UMONS, Faculty of Engineering, Place du Parc 20, B-7000 Mons, Belgium

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20115-20139; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820115 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 108 | Viewed by 14535

Abstract

A review of recent research on structural monitoring in railway industry is proposed in this paper, with a special focus on stress-based solutions. After a brief analysis of the mechanical behaviour of ballasted railway tracks, an overview of the most common monitoring techniques [...] Read more.

A review of recent research on structural monitoring in railway industry is proposed in this paper, with a special focus on stress-based solutions. After a brief analysis of the mechanical behaviour of ballasted railway tracks, an overview of the most common monitoring techniques is presented. A special attention is paid on strain gages and accelerometers for which the accurate mounting position on the track is requisite. These types of solution are then compared to another modern approach based on the use of optical fibres. Besides, an in-depth discussion is made on the evolution of numerical models that investigate the interaction between railway vehicles and tracks. These models are used to validate experimental devices and to predict the best location(s) of the sensors. It is hoped that this review article will stimulate further research activities in this continuously expanding field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Sensors for Chemical, Biological and Industrial Applications)

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12 pages, 1024 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Microgripper with a Post-Assembly Self-Locking Mechanism

by Guangmin Yuan, Weizheng Yuan, Yongcun Hao, Xiaoyi Li and Honglong Chang^*

Key Laboratory of Micro/Nano Systems for Aerospace, Ministry of Education, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20140-20151; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820140 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 7196 | Correction

Abstract

In this work, we report a new design for an electrostatically actuated microgripper with a post-assembly self-locking mechanism. The microgripper arms are driven by rotary comb actuators, enabling the microgripper to grip objects of any size from 0 to 100 μm. The post-assembly [...] Read more.

In this work, we report a new design for an electrostatically actuated microgripper with a post-assembly self-locking mechanism. The microgripper arms are driven by rotary comb actuators, enabling the microgripper to grip objects of any size from 0 to 100 μm. The post-assembly mechanism is driven by elastic deformation energy and static electricity to produce self-locking and releasing actions. The mechanism enables the microgripper arms to grip for long periods without continuously applying the external driving signal, which significantly reduces the effects and damage to the gripped objects caused by these external driving signals. The microgripper was fabricated using a Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) wafer with a 30 μm structural layer. Test results show that this gripper achieves a displacement of 100 μm with a driving voltage of 33 V, and a metal wire with a diameter of about 1.6 mil is successfully gripped to demonstrate the feasibility of this post-assembly self-locking mechanism. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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17 pages, 771 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Charrelation Matrix-Based Blind Adaptive Detector for DS-CDMA Systems

by Zhongqiang Luo^* and Lidong Zhu

National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Communications, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu 611731, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20152-20168; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820152 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4906

Abstract

In this paper, a blind adaptive detector is proposed for blind separation of user signals and blind estimation of spreading sequences in DS-CDMA systems. The blind separation scheme exploits a charrelation matrix for simple computation and effective extraction of information from observation signal [...] Read more.

In this paper, a blind adaptive detector is proposed for blind separation of user signals and blind estimation of spreading sequences in DS-CDMA systems. The blind separation scheme exploits a charrelation matrix for simple computation and effective extraction of information from observation signal samples. The system model of DS-CDMA signals is modeled as a blind separation framework. The unknown user information and spreading sequence of DS-CDMA systems can be estimated only from the sampled observation signals. Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the improved performance of the proposed algorithm in comparison with the existing conventional algorithms used in DS-CDMA systems. Especially, the proposed scheme is suitable for when the number of observation samples is less and the signal to noise ratio (SNR) is low. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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24 pages, 1325 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Control Parameters Optimization Based on Co-Simulation of a Mechatronic System for an UA-Based Two-Axis Inertially Stabilized Platform

by Xiangyang Zhou^1,*, Beilei Zhao¹ and Guohao Gong²

¹ School of Instrumentation Science and Opto-electronics Engineering, Beihang University (BUAA), Beijing 100191, China

² Beijing Aerospace Era Laser Navigation Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing 100094, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20169-20192; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820169 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 8709

Abstract

This paper presents a method based on co-simulation of a mechatronic system to optimize the control parameters of a two-axis inertially stabilized platform system (ISP) applied in an unmanned airship (UA), by which high control performance and reliability of the ISP system are [...] Read more.

This paper presents a method based on co-simulation of a mechatronic system to optimize the control parameters of a two-axis inertially stabilized platform system (ISP) applied in an unmanned airship (UA), by which high control performance and reliability of the ISP system are achieved. First, a three-dimensional structural model of the ISP is built by using the three-dimensional parametric CAD software SOLIDWORKS^®; then, to analyze the system’s kinematic and dynamic characteristics under operating conditions, dynamics modeling is conducted by using the multi-body dynamics software ADAMS™, thus the main dynamic parameters such as displacement, velocity, acceleration and reaction curve are obtained, respectively, through simulation analysis. Then, those dynamic parameters were input into the established MATLAB^® SIMULINK^® controller to simulate and test the performance of the control system. By these means, the ISP control parameters are optimized. To verify the methods, experiments were carried out by applying the optimized parameters to the control system of a two-axis ISP. The results show that the co-simulation by using virtual prototyping (VP) is effective to obtain optimized ISP control parameters, eventually leading to high ISP control performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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11 pages, 1440 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nano-Enriched and Autonomous Sensing Framework for Dissolved Oxygen

by Nader Shehata^1,2,3,*

, Mohammed Azab^3,4, Ishac Kandas^1,3 and Kathleen Meehan⁵

¹ Department of Engineering Mathematics and Physics, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21544, Egypt

² Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA

³ Center of Smart Nanotechnology and Photonics (CSNP), SmartCI research center, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21544, Egypt

⁴ Informatics Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, New Borg El-Arab City, Alexandria 21934, Egypt

⁵ School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G128QQ, UK

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20193-20203; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820193 - 14 Aug 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5731

Abstract

This paper investigates a nano-enhanced wireless sensing framework for dissolved oxygen (DO). The system integrates a nanosensor that employs cerium oxide (ceria) nanoparticles to monitor the concentration of DO in aqueous media via optical fluorescence quenching. We propose a comprehensive sensing framework with [...] Read more.

This paper investigates a nano-enhanced wireless sensing framework for dissolved oxygen (DO). The system integrates a nanosensor that employs cerium oxide (ceria) nanoparticles to monitor the concentration of DO in aqueous media via optical fluorescence quenching. We propose a comprehensive sensing framework with the nanosensor equipped with a digital interface where the sensor output is digitized and dispatched wirelessly to a trustworthy data collection and analysis framework for consolidation and information extraction. The proposed system collects and processes the sensor readings to provide clear indications about the current or the anticipated dissolved oxygen levels in the aqueous media. Full article

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

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28 pages, 2125 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design and Implementation of Real-Time Vehicular Camera for Driver Assistance and Traffic Congestion Estimation

by Sanghyun Son and Yunju Baek^*

School of Computer Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 609735, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20204-20231; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820204 - 18 Aug 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7935

Abstract

As society has developed, the number of vehicles has increased and road conditions have become complicated, increasing the risk of crashes. Therefore, a service that provides safe vehicle control and various types of information to the driver is urgently needed. In this study, [...] Read more.

As society has developed, the number of vehicles has increased and road conditions have become complicated, increasing the risk of crashes. Therefore, a service that provides safe vehicle control and various types of information to the driver is urgently needed. In this study, we designed and implemented a real-time traffic information system and a smart camera device for smart driver assistance systems. We selected a commercial device for the smart driver assistance systems, and applied a computer vision algorithm to perform image recognition. For application to the dynamic region of interest, dynamic frame skip methods were implemented to perform parallel processing in order to enable real-time operation. In addition, we designed and implemented a model to estimate congestion by analyzing traffic information. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated using images of a real road environment. We found that the processing time improved by 15.4 times when all the proposed methods were applied in the application. Further, we found experimentally that there was little or no change in the recognition accuracy when the proposed method was applied. Using the traffic congestion estimation model, we also found that the average error rate of the proposed model was 5.3%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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18 pages, 2758 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Micro-Machined Microphone Based on a Combination of Electret and Field-Effect Transistor

by Kumjae Shin^1,†, Junsik Jeon^2,†, James Edward West^3,† and Wonkyu Moon^1,*

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 790-784, Korea

² Doosan infracore, dong-gu, In-cheon 401-702, Korea

³ Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20232-20249; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820232 - 18 Aug 2015

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 8657

Abstract

Capacitive-type transduction is now widely used in MEMS microphones. However, its sensitivity decreases with reducing size, due to decreasing air gap capacitance. In the present study, we proposed and developed the Electret Gate of Field Effect Transistor (ElGoFET) transduction based on an electret [...] Read more.

Capacitive-type transduction is now widely used in MEMS microphones. However, its sensitivity decreases with reducing size, due to decreasing air gap capacitance. In the present study, we proposed and developed the Electret Gate of Field Effect Transistor (ElGoFET) transduction based on an electret and FET (field-effect-transistor) as a novel mechanism of MEMS microphone transduction. The ElGoFET transduction has the advantage that the sensitivity is dependent on the ratio of capacitance components in the transduction structure. Hence, ElGoFET transduction has high sensitivity even with a smaller air gap capacitance, due to a miniaturization of the transducer. A FET with a floating-gate electrode embedded on a membrane was designed and fabricated and an electret was fabricated by ion implantation with Ga⁺ ions. During the assembly process between the FET and the electret, the operating point of the FET was characterized using the static response of the FET induced by the electric field due to the trapped positive charge at the electret. Additionally, we evaluated the microphone performance of the ElGoFET by measuring the acoustic response in air using a semi-anechoic room. The results confirmed that the proposed transduction mechanism has potential for microphone applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Modeling, Testing and Reliability Issues in MEMS Engineering)

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17 pages, 796 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Statistical Analysis of the Performance of MDL Enumeration for Multiple-Missed Detection in Array Processing

by Fei Du, Yibo Li^* and Shijiu Jin

State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instrument, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20250-20266; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820250 - 18 Aug 2015

Viewed by 5114

Abstract

An accurate performance analysis on the MDL criterion for source enumeration in array processing is presented in this paper. The enumeration results of MDL can be predicted precisely by the proposed procedure via the statistical analysis of the sample eigenvalues, whose distributive properties [...] Read more.

An accurate performance analysis on the MDL criterion for source enumeration in array processing is presented in this paper. The enumeration results of MDL can be predicted precisely by the proposed procedure via the statistical analysis of the sample eigenvalues, whose distributive properties are investigated with the consideration of their interactions. A novel approach is also developed for the performance evaluation when the source number is underestimated by a number greater than one, which is denoted as “multiple-missed detection”, and the probability of a specific underestimated source number can be estimated by ratio distribution analysis. Simulation results are included to demonstrate the superiority of the presented method over available results and confirm the ability of the proposed approach to perform multiple-missed detection analysis. Full article

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

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12 pages, 1001 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mass Load Distribution Dependence of Mass Sensitivity of Magnetoelastic Sensors under Different Resonance Modes

by Kewei Zhang^1,*, Lin Zhang² and Yuesheng Chai¹

¹ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China

² Materials Research and Education Center, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20267-20278; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820267 - 18 Aug 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5004

Abstract

Magnetoelastic sensors as an important type of acoustic wave sensors have shown great promise for a variety of applications. Mass sensitivity is a key parameter to characterize its performance. In this work, the effects of mass load distribution on the mass sensitivity of [...] Read more.

Magnetoelastic sensors as an important type of acoustic wave sensors have shown great promise for a variety of applications. Mass sensitivity is a key parameter to characterize its performance. In this work, the effects of mass load distribution on the mass sensitivity of a magnetoelastic sensor under different resonance modes were theoretically investigated using the modal analysis method. The results show that the mass sensitivity and “nodal point” positions are related to the point displacement, which is determined by the motion patterns. The motion patterns are affected by resonance modes and mass load distribution. Asymmetrical mass load distribution causes the motion patterns lose symmetry and leads to the shift of “nodal point”. The mass sensitivity changing with mass load distribution behaves like a sine wave with decaying amplitude and the minimum mass sensitivity appears at the first valley. This study provides certain theoretical guidance for optimizing the mass sensitivity of a magnetoelastic sensor or other acoustic wave based sensors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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26 pages, 538 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Intelligent System Proposal for Improving the Safety and Accessibility of Public Transit by Highway

by Carmelo R. García^*

, Alexis Quesada-Arencibia, Teresa Cristóbal, Gabino Padrón, Ricardo Pérez and Francisco Alayón

Institute for Cybernetic Science and Technology, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Campus de Tafira, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35017 Las Palmas, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20279-20304; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820279 - 18 Aug 2015

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6718

Abstract

The development of public transit systems that are accessible and safe for everyone, including people with special needs, is an objective that is justified from the civic and economic points of view. Unfortunately, public transit services are conceived for people who do not [...] Read more.

The development of public transit systems that are accessible and safe for everyone, including people with special needs, is an objective that is justified from the civic and economic points of view. Unfortunately, public transit services are conceived for people who do not have reduced physical or cognitive abilities. In this paper, we present an intelligent public transit system by highway with the goal of facilitating access and improving the safety of public transit for persons with special needs. The system is deployed using components that are commonly available in transport infrastructure, e.g., sensors, mobile communications systems, and positioning systems. In addition, the system can operate in non-urban transport contexts, e.g., isolated rural areas, where the availability of basic infrastructure, such as electricity and communications infrastructures, is not always guaranteed. To construct the system, the principles and techniques of Ubiquitous Computing and Ambient Intelligence have been employed. To illustrate the utility of the system, two cases of services rendered by the system are described: the first case involves a surveillance system to guarantee accessibility at bus stops; the second case involves a route assistant for blind people. 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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11 pages, 2841 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Advanced Liquid-Free, Piezoresistive, SOI-Based Pressure Sensors for Measurements in Harsh Environments

by Ha-Duong Ngo^1,2,*, Biswaijit Mukhopadhyay¹, Oswin Ehrmann¹ and Klaus-Dieter Lang¹

¹ Center of Microperipheric Technologies, Fraunhofer Institute IZM, Berlin 13355, Germany

² University of Applied Sciences, FB I, Microsystems Engineering, Berlin 12459, Germany

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20305-20315; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820305 - 18 Aug 2015

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 11041

Abstract

In this paper we present and discuss two innovative liquid-free SOI sensors for pressure measurements in harsh environments. The sensors are capable of measuring pressures at high temperatures. In both concepts media separation is realized using a steel membrane. The two concepts represent [...] Read more.

In this paper we present and discuss two innovative liquid-free SOI sensors for pressure measurements in harsh environments. The sensors are capable of measuring pressures at high temperatures. In both concepts media separation is realized using a steel membrane. The two concepts represent two different strategies for packaging of devices for use in harsh environments and at high temperatures. The first one is a “one-sensor-one-packaging_technology” concept. The second one uses a standard flip-chip bonding technique. The first sensor is a “floating-concept”, capable of measuring pressures at temperatures up to 400 °C (constant load) with an accuracy of 0.25% Full Scale Output (FSO). A push rod (mounted onto the steel membrane) transfers the applied pressure directly to the center-boss membrane of the SOI-chip, which is placed on a ceramic carrier. The chip membrane is realized by Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE or Bosch Process). A novel propertied chip housing employing a sliding sensor chip that is fixed during packaging by mechanical preloading via the push rod is used, thereby avoiding chip movement, and ensuring optimal push rod load transmission. The second sensor can be used up to 350 °C. The SOI chips consists of a beam with an integrated centre-boss with was realized using KOH structuring and DRIE. The SOI chip is not “floating” but bonded by using flip-chip technology. The fabricated SOI sensor chip has a bridge resistance of 3250 Ω. The realized sensor chip has a sensitivity of 18 mV/µm measured using a bridge current of 1 mA. Full article

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

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39 pages, 2153 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Autonomous Self-Aware and Adaptive Fault Tolerant Routing Technique for Wireless Sensor Networks

by Sani Abba

and Jeong-A Lee^*

Computer Systems Laboratory, Department of Computer Engineering, Chosun University, Gwangju Dongku SeoSuk Dong 375, Gwangju City 501-759, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20316-20354; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820316 - 18 Aug 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5740

Abstract

We propose an autonomous self-aware and adaptive fault-tolerant routing technique (ASAART) for wireless sensor networks. We address the limitations of self-healing routing (SHR) and self-selective routing (SSR) techniques for routing sensor data. We also examine the integration of autonomic self-aware and adaptive fault [...] Read more.

We propose an autonomous self-aware and adaptive fault-tolerant routing technique (ASAART) for wireless sensor networks. We address the limitations of self-healing routing (SHR) and self-selective routing (SSR) techniques for routing sensor data. We also examine the integration of autonomic self-aware and adaptive fault detection and resiliency techniques for route formation and route repair to provide resilience to errors and failures. We achieved this by using a combined continuous and slotted prioritized transmission back-off delay to obtain local and global network state information, as well as multiple random functions for attaining faster routing convergence and reliable route repair despite transient and permanent node failure rates and efficient adaptation to instantaneous network topology changes. The results of simulations based on a comparison of the ASAART with the SHR and SSR protocols for five different simulated scenarios in the presence of transient and permanent node failure rates exhibit a greater resiliency to errors and failure and better routing performance in terms of the number of successfully delivered network packets, end-to-end delay, delivered MAC layer packets, packet error rate, as well as efficient energy conservation in a highly congested, faulty, and scalable sensor network. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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18 pages, 921 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Infrastructure-Less Indoor Localization Using the Microphone, Magnetometer and Light Sensor of a Smartphone

by Carlos E. Galván-Tejada^1,*

, Juan Pablo García-Vázquez²

, Jorge I. Galván-Tejada³, J. Rubén Delgado-Contreras⁴ and Ramon F. Brena⁴

¹ Programa de Ingeniería de Software, Unidad Académica de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Ciudad Universitaria Siglo XXI, Edificio de Ingeniería de Software e Ingeniería en Computación, Zacatecas 98160, Mexico

² School of Engineering, MyDCI, Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC), Mexicali 21100, Mexico

³ Ingeniería Robótica y Mecatrónica, Unidad Académica de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas "Francisco Garcia Salinas", Zacatecas 98000, Mexico

⁴ Graduate School of Engineering and Science, Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, CETEC South, 5th Floor, Av. E. Garza Sada 2501, Monterrey, NL 64849, Mexico

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20355-20372; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820355 - 18 Aug 2015

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 7732

Abstract

In this paper, we present the development of an infrastructure-less indoor location system (ILS), which relies on the use of a microphone, a magnetometer and a light sensor of a smartphone, all three of which are essentially passive sensors, relying on signals available [...] Read more.

In this paper, we present the development of an infrastructure-less indoor location system (ILS), which relies on the use of a microphone, a magnetometer and a light sensor of a smartphone, all three of which are essentially passive sensors, relying on signals available practically in any building in the world, no matter how developed the region is. In our work, we merge the information from those sensors to estimate the user’s location in an indoor environment. A multivariate model is applied to find the user’s location, and we evaluate the quality of the resulting model in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Our experiments were carried out in an office environment during summer and winter, to take into account changes in light patterns, as well as changes in the Earth’s magnetic field irregularities. The experimental results clearly show the benefits of using the information fusion of multiple sensors when contrasted with the use of a single source of information. Full article

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

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19 pages, 447 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fuzzy Logic-Based Guaranteed Lifetime Protocol for Real-Time Wireless Sensor Networks

by Babar Shah¹, Farkhund Iqbal¹, Ali Abbas² and Ki-Il Kim^2,*

¹ College of Technological Innovation, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi 19282, UAE

² Department of Informatics, Research Center for Aerospace Parts Technology, Gyeongsang National University, GyeongNam 52828, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20373-20391; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820373 - 18 Aug 2015

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 7095

Abstract

Few techniques for guaranteeing a network lifetime have been proposed despite its great impact on network management. Moreover, since the existing schemes are mostly dependent on the combination of disparate parameters, they do not provide additional services, such as real-time communications and balanced [...] Read more.

Few techniques for guaranteeing a network lifetime have been proposed despite its great impact on network management. Moreover, since the existing schemes are mostly dependent on the combination of disparate parameters, they do not provide additional services, such as real-time communications and balanced energy consumption among sensor nodes; thus, the adaptability problems remain unresolved among nodes in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). To solve these problems, we propose a novel fuzzy logic model to provide real-time communication in a guaranteed WSN lifetime. The proposed fuzzy logic controller accepts the input descriptors energy, time and velocity to determine each node’s role for the next duration and the next hop relay node for real-time packets. Through the simulation results, we verified that both the guaranteed network’s lifetime and real-time delivery are efficiently ensured by the new fuzzy logic model. In more detail, the above-mentioned two performance metrics are improved up to 8%, as compared to our previous work, and 14% compared to existing schemes, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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17 pages, 1685 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identification of Foot Pathologies Based on Plantar Pressure Asymmetry

by Linah Wafai¹, Aladin Zayegh¹, John Woulfe², Syed Mahfuzul Aziz³

and Rezaul Begg^4,*

¹ College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne VIC-3032, Australia

² Boronia Podiatry, Melbourne VIC-3155, Australia

³ School of Engineering, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes SA-5095, Australia

⁴ Gait and Balance Research Group, Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL), Victoria University, Melbourne VIC-3032, Australia

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20392-20408; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820392 - 18 Aug 2015

Cited by 116 | Viewed by 24618

Abstract

Foot pathologies can negatively influence foot function, consequently impairing gait during daily activity, and severely impacting an individual’s quality of life. These pathologies are often painful and correspond with high or abnormal plantar pressure, which can result in asymmetry in the pressure distribution [...] Read more.

Foot pathologies can negatively influence foot function, consequently impairing gait during daily activity, and severely impacting an individual’s quality of life. These pathologies are often painful and correspond with high or abnormal plantar pressure, which can result in asymmetry in the pressure distribution between the two feet. There is currently no general consensus on the presence of asymmetry in able-bodied gait, and plantar pressure analysis during gait is in dire need of a standardized method to quantify asymmetry. This paper investigates the use of plantar pressure asymmetry for pathological gait diagnosis. The results of this study involving plantar pressure analysis in fifty one participants (31 healthy and 20 with foot pathologies) support the presence of plantar pressure asymmetry in normal gait. A higher level of asymmetry was detected at the majority of the regions in the feet of the pathological population, including statistically significant differences in the plantar pressure asymmetry in two regions of the foot, metatarsophalangeal joint 3 (MPJ3) and the lateral heel. Quantification of plantar pressure asymmetry may prove to be useful for the identification and diagnosis of various foot pathologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Sensors for Globalized Healthy Living and Wellbeing)

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27 pages, 1707 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Errors in Tactile Sensors on Some High Level Parameters Used for Manipulation with Robotic Hands

by José A. Sánchez-Durán^1,2

, José A. Hidalgo-López^1,2

, Julián Castellanos-Ramos^1,2

, Óscar Oballe-Peinado^1,2

and Fernando Vidal-Verdú^1,2,*

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

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

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20409-20435; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820409 - 19 Aug 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 7458

Abstract

Tactile sensors suffer from many types of interference and errors like crosstalk, non-linearity, drift or hysteresis, therefore calibration should be carried out to compensate for these deviations. However, this procedure is difficult in sensors mounted on artificial hands for robots or prosthetics for [...] Read more.

Tactile sensors suffer from many types of interference and errors like crosstalk, non-linearity, drift or hysteresis, therefore calibration should be carried out to compensate for these deviations. However, this procedure is difficult in sensors mounted on artificial hands for robots or prosthetics for instance, where the sensor usually bends to cover a curved surface. Moreover, the calibration procedure should be repeated often because the correction parameters are easily altered by time and surrounding conditions. Furthermore, this intensive and complex calibration could be less determinant, or at least simpler. This is because manipulation algorithms do not commonly use the whole data set from the tactile image, but only a few parameters such as the moments of the tactile image. These parameters could be changed less by common errors and interferences, or at least their variations could be in the order of those caused by accepted limitations, like reduced spatial resolution. This paper shows results from experiments to support this idea. The experiments are carried out with a high performance commercial sensor as well as with a low-cost error-prone sensor built with a common procedure in robotics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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27 pages, 5573 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Use of Low-Cost Acquisition Systems with an Embedded Linux Device for Volcanic Monitoring

by David Moure^1,*,†, Pedro Torres^1,†, Benito Casas¹, Daniel Toma², María José Blanco¹, Joaquín Del Río²

and Antoni Manuel²

¹ Centro Geofísico de Canarias, Instituto Geográfico Nacional, C/La Marina 20, 38001 S/C Tenerife, Spain

² SARTI Research Group. Electronics Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (PUC), Rambla Exposició 24, Vilanova I la Geltrú, 08800 Barcelona, Spain

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20436-20462; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820436 - 19 Aug 2015

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 9275

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a low-cost multiparameter acquisition system for volcanic monitoring that is applicable to gravimetry and geodesy, as well as to the visual monitoring of volcanic activity. The acquisition system was developed using a System on a Chip (SoC) [...] Read more.

This paper describes the development of a low-cost multiparameter acquisition system for volcanic monitoring that is applicable to gravimetry and geodesy, as well as to the visual monitoring of volcanic activity. The acquisition system was developed using a System on a Chip (SoC) Broadcom BCM2835 Linux operating system (based on DebianTM) that allows for the construction of a complete monitoring system offering multiple possibilities for storage, data-processing, configuration, and the real-time monitoring of volcanic activity. This multiparametric acquisition system was developed with a software environment, as well as with different hardware modules designed for each parameter to be monitored. The device presented here has been used and validated under different scenarios for monitoring ocean tides, ground deformation, and gravity, as well as for monitoring with images the island of Tenerife and ground deformation on the island of El Hierro. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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17 pages, 3206 KiB

Open AccessArticle

In Situ 3D Segmentation of Individual Plant Leaves Using a RGB-D Camera for Agricultural Automation

by Chunlei Xia^1,2, Longtan Wang², Bu-Keun Chung³ and Jang-Myung Lee^2,*

¹ The Research Center for Coastal Environmental Engineering and Technology of Shandong Province, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, China

² School of Electrical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735, Korea

³ Division of Plant Environment, Gyeongsangnam-Do Agricultural Research and Extension Services, Jinju 660-985, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20463-20479; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820463 - 19 Aug 2015

Cited by 93 | Viewed by 12889

Abstract

In this paper, we present a challenging task of 3D segmentation of individual plant leaves from occlusions in the complicated natural scene. Depth data of plant leaves is introduced to improve the robustness of plant leaf segmentation. The low cost RGB-D camera is [...] Read more.

In this paper, we present a challenging task of 3D segmentation of individual plant leaves from occlusions in the complicated natural scene. Depth data of plant leaves is introduced to improve the robustness of plant leaf segmentation. The low cost RGB-D camera is utilized to capture depth and color image in fields. Mean shift clustering is applied to segment plant leaves in depth image. Plant leaves are extracted from the natural background by examining vegetation of the candidate segments produced by mean shift. Subsequently, individual leaves are segmented from occlusions by active contour models. Automatic initialization of the active contour models is implemented by calculating the center of divergence from the gradient vector field of depth image. The proposed segmentation scheme is tested through experiments under greenhouse conditions. The overall segmentation rate is 87.97% while segmentation rates for single and occluded leaves are 92.10% and 86.67%, respectively. Approximately half of the experimental results show segmentation rates of individual leaves higher than 90%. Nevertheless, the proposed method is able to segment individual leaves from heavy occlusions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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21 pages, 472 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Predicting Blood Lactate Concentration and Oxygen Uptake from sEMG Data during Fatiguing Cycling Exercise

by Petras Ražanskas^1,*, Antanas Verikas^1,2

, Charlotte Olsson³

and Per-Arne Viberg⁴

¹ Department of Electric Power Systems, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentų g. 50, Kaunas LT-51368, Lithuania

² Intelligent Systems Laboratory, Halmstad University, P.O. Box 823, Halmstad S-30118, Sweden

³ Biological and Environmental Systems Laboratory, Halmstad University, P.O. Box 823, Halmstad S-30118, Sweden

⁴ Swedish Adrenaline, Pilefeltsgatan 73, S-30250 Halmstad, Sweden

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20480-20500; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820480 - 19 Aug 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 7519

Abstract

This article presents a study of the relationship between electromyographic (EMG) signals from vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, biceps femoris and semitendinosus muscles, collected during fatiguing cycling exercises, and other physiological measurements, such as blood lactate concentration and oxygen consumption. In contrast to the [...] Read more.

This article presents a study of the relationship between electromyographic (EMG) signals from vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, biceps femoris and semitendinosus muscles, collected during fatiguing cycling exercises, and other physiological measurements, such as blood lactate concentration and oxygen consumption. In contrast to the usual practice of picking one particular characteristic of the signal, e.g., the median or mean frequency, multiple variables were used to obtain a thorough characterization of EMG signals in the spectral domain. Based on these variables, linear and non-linear (random forest) models were built to predict blood lactate concentration and oxygen consumption. The results showed that mean and median frequencies are sub-optimal choices for predicting these physiological quantities in dynamic exercises, as they did not exhibit significant changes over the course of our protocol and only weakly correlated with blood lactate concentration or oxygen uptake. Instead, the root mean square of the original signal and backward difference, as well as parameters describing the tails of the EMG power distribution were the most important variables for these models. Coefficients of determination ranging from R² = 0:77 to R² = 0:98 (for blood lactate) and from R² = 0:81 to R² = 0:97 (for oxygen uptake) were obtained when using random forest regressors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Chemical Sensors)

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10 pages, 1475 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Thermal Sensor for the Sensitive Measurement of Chemical Oxygen Demand

by Na Yao^1,2,†, Zhuan Liu^1,3,†, Ying Chen⁴, Yikai Zhou^1,* and Bin Xie^5,*

¹ Institute of Environmental Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China

² Jingzhou Central Hospital, Jingzhou 434026, China

³ Yancheng Blood Center, Yancheng 224005, China

⁴ Hubei Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan 430079, China

⁵ Pure and Applied Biochemistry, Lund University, Box 124, Lund SE-22100, Sweden

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20501-20510; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820501 - 19 Aug 2015

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 8053

Abstract

A novel rapid methodology for determining the chemical oxygen demand (COD) based on a thermal sensor with a flow injection analysis system was proposed and experimentally validated. The ability of this sensor to detect and monitor COD was based on the degree of [...] Read more.

A novel rapid methodology for determining the chemical oxygen demand (COD) based on a thermal sensor with a flow injection analysis system was proposed and experimentally validated. The ability of this sensor to detect and monitor COD was based on the degree of enthalpy increase when sodium hypochlorite reacted with the organic content in water samples. The measurement results were correlated with COD and were compared against the conventional method using potassium dichromate. The assay required only 5–7 min rather than the 2 h required for evaluation by potassium dichromate. The linear range was 5–1000 mg/L COD, and the limit of detection was very low, 0.74 mg/L COD. Moreover, this method exhibited high tolerance to chloride ions; 0.015 mol/L chloride ions had no influence on the response. Finally, the sensor was used to detect the COD of different water samples; the results were verified by the standard dichromate method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Chemical Sensors)

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13 pages, 454 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Considerations on Circuit Design and Data Acquisition of a Portable Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensing System

by Keke Chang¹, Ruipeng Chen¹, Shun Wang¹, Jianwei Li¹, Xinran Hu², Hao Liang³, Baiqiong Cao¹, Xiaohui Sun¹, Liuzheng Ma¹, Juanhua Zhu¹, Min Jiang⁴ and Jiandong Hu^1,5,*

¹ Department of Electrical Engineering, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China

² School of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, McGill University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada

³ Department of Electronic and Telecommunications, University of Gävle, Gävle SE-801 76, Sweden

⁴ College of life sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China

⁵ State key laboratory of wheat and maize crop science, Zhengzhou 450002, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20511-20523; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820511 - 19 Aug 2015

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 6851

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop a circuit for an inexpensive portable biosensing system based on surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. This portable biosensing system designed for field use is characterized by a special structure which consists of a microfluidic cell incorporating [...] Read more.

The aim of this study was to develop a circuit for an inexpensive portable biosensing system based on surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. This portable biosensing system designed for field use is characterized by a special structure which consists of a microfluidic cell incorporating a right angle prism functionalized with a biomolecular identification membrane, a laser line generator and a data acquisition circuit board. The data structure, data memory capacity and a line charge-coupled device (CCD) array with a driving circuit for collecting the photoelectric signals are intensively focused on and the high performance analog-to-digital (A/D) converter is comprehensively evaluated. The interface circuit and the photoelectric signal amplifier circuit are first studied to obtain the weak signals from the line CCD array in this experiment. Quantitative measurements for validating the sensitivity of the biosensing system were implemented using ethanol solutions of various concentrations indicated by volume fractions of 5%, 8%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30%, respectively, without a biomembrane immobilized on the surface of the SPR sensor. The experiments demonstrated that it is possible to detect a change in the refractive index of an ethanol solution with a sensitivity of 4.99838 × 10⁵ ΔRU/RI in terms of the changes in delta response unit with refractive index using this SPR biosensing system, whereby the theoretical limit of detection of 3.3537 × 10⁻⁵ refractive index unit (RIU) and a high linearity at the correlation coefficient of 0.98065. The results obtained from a series of tests confirmed the practicality of this cost-effective portable SPR biosensing system. Full article

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

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17 pages, 838 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Belief Function Based Decision Fusion for Decentralized Target Classification in Wireless Sensor Networks

by Wenyu Zhang and Zhenjiang Zhang^*

School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Key Laboratory of Communication and Information Systems, Beijing Municipal Commission of Education, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20524-20540; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820524 - 19 Aug 2015

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 6115

Abstract

Decision fusion in sensor networks enables sensors to improve classification accuracy while reducing the energy consumption and bandwidth demand for data transmission. In this paper, we focus on the decentralized multi-class classification fusion problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and a new simple [...] Read more.

Decision fusion in sensor networks enables sensors to improve classification accuracy while reducing the energy consumption and bandwidth demand for data transmission. In this paper, we focus on the decentralized multi-class classification fusion problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and a new simple but effective decision fusion rule based on belief function theory is proposed. Unlike existing belief function based decision fusion schemes, the proposed approach is compatible with any type of classifier because the basic belief assignments (BBAs) of each sensor are constructed on the basis of the classifier’s training output confusion matrix and real-time observations. We also derive explicit global BBA in the fusion center under Dempster’s combinational rule, making the decision making operation in the fusion center greatly simplified. Also, sending the whole BBA structure to the fusion center is avoided. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed fusion rule has better performance in fusion accuracy compared with the naïve Bayes rule and weighted majority voting rule. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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2 pages, 603 KiB

Open AccessCorrection

Correction: Li, S. et al. Research on a Power Management System for Thermoelectric Generators to Drive Wireless Sensors on a Spindle Unit. Sensors 2014, 14, 12701–12714

by Sheng Li^1,2,*, Xinhua Yao¹

and Jianzhong Fu¹

¹ The State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power Transmission and Control, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China

² School of Mechanical Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20541-20542; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820541 - 20 Aug 2015

Viewed by 4018

Abstract

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [1]. [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

14 pages, 657 KiB

Open AccessArticle

DNA-Redox Cation Interaction Improves the Sensitivity of an Electrochemical Immunosensor for Protein Detection

by Ping Li¹, Bixia Ge², Lily M.-L. Ou^1,2, Zhihui Yao² and Hua-Zhong Yu^1,*

¹ Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada

² Biogate Laboratories Ltd., 110-4238 Lozells Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5A 0C4, Canada

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20543-20556; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820543 - 20 Aug 2015

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 8158

Abstract

A simple DNA-redox cation interaction enhancement strategy has been developed to improve the sensitivity of electrochemical immunosensors for protein detection. Instead of labeling with fluorophores or redox-active groups, the detection antibodies were tethered with DNA single strands. Based on the electrostatic interaction between [...] Read more.

A simple DNA-redox cation interaction enhancement strategy has been developed to improve the sensitivity of electrochemical immunosensors for protein detection. Instead of labeling with fluorophores or redox-active groups, the detection antibodies were tethered with DNA single strands. Based on the electrostatic interaction between redox cations ([Ru(NH₃)₆]³⁺) and negatively charged DNA backbone, enhanced electrochemical signals were obtained. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) detection has been performed as a trial analysis. A linear response range up to the concentration of 25 mIU/mL and a detection limit of 1.25 mIU/mL have been achieved, both are comparable with the ultrasensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests. The method also shows great selectivity towards hCG over other hormones such as thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). By and large, our approach bears the merits of cost effectiveness and simplicity of instrumentation in comparison with conventional optical detection methods. 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, 1614 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Thermoluminescence Response of Ge-Doped Flat Fibers to Gamma Radiation

by Siti Nurasiah Binti Mat Nawi^1,*, Nor Fadira Binti Wahib¹, Nurul Najua Binti Zulkepely¹, Yusoff Bin Mohd Amin¹, Ung Ngie Min², David Andrew Bradley³, Roslan Bin Md Nor¹ and Mohd Jamil Maah⁴

¹ Radiation Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia

² Department of Clinical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia

³ Centre for Nuclear and Radiation Physics, Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK

⁴ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20557-20569; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820557 - 20 Aug 2015

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 6014

Abstract

Study has been undertaken of the thermoluminescence (TL) yield of various tailor-made flat cross-section 6 mol% Ge-doped silica fibers, differing only in respect of external dimensions. Key TL dosimetric characteristics have been investigated, including glow curves, dose response, sensitivity, fading and reproducibility. Using [...] Read more.

Study has been undertaken of the thermoluminescence (TL) yield of various tailor-made flat cross-section 6 mol% Ge-doped silica fibers, differing only in respect of external dimensions. Key TL dosimetric characteristics have been investigated, including glow curves, dose response, sensitivity, fading and reproducibility. Using a ⁶⁰Co source, the samples were irradiated to doses within the range 1 to 10 Gy. Prior to irradiation, the flat fibers were sectioned into 6 mm lengths, weighed, and annealed at 400 °C for 1 h. TL readout was by means of a Harshaw Model 3500 TLD reader, with TLD-100 chips (LiF:Mg, Ti) used as a reference dosimeter to allow the relative response of the fibers to be evaluated. The fibers have been found to provide highly linear dose response and excellent reproducibility over the range of doses investigated, demonstrating high potential as TL-mode detectors in radiation medicine applications. Mass for mass, the results show the greatest TL yield to be provided by fibers of the smallest cross-section, analysis indicating this to be due to minimal light loss in transport of the TL through the bulk of the silica medium. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Silicon Based Optical Sensors)

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38 pages, 882 KiB

Open AccessReview

Context Aware Middleware Architectures: Survey and Challenges

by Xin Li^*

, Martina Eckert, José-Fernán Martinez and Gregorio Rubio

Research Center on Software Technologies and Multimedia Systems for Sustainability (CITSEM—Centro de Investigación en Tecnologías Software y Sistemas Multimedia Para la Sostenibilidad), Campus Sur UPM, Ctra. Valencia, Km 7, 28031 Madrid, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20570-20607; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820570 - 20 Aug 2015

Cited by 124 | Viewed by 14652

Abstract

Context aware applications, which can adapt their behaviors to changing environments, are attracting more and more attention. To simplify the complexity of developing applications, context aware middleware, which introduces context awareness into the traditional middleware, is highlighted to provide a homogeneous interface involving [...] Read more.

Context aware applications, which can adapt their behaviors to changing environments, are attracting more and more attention. To simplify the complexity of developing applications, context aware middleware, which introduces context awareness into the traditional middleware, is highlighted to provide a homogeneous interface involving generic context management solutions. This paper provides a survey of state-of-the-art context aware middleware architectures proposed during the period from 2009 through 2015. First, a preliminary background, such as the principles of context, context awareness, context modelling, and context reasoning, is provided for a comprehensive understanding of context aware middleware. On this basis, an overview of eleven carefully selected middleware architectures is presented and their main features explained. Then, thorough comparisons and analysis of the presented middleware architectures are performed based on technical parameters including architectural style, context abstraction, context reasoning, scalability, fault tolerance, interoperability, service discovery, storage, security & privacy, context awareness level, and cloud-based big data analytics. The analysis shows that there is actually no context aware middleware architecture that complies with all requirements. Finally, challenges are pointed out as open issues for future work. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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40 pages, 1958 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Model-Based Design of Tree WSNs for Decentralized Detection

by Ashraf Tantawy^1,*, Xenofon Koutsoukos² and Gautam Biswas²

¹ RasGas Company Limited, Doha 24200, Qatar

² Institute for Software Integrated Systems, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20608-20647; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820608 - 20 Aug 2015

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5649

Abstract

The classical decentralized detection problem of finding the optimal decision rules at the sensor and fusion center, as well as variants that introduce physical channel impairments have been studied extensively in the literature. The deployment of WSNs in decentralized detection applications brings new [...] Read more.

The classical decentralized detection problem of finding the optimal decision rules at the sensor and fusion center, as well as variants that introduce physical channel impairments have been studied extensively in the literature. The deployment of WSNs in decentralized detection applications brings new challenges to the field. Protocols for different communication layers have to be co-designed to optimize the detection performance. In this paper, we consider the communication network design problem for a tree WSN. We pursue a system-level approach where a complete model for the system is developed that captures the interactions between different layers, as well as different sensor quality measures. For network optimization, we propose a hierarchical optimization algorithm that lends itself to the tree structure, requiring only local network information. The proposed design approach shows superior performance over several contentionless and contention-based network design approaches. Full article

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

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11 pages, 1137 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Highly Sensitive Electrochemical Determination of Alfatoxin B1 Using Quantum Dots-Assembled Amplification Labels

by Xiaoqun Zeng¹, Huiju Gao¹, Daodong Pan^1,2,*, Yangying Sun¹, Jinxuan Cao¹, Zhen Wu¹ and Zhenyu Pan³

¹ Key Laboratory of Animal Protein Food Deep Processing Technology of Zhejiang, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China

² Food Science & Nutrition Department, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, China

³ School of Electronic Engineering, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20648-20658; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820648 - 20 Aug 2015

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5480

Abstract

A competitive electrochemical immunoassay for highly sensitive detection of AFB1 is demonstrated using layer-by-layer (LBL) assembled quantum dots (QDs) as labels. To investigate the effects of the higher sensitivity of square wave voltammetric stripping (SWV) and of the LBL technique on the proposed [...] Read more.

A competitive electrochemical immunoassay for highly sensitive detection of AFB1 is demonstrated using layer-by-layer (LBL) assembled quantum dots (QDs) as labels. To investigate the effects of the higher sensitivity of square wave voltammetric stripping (SWV) and of the LBL technique on the proposed immunoassays, the proposed assay was compared to electrochemical (EC) and fluorescent immunoassays, which did not use LBL technology. Peanut samples were analyzed using the three immunoassays. The limits of detection (LODs) were 0.018, 0.046 and 0.212 ng/mL, respectively, while the sensitivities were 0.308, 1.011 and 4.594 ng/mL, respectively. The proposed electrochemical immunoassay displayed a significant improvement in sensitivity, thereby providing a simple and sensitive alternative strategy for determining AFB1 levels in peanut samples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)

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19 pages, 671 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ultrahigh-Temperature Regeneration of Long Period Gratings (LPGs) in Boron-Codoped Germanosilicate Optical Fibre

by Wen Liu^1,2, Kevin Cook¹ and John Canning^1,*

¹ interdisciplinary Photonics Laboratories (iPL), School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia

² College of Optoelectronic Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20659-20677; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820659 - 20 Aug 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6416

Abstract

The regeneration of UV-written long period gratings (LPG) in boron-codoped germanosilicate “W” fibre is demonstrated and studied. They survive temperatures over 1000 °C. Compared with regenerated FBGs fabricated in the same type of fibre, the evolution curves of LPGs during regeneration and post-annealing [...] Read more.

The regeneration of UV-written long period gratings (LPG) in boron-codoped germanosilicate “W” fibre is demonstrated and studied. They survive temperatures over 1000 °C. Compared with regenerated FBGs fabricated in the same type of fibre, the evolution curves of LPGs during regeneration and post-annealing reveal even more detail of glass relaxation. Piece-wise temperature dependence is observed, indicating the onset of a phase transition of glass in the core and inner cladding at ~500 °C and ~250 °C, and the melting of inner cladding between 860 °C and 900 °C. An asymmetric spectral response with increasing and decreasing annealing temperature points to the complex process dependent material system response. Resonant wavelength tuning by adjusting the dwell temperature at which regeneration is undertaken is demonstrated, showing a shorter resonant wavelength and shorter time for stabilisation with higher dwell temperatures. All the regenerated LPGs are nearly strain-insensitive and cannot be tuned by applying loads during annealing as done for regenerated FBGs. Full article

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

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20 pages, 2238 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research and Experiments on a Unipolar Capacitive Voltage Sensor

by Qiang Zhou^1,*, Wei He¹, Songnong Li² and Xingzhe Hou²

¹ State Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment & System Security and New Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China

² State Grid Chongqing Electric Power Co. Electric Power Research Institute, Chongqing 400015, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20678-20697; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820678 - 21 Aug 2015

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 7921

Abstract

Voltage sensors are an important part of the electric system. In service, traditional voltage sensors need to directly contact a high-voltage charged body. Sensors involve a large volume, complex insulation structures, and high design costs. Typically an iron core structure is adopted. As [...] Read more.

Voltage sensors are an important part of the electric system. In service, traditional voltage sensors need to directly contact a high-voltage charged body. Sensors involve a large volume, complex insulation structures, and high design costs. Typically an iron core structure is adopted. As a result, ferromagnetic resonance can occur easily during practical application. Moreover, owing to the multilevel capacitor divider, the sensor cannot reflect the changes of measured voltage in time. Based on the electric field coupling principle, this paper designs a new voltage sensor; the unipolar structure design solves many problems of traditional voltage sensors like the great insulation design difficulty and high costs caused by grounding electrodes. A differential signal input structure is adopted for the detection circuit, which effectively restrains the influence of the common-mode interference signal. Through sensor modeling, simulation and calculations, the structural design of the sensor electrode was optimized, miniaturization of the sensor was realized, the voltage division ratio of the sensor was enhanced, and the phase difference of sensor measurement was weakened. The voltage sensor is applied to a single-phase voltage class line of 10 kV for testing. According to the test results, the designed sensor is able to meet the requirements of accurate and real-time measurement for voltage of the charged conductor as well as to provide a new method for electricity larceny prevention and on-line monitoring of the power grid in an electric system. Therefore, it can satisfy the development demands of the smart power grid. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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19 pages, 1382 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Fourier Frequency Spectrum Peaks of Milk Electrical Conductivity Signals as Indexes to Monitor the Dairy Goats’ Health Status by On-Line Sensors

by Mauro Zaninelli^1,*

, Alessandro Agazzi², Annamaria Costa²

, Francesco Maria Tangorra², Luciana Rossi²

and Giovanni Savoini²

¹ Faculty of Agriculture, Università Telematica San Raffaele Roma, Via di Val Cannuta 247, 00166 Rome, Italy

² Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety (VESPA), Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20698-20716; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820698 - 21 Aug 2015

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6126

Abstract

The aim of this study is a further characterization of the electrical conductivity (EC) signal of goat milk, acquired on-line by EC sensors, to identify new indexes representative of the EC variations that can be observed during milking, when considering not healthy (NH) [...] Read more.

The aim of this study is a further characterization of the electrical conductivity (EC) signal of goat milk, acquired on-line by EC sensors, to identify new indexes representative of the EC variations that can be observed during milking, when considering not healthy (NH) glands. Two foremilk gland samples from 42 Saanen goats, were collected for three consecutive weeks and for three different lactation stages (LS: 0–60 Days In Milking (DIM); 61–120 DIM; 121–180 DIM), for a total amount of 1512 samples. Bacteriological analyses and somatic cells counts (SCC) were used to define the health status of the glands. With negative bacteriological analyses and SCC < 1,000,000 cells/mL, glands were classified as healthy. When bacteriological analyses were positive or showed a SCC > 1,000,000 cells/mL, glands were classified as NH. For each milk EC signal, acquired on-line and for each gland considered, the Fourier frequency spectrum of the signal was calculated and three representative frequency peaks were identified. To evaluate data acquired a MIXED procedure was used considering the HS, LS and LS × HS as explanatory variables in the statistical model.Results showed that the studied frequency peaks had a significant relationship with the gland’s health status. Results also explained how the milk EC signals’ pattern change in case of NH glands. In fact, it is characterized by slower fluctuations (due to the lower frequencies of the peaks) and by an irregular trend (due to the higher amplitudes of all the main frequency peaks). Therefore, these frequency peaks could be used as new indexes to improve the performances of algorithms based on multivariate models which evaluate the health status of dairy goats through the use of gland milk EC sensors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)

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13 pages, 3034 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Low Power Wireless Smoke Alarm System in Home Fires

by Juan Aponte Luis¹, Juan Antonio Gómez Galán^2,*

and Javier Alcina Espigado¹

¹ OnTech Security LLC, C/Hispano Aviación, 7-9, 41300 La Rinconada, Sevilla, Spain

² Department Electronic Engineering, Computer Systems, and Automatics, University of Huelva, Ctra Huelva, La Rábida, s/n, 21819 Huelva, Spain

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20717-20729; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820717 - 21 Aug 2015

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 23072

Abstract

A novel sensing device for fire detection in domestic environments is presented. The fire detector uses a combination of several sensors that not only detect smoke, but discriminate between different types of smoke. This feature avoids false alarms and warns of different situations. [...] Read more.

A novel sensing device for fire detection in domestic environments is presented. The fire detector uses a combination of several sensors that not only detect smoke, but discriminate between different types of smoke. This feature avoids false alarms and warns of different situations. Power consumption is optimized both in terms of hardware and software, providing a high degree of autonomy of almost five years. Data gathered from the device are transmitted through a wireless communication to a base station. The low cost and compact design provides wide application prospects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors for Fire Detection)

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22 pages, 1077 KiB

Open AccessArticle

ECG Sensor Card with Evolving RBP Algorithms for Human Verification

by Kuo-Kun Tseng^1,*, Huang-Nan Huang^2,*

, Fufu Zeng¹ and Shu-Yi Tu³

¹ Department of Computer Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China

² Department of Mathematics, Tunghai University, Taichung 40704, Taiwan

³ Department of Mathematics, University of Michigan, Flint 48502, MI, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20730-20751; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820730 - 21 Aug 2015

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 8968

Abstract

It is known that cardiac and respiratory rhythms in electrocardiograms (ECGs) are highly nonlinear and non-stationary. As a result, most traditional time-domain algorithms are inadequate for characterizing the complex dynamics of the ECG. This paper proposes a new ECG sensor card and a [...] Read more.

It is known that cardiac and respiratory rhythms in electrocardiograms (ECGs) are highly nonlinear and non-stationary. As a result, most traditional time-domain algorithms are inadequate for characterizing the complex dynamics of the ECG. This paper proposes a new ECG sensor card and a statistical-based ECG algorithm, with the aid of a reduced binary pattern (RBP), with the aim of achieving faster ECG human identity recognition with high accuracy. The proposed algorithm has one advantage that previous ECG algorithms lack—the waveform complex information and de-noising preprocessing can be bypassed; therefore, it is more suitable for non-stationary ECG signals. Experimental results tested on two public ECG databases (MIT-BIH) from MIT University confirm that the proposed scheme is feasible with excellent accuracy, low complexity, and speedy processing. To be more specific, the advanced RBP algorithm achieves high accuracy in human identity recognition and is executed at least nine times faster than previous algorithms. Moreover, based on the test results from a long-term ECG database, the evolving RBP algorithm also demonstrates superior capability in handling long-term and non-stationary ECG signals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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27 pages, 949 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High-Performance Motion Estimation for Image Sensors with Video Compression

by Weizhi Xu^1,2, Shouyi Yin^1,*, Leibo Liu¹, Zhiyong Liu³ and Shaojun Wei¹

¹ Institute of Microelectronics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

² School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, China

³ State Key Laboratory for Computer Architecture, Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20752-20778; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820752 - 21 Aug 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5579

Abstract

It is important to reduce the time cost of video compression for image sensors in video sensor network. Motion estimation (ME) is the most time-consuming part in video compression. Previous work on ME exploited intra-frame data reuse in a reference frame to improve [...] Read more.

It is important to reduce the time cost of video compression for image sensors in video sensor network. Motion estimation (ME) is the most time-consuming part in video compression. Previous work on ME exploited intra-frame data reuse in a reference frame to improve the time efficiency but neglected inter-frame data reuse. We propose a novel inter-frame data reuse scheme which can exploit both intra-frame and inter-frame data reuse for ME in video compression (VC-ME). Pixels of reconstructed frames are kept on-chip until they are used by the next current frame to avoid off-chip memory access. On-chip buffers with smart schedules of data access are designed to perform the new data reuse scheme. Three levels of the proposed inter-frame data reuse scheme are presented and analyzed. They give different choices with tradeoff between off-chip bandwidth requirement and on-chip memory size. All three levels have better data reuse efficiency than their intra-frame counterparts, so off-chip memory traffic is reduced effectively. Comparing the new inter-frame data reuse scheme with the traditional intra-frame data reuse scheme, the memory traffic can be reduced by 50% for VC-ME. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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20 pages, 1356 KiB

Open AccessArticle

GPS/DR Error Estimation for Autonomous Vehicle Localization

by Byung-Hyun Lee¹, Jong-Hwa Song¹

, Jun-Hyuck Im¹

, Sung-Hyuck Im², Moon-Beom Heo² and Gyu-In Jee^1,*

¹ Electronics Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-701, Korea

² Satellite Navigation Team, Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Daejeon 305-806, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20779-20798; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820779 - 21 Aug 2015

Cited by 72 | Viewed by 11895

Abstract

Autonomous vehicles require highly reliable navigation capabilities. For example, a lane-following method cannot be applied in an intersection without lanes, and since typical lane detection is performed using a straight-line model, errors can occur when the lateral distance is estimated in curved sections [...] Read more.

Autonomous vehicles require highly reliable navigation capabilities. For example, a lane-following method cannot be applied in an intersection without lanes, and since typical lane detection is performed using a straight-line model, errors can occur when the lateral distance is estimated in curved sections due to a model mismatch. Therefore, this paper proposes a localization method that uses GPS/DR error estimation based on a lane detection method with curved lane models, stop line detection, and curve matching in order to improve the performance during waypoint following procedures. The advantage of using the proposed method is that position information can be provided for autonomous driving through intersections, in sections with sharp curves, and in curved sections following a straight section. The proposed method was applied in autonomous vehicles at an experimental site to evaluate its performance, and the results indicate that the positioning achieved accuracy at the sub-meter level. Full article

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

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26 pages, 500 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Towards a Low-Cost Remote Memory Attestation for the Smart Grid

by Xinyu Yang^1,†, Xiaofei He^1,†

, Wei Yu², Jie Lin^1,*,†, Rui Li^1,†, Qingyu Yang^3,† and Houbing Song⁴

¹ Department of Computer Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China

² Department of Computer and Information Sciences, Towson University, Towson, MD 21252, USA

³ SKLMSE Lab, School of Electronic Information Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China

⁴ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, West Virginia University, Montgomery, WV 25136, USA

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20799-20824; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820799 - 21 Aug 2015

Cited by 43 | Viewed by 7875

Abstract

In the smart grid, measurement devices may be compromised by adversaries, and their operations could be disrupted by attacks. A number of schemes to efficiently and accurately detect these compromised devices remotely have been proposed. Nonetheless, most of the existing schemes detecting compromised [...] Read more.

In the smart grid, measurement devices may be compromised by adversaries, and their operations could be disrupted by attacks. A number of schemes to efficiently and accurately detect these compromised devices remotely have been proposed. Nonetheless, most of the existing schemes detecting compromised devices depend on the incremental response time in the attestation process, which are sensitive to data transmission delay and lead to high computation and network overhead. To address the issue, in this paper, we propose a low-cost remote memory attestation scheme (LRMA), which can efficiently and accurately detect compromised smart meters considering real-time network delay and achieve low computation and network overhead. In LRMA, the impact of real-time network delay on detecting compromised nodes can be eliminated via investigating the time differences reported from relay nodes. Furthermore, the attestation frequency in LRMA is dynamically adjusted with the compromised probability of each node, and then, the total number of attestations could be reduced while low computation and network overhead can be achieved. Through a combination of extensive theoretical analysis and evaluations, our data demonstrate that our proposed scheme can achieve better detection capacity and lower computation and network overhead in comparison to existing schemes. Full article

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

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20 pages, 1718 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Efficient Implementation of a Symbol Timing Estimator for Broadband PLC

by Francisco Nombela^†, Enrique García^†, Raúl Mateos^† and Álvaro Hernández^*,†

¹ Electronics Department, University of Alcalá, Campus Universitario s/n, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid 28805, Spain

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20825-20844; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820825 - 21 Aug 2015

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6141

Abstract

Broadband Power Line Communications (PLC) have taken advantage of the research advances in multi-carrier modulations to mitigate frequency selective fading, and their adoption opens up a myriad of applications in the field of sensory and automation systems, multimedia connectivity or smart spaces. Nonetheless, [...] Read more.

Broadband Power Line Communications (PLC) have taken advantage of the research advances in multi-carrier modulations to mitigate frequency selective fading, and their adoption opens up a myriad of applications in the field of sensory and automation systems, multimedia connectivity or smart spaces. Nonetheless, the use of these multi-carrier modulations, such as Wavelet-OFDM, requires a highly accurate symbol timing estimation for reliably recovering of transmitted data. Furthermore, the PLC channel presents some particularities that prevent the direct use of previous synchronization algorithms proposed in wireless communication systems. Therefore more research effort should be involved in the design and implementation of novel and robust synchronization algorithms for PLC, thus enabling real-time synchronization. This paper proposes a symbol timing estimator for broadband PLC based on cross-correlation with multilevel complementary sequences or Zadoff-Chu sequences and its efficient implementation in a FPGA; the obtained results show a 90% of success rate in symbol timing estimation for a certain PLC channel model and a reduced resource consumption for its implementation in a Xilinx Kyntex FPGA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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18 pages, 6024 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Distance-Dependent Multimodal Image Registration for Agriculture Tasks

by Ron Berenstein^1,*, Marko Hočevar^2,†, Tone Godeša^2,†, Yael Edan^1,† and Ohad Ben-Shahar^3,†

¹ Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 8410501, Israel

² Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 6, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia

³ Department of Computer Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 8410501, Israel

^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20845-20862; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820845 - 21 Aug 2015

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5845

Abstract

Image registration is the process of aligning two or more images of the same scene taken at different times; from different viewpoints; and/or by different sensors. This research focuses on developing a practical method for automatic image registration for agricultural systems that use [...] Read more.

Image registration is the process of aligning two or more images of the same scene taken at different times; from different viewpoints; and/or by different sensors. This research focuses on developing a practical method for automatic image registration for agricultural systems that use multimodal sensory systems and operate in natural environments. While not limited to any particular modalities; here we focus on systems with visual and thermal sensory inputs. Our approach is based on pre-calibrating a distance-dependent transformation matrix (DDTM) between the sensors; and representing it in a compact way by regressing the distance-dependent coefficients as distance-dependent functions. The DDTM is measured by calculating a projective transformation matrix for varying distances between the sensors and possible targets. To do so we designed a unique experimental setup including unique Artificial Control Points (ACPs) and their detection algorithms for the two sensors. We demonstrate the utility of our approach using different experiments and evaluation criteria. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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10 pages, 722 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Lipid Multilayer Grating Arrays Integrated by Nanointaglio for Vapor Sensing by an Optical Nose

by Troy W. Lowry^1,2, Plengchart Prommapan², Quinn Rainer¹, David Van Winkle² and Steven Lenhert^1,*

¹ Department of Biological Science and Integrative Nanoscience Institute, Florida State University, 89 Chieftan Way, Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA

² Department of Physics, Florida State University, 77 Chieftan Way, Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20863-20872; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820863 - 21 Aug 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6584

Abstract

Lipid multilayer gratings are recently invented nanomechanical sensor elements that are capable of transducing molecular binding to fluid lipid multilayers into optical signals in a label free manner due to shape changes in the lipid nanostructures. Here, we show that nanointaglio is suitable [...] Read more.

Lipid multilayer gratings are recently invented nanomechanical sensor elements that are capable of transducing molecular binding to fluid lipid multilayers into optical signals in a label free manner due to shape changes in the lipid nanostructures. Here, we show that nanointaglio is suitable for the integration of chemically different lipid multilayer gratings into a sensor array capable of distinguishing vapors by means of an optical nose. Sensor arrays composed of six different lipid formulations are integrated onto a surface and their optical response to three different vapors (water, ethanol and acetone) in air as well as pH under water is monitored as a function of time. Principal component analysis of the array response results in distinct clustering indicating the suitability of the arrays for distinguishing these analytes. Importantly, the nanointaglio process used here is capable of producing lipid gratings out of different materials with sufficiently uniform heights for the fabrication of an optical nose. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomechanics for Sensing and Spectrometry)

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21 pages, 1567 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Context-Aware EEG Headset System for Early Detection of Driver Drowsiness

by Gang Li and Wan-Young Chung^*

Department of Electronic Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20873-20893; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820873 - 21 Aug 2015

Cited by 86 | Viewed by 12850

Abstract

Driver drowsiness is a major cause of mortality in traffic accidents worldwide. Electroencephalographic (EEG) signal, which reflects the brain activities, is more directly related to drowsiness. Thus, many Brain-Machine-Interface (BMI) systems have been proposed to detect driver drowsiness. However, detecting driver drowsiness at [...] Read more.

Driver drowsiness is a major cause of mortality in traffic accidents worldwide. Electroencephalographic (EEG) signal, which reflects the brain activities, is more directly related to drowsiness. Thus, many Brain-Machine-Interface (BMI) systems have been proposed to detect driver drowsiness. However, detecting driver drowsiness at its early stage poses a major practical hurdle when using existing BMI systems. This study proposes a context-aware BMI system aimed to detect driver drowsiness at its early stage by enriching the EEG data with the intensity of head-movements. The proposed system is carefully designed for low-power consumption with on-chip feature extraction and low energy Bluetooth connection. Also, the proposed system is implemented using JAVA programming language as a mobile application for on-line analysis. In total, 266 datasets obtained from six subjects who participated in a one-hour monotonous driving simulation experiment were used to evaluate this system. According to a video-based reference, the proposed system obtained an overall detection accuracy of 82.71% for classifying alert and slightly drowsy events by using EEG data alone and 96.24% by using the hybrid data of head-movement and EEG. These results indicate that the combination of EEG data and head-movement contextual information constitutes a robust solution for the early detection of driver drowsiness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wearable Sensors)

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31 pages, 22352 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reliable Fusion of Stereo Matching and Depth Sensor for High Quality Dense Depth Maps

by Jing Liu^1,2,*, Chunpeng Li¹, Xuefeng Fan^1,2 and Zhaoqi Wang¹

¹ The Beijing Key Laboratory of Mobile Computing and Pervasive Device, Institute ofComputing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.6 Kexueyuan South Road Zhongguancun, Haidian District, Beijing 100190, China

² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China

Sensors 2015, 15(8), 20894-20924; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150820894 - 21 Aug 2015

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 8889

Abstract

Depth estimation is a classical problem in computer vision, which typically relies on either a depth sensor or stereo matching alone. The depth sensor provides real-time estimates in repetitive and textureless regions where stereo matching is not effective. However, stereo matching can obtain [...] Read more.

Depth estimation is a classical problem in computer vision, which typically relies on either a depth sensor or stereo matching alone. The depth sensor provides real-time estimates in repetitive and textureless regions where stereo matching is not effective. However, stereo matching can obtain more accurate results in rich texture regions and object boundaries where the depth sensor often fails. We fuse stereo matching and the depth sensor using their complementary characteristics to improve the depth estimation. Here, texture information is incorporated as a constraint to restrict the pixel’s scope of potential disparities and to reduce noise in repetitive and textureless regions. Furthermore, a novel pseudo-two-layer model is used to represent the relationship between disparities in different pixels and segments. It is more robust to luminance variation by treating information obtained from a depth sensor as prior knowledge. Segmentation is viewed as a soft constraint to reduce ambiguities caused by under- or over-segmentation. Compared to the average error rate 3.27% of the previous state-of-the-art methods, our method provides an average error rate of 2.61% on the Middlebury datasets, which shows that our method performs almost 20% better than other “fused” algorithms in the aspect of precision. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging: Sensors and Technologies)

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Sensors, Volume 15, Issue 8 (August 2015) – 158 articles , Pages 17827-20944

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