Environmental Sensors and Their Applications

Dear Colleagues,

The area of environmental monitoring (e.g., in both natural and built environments) plays a role in ensuring optimal functioning across a hugely diverse landscape of activities. Environmental monitoring now also includes the environment closely apposed to the person (e.g., skin). Although comfort is considered to be important in design, all too often, the human body uses its own environmental sensors to compensate for design issues. An area with increasing growth potential is that of development and use of external sensor systems to augment defective human ones.

The decrease in sensor size, apparent reliability, and opportunities for new sensors brought about through technologies such as graphene have fuelled a rapid growth in research across a diverse series of fields from biomedical, agriculture, pharmaceutical to industrial (semiconductor industry and food processing). The changes in size and reliability have also allowed for the creation of combined sensors (e.g., temperature and humidity). This creates a great opportunity for applications that were previously considered impossible. However, an element of caution is still required: As one moves further away from physical measurement of any property, the issues of ensuring reliability and accuracy of calibration become increasingly important.

Never has the need been greater for more in-depth analysis, and from this refinement of these new sensor systems. We consider this an appropriate time to bring together research from across disciplines, explore novel applications, develop internal calibration methodology, and, from this solid basis, develop new applications to address the current issues.

The aim of this Special Issue is to present some of the possibilities that the new generation of sensors offers in terms of environmental monitoring, focusing on the different configurations that can be used and novel applications in any field. Reviews presenting a deep analysis of specific problems, such as calibration and uses in particular topic areas (e.g., clinical/medical), will also be considered.

We welcome original research papers and review articles on environmental sensor technology, their applications, and comparison between types.

Prof. Dr. Peter W. McCarthy
Prof. Dr. Zhuofu Liu
Dr. Vincenzo Cascioli
Guest Editors

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