Sensing, Processing and Data Fusion for Non-destructive Testing and Earth Observation

Dear Colleagues,

Non-destructive testing (NDT) and Earth observation (EO) methods are crucial for monitoring and assessing conditions and changes in the natural and anthropogenic environment. Related techniques rely on sensing technologies of different physical nature and working principles, capable of returning information at multiple scales and resolutions, although they are substantially different in terms of the time frequency of data acquisition and spatial coverage capabilities. On the one hand, the technological advancement and progress achieved in data processing and interpretation have allowed tremendous hardware and software developments; on the other, the development of new data fusion and technology integration paradigms is providing further opportunities to bridge information gaps and take research in the field to the next level.

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art applications, numerical and theoretical developments of sensing techniques, data processing and interpretation methods, data fusion, integration and correlation within the context of NDT and EO.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following set of topics:

• Sensor types, systems and operating modes (active/passive sensors; remote and ground-based, embedded sensing systems; stand-alone and integrated multi-source sensing modes);
• Advanced processing methods and information analysis techniques (analogue/digital signal processing; multi-dimensional signal processing; image processing; optical/acoustic/vibration/electromagnetic signal processing; data processing and information analysis; inversion approaches);
• Multi-sensor, multi-temporal and multi-modal data fusion and integration (image fusion; spatio-temporal data fusion; multi-source data matching and co-registration; artificial intelligence and machine learning for data fusion and integration);
• The integration of NDT and EO data into smart platforms and information systems and architectures (GIS, Cloud-based Information Systems; DSS);
• The development of fully deployed and prototype NDT and EO hardware and software;
• New NDT applications and EO missions and downstream implementations;
• The contribution of NDT and EO to the development of new standards, policies and best practices;
• Case studies relevant to environmental and anthropogenic diagnostics and monitoring.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Loizos
Prof. Dr. Amir M. Alani
Prof. Dr. Francesco Benedetto
Dr. Valerio Gagliardi
Dr. Francesco Soldovieri
Prof. Dr. Fabio Tosti
Guest Editors 

Manuscript Submission Information

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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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing 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 2700 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.