Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.1
2.9
Journals
Applied Sciences
Special Issues
Technical Advances In and Applications of Low-Cost/Power Sensors
applsci-logo
Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Applied Sciences Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Technical Advances In and Applications of Low-Cost/Power Sensors

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 5730

Editors

Dr. Hicham Klaina

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Electric, Electronic and Communication Engineering Department, Public University of Navarre, 31006 Pamplona, Spain
Interests: Internet of Things; smart cities; radio propagation; LPWAN technologies; sensor networks; RFID; wireless power transfer; augmented reality; virtual reality
Prof. Dr. Peio Lopez-Iturri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Electric, Electronic and Communication Engineering Department, Public University of Navarre, 31006 Pamplona, Spain
Interests: radio propagation; wireless sensor networks; electromagnetic dosimetry; modeling of radio interference sources; mobile radio systems; wireless power transfer; IoT networks and devices; 5G communication systems and EMI/EMC

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid evolution of low-cost and low-power sensors has significantly impacted various technological domains, enabling a new era of connectivity and intelligence. These sensors are the backbone of smart cities, facilitating efficient resource management, real-time monitoring, and enhanced quality of life for urban populations. Moreover, their integration with cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) is opening unprecedented opportunities for innovation across sectors like healthcare, transportation, and environmental monitoring.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, which aims to highlight the latest technical advances in and practical applications of low-cost and low-power sensors. Our goal is to assemble a collection of high-quality research articles and reviews that showcase novel developments, interdisciplinary approaches, and real-world implementations of these sensor technologies.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Development of Low-Cost/-Power Sensors:
  • Novel materials and fabrication techniques;
  • Miniaturization and integration strategies.
  1. Wireless Technologies, IoT Solutions, and 5G:
  • Energy-efficient wireless communication applications;
  • Deployment of large-scale wireless sensor networks.
  1. Applications in Smart Cities:
  • Environmental monitoring and sustainability;
  • Intelligent transportation systems and infrastructure management.
  1. Integration with AI, VR, and AR:
  • Sensor data analytics using artificial intelligence;
  • Enhancing VR and AR experiences with sensor technologies.
  1. Case Studies and Real-World Implementations:
  • Successful deployment in healthcare, agriculture, industry, or other sectors.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Hicham Klaina
Prof. Dr. Peio Lopez-Iturri
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • low-cost sensors
  • low-power sensors
  • wireless technologies
  • smart cities
  • 5G
  • artificial intelligence (AI)
  • virtual reality (VR)
  • augmented reality (AR)
  • Internet of Things (IoT)
  • sensor networks
  • energy-efficient systems

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

29 pages, 3294 KB  
Article
Burst-Aware Cascade Detection of UAV Radio-Frequency Signals Using Energy and Cyclostationary Analysis
by Ivan Sova, Oleksiy Kozlov, Yuriy Kondratenko, Igor Atamanyuk and Anna Aleksieieva
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(11), 5618; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16115618 - 3 Jun 2026
Viewed by 398
Abstract
The increasing activity of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has intensified the demand for reliable and computationally efficient methods for passive radio-frequency (RF) signal detection. In practical RF monitoring scenarios, the environment is often non-stationary and affected by varying noise conditions. Under such circumstances, [...] Read more.
The increasing activity of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has intensified the demand for reliable and computationally efficient methods for passive radio-frequency (RF) signal detection. In practical RF monitoring scenarios, the environment is often non-stationary and affected by varying noise conditions. Under such circumstances, classical energy-based detectors are sensitive to noise uncertainty, while more robust approaches, such as cyclostationary analysis, require substantially higher computational resources. This work presents a burst-aware cascade method for UAV RF signal presence detection that explicitly addresses this trade-off. The proposed framework combines fast energy-based screening with temporal burst aggregation, applying spectral correlation function (SCF) analysis selectively and only when sustained signal activity is indicated. Detection is performed on fixed-length RF signal chunks, while additional segment-level duration constraints are used to characterize sustained transmissions. The method is evaluated using the publicly available DroneRF dataset and compared against six baseline detectors, including fixed-threshold energy, wavelet-based, blind cyclostationary, two adaptive energy detector variants, and a lightweight convolutional neural network. Experimental results confirm that chunk-level detection remains difficult for all considered methods. Temporal aggregation across longer intervals yields a substantial improvement: the cascade achieves Pd = 1.000 and AUC = 1.000 at the segment level, matching exhaustive cyclostationary detection while reducing per-segment processing time by a factor of 2.46. An additional result is that burst-level concatenation prior to SCF estimation provides implicit coherent integration, preserving Pd = 1.000 at signal amplitude reductions of up to −20 dB where standalone detectors degrade to Pd = 0.995. Overall, burst-aware cascade architectures offer a practical and interpretable approach to RF-based UAV monitoring, providing a well-grounded compromise between detection reliability and computational efficiency under realistic operating conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technical Advances In and Applications of Low-Cost/Power Sensors)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 2297 KB  
Article
Quantification of Hydrogen from Electrolysis by Combining a Resistive Electronic Sensor with the Standard Volumetric Method
by Emanuel Mango, Alessandro Fantoni, Manuela Vieira and Rui F. M. Lobo
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 4863; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16104863 - 13 May 2026
Viewed by 526
Abstract
Currently, hydrogen has become an indispensable topic when discussing the energy transition. Determining the amount of hydrogen produced or lost through leaks is a critical issue. Recently, with the emergence of the low-cost MQ-8 resistive semiconductor sensor, which is sensitive to hydrogen and [...] Read more.
Currently, hydrogen has become an indispensable topic when discussing the energy transition. Determining the amount of hydrogen produced or lost through leaks is a critical issue. Recently, with the emergence of the low-cost MQ-8 resistive semiconductor sensor, which is sensitive to hydrogen and responds with an output voltage Vout, there has been considerable interest in its use in small laboratory experiments. The combination of the volumetric method, the MQ-8 sensor, and the BME280 sensor (for temperature, pressure, and humidity) is of significant interest and has industrial applications. This work presents an in-depth study of the combination of the traditional volumetric method with the MQ-8 and BME sensors. Sensor validation metrics were evaluated to ensure the reliability of the results. The pressure remained approximately constant due to the system configuration. The results indicate that for a current of 1 A, it is possible to determine the approximate volume of hydrogen as a function of the sensor’s output voltage. For low currents ranging from 0.76 to 250 mA, the results indicate that it is possible to determine the approximate hydrogen flow rate as a function of the voltage detected by the sensor. With further investigation, it will be possible to propose the use of MQ-8 and BME280 sensors in environments containing hydrogen. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technical Advances In and Applications of Low-Cost/Power Sensors)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 8709 KB  
Article
Towards a Heat-Resistant Tethered Micro-Aerial Vehicle for Structure Fire Sensing
by Daniel Aláez, Manuel Prieto, Jesús Villadangos and José Javier Astrain
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(5), 2388; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15052388 - 23 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3902
Abstract
The collapse of structures during firefighter intervention is one of the greatest risks that firefighters must face when entering buildings. To reduce these risks, situational awareness is key. Although many advances have already been developed in wildland and outdoor fires, there is still [...] Read more.
The collapse of structures during firefighter intervention is one of the greatest risks that firefighters must face when entering buildings. To reduce these risks, situational awareness is key. Although many advances have already been developed in wildland and outdoor fires, there is still room for improvement in structure fires. The development of a heat-resistant micro-aerial vehicle for indoor fires poses a series of challenges such as component cooling, battery management, and protection from impacts. In this paper, a heat-resistant tethered micro-aerial vehicle is designed, modeled through thermal analysis, and successfully tested in real-world conditions. This platform has been equipped with a micro-sized thermal sensing camera and first-person-view (FPV) camera, optimized for thermal management, to allow for situational awareness in structure fires. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technical Advances In and Applications of Low-Cost/Power Sensors)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop