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Keywords = light-sensing

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26 pages, 13693 KB  
Article
DG-Net: Few-Shot Remote Sensing Detection with Dynamic Dual-Stream Collaboration and Generative Meta-Learning
by Shanliang Liu, Xinnan Shao, Yan Dong, Qihang He and Chunlei Li
Symmetry 2026, 18(3), 461; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18030461 (registering DOI) - 7 Mar 2026
Abstract
Existing research has demonstrated that meta-learning methods hold considerable promise in addressing the challenges posed by few-shot object detection. However, remote sensing scenarios present two major challenges. The sparse features of small objects provide insufficient support information for query enhancement, and significant morphological [...] Read more.
Existing research has demonstrated that meta-learning methods hold considerable promise in addressing the challenges posed by few-shot object detection. However, remote sensing scenarios present two major challenges. The sparse features of small objects provide insufficient support information for query enhancement, and significant morphological variations caused by lighting and viewpoint differences hinder intra-class consistency capture via direct alignment in few-shot learning. To address these challenges, we propose a generative meta-learning detection framework. The framework first introduces a Dynamic Relation Dual-Stream Network to achieve dynamic support-query feature alignment through joint modeling of evolutionary and relational features, thereby enhancing representation in few-shot conditions. Second, an Optimal Transport-based Generative Meta-Learner is developed to mitigate feature distribution bias via generative augmentation in latent space. Additionally, an Orthogonal Frequency Decomposition Head is incorporated to adaptively separate query features into low-frequency contour and high-frequency detail components, effectively suppressing background noise interference. Experiments on multiple remote sensing datasets demonstrate that the proposed method achieves consistent performance gains over leading baseline methods in various few-shot settings. Its effectiveness is further validated across different backbone networks, highlighting strong generalization in few-shot remote sensing object detection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Symmetry/Asymmetry in Evolutionary Computation and Machine Learning)
27 pages, 5081 KB  
Article
Refined Carbon Emission Monitoring in Data-Scarce Regions: Insights from Nighttime Light Remote Sensing in the Yangtze River Delta
by Xingwen Ye, Zuofang Yao, Fei Yang and Yifang Ao
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(5), 2575; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16052575 (registering DOI) - 7 Mar 2026
Abstract
Carbon emissions (CEs) are a primary driver of global climate change, particularly pronounced in China’s Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, where rapid economic development and urbanization have led to a substantial increase in CEs. At fine spatial scales (e.g., county level) or in [...] Read more.
Carbon emissions (CEs) are a primary driver of global climate change, particularly pronounced in China’s Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, where rapid economic development and urbanization have led to a substantial increase in CEs. At fine spatial scales (e.g., county level) or in regions with limited statistical data, traditional methods for CE accounting are constrained by data gaps and inconsistencies, which hinders the accurate characterization of regional disparities. Therefore, this study proposes a CE spatial downscaling method based on nighttime light (NTL) data. By integrating remote sensing data with the IPCC emission inventory model, energy consumption-related carbon emissions (ECCEs) across the YRD region from 2000 to 2020 were quantified. Through global spatial autocorrelation analysis and standard deviation ellipse (SDE) analysis, the spatial distribution characteristics and temporal variation trends of ECCEs were revealed. Results indicate that total CEs increased significantly over the study period. CE hotspots were concentrated in the Hangzhou Bay area and the Shanghai–Nanjing corridor, while coldspots were identified in southwestern Anhui and Zhejiang. From 2010, the CE centroid shifted toward the southwest or northwest, and the regional CE distribution evolved from a point pattern to a band-shaped pattern. These findings offer a novel approach for CE monitoring and can provide scientific support for low-carbon development policies and precise emission reduction strategies in data-scarce regions of developing countries. Full article
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28 pages, 8904 KB  
Article
Spatiotemporal Evolution and Driving Mechanisms of Nighttime Lights and Population Coupling Coordination in China
by Zibo Wang, Shengbo Chen and Yucheng Xu
Remote Sens. 2026, 18(5), 813; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18050813 - 6 Mar 2026
Abstract
Accurately characterizing the relationship between nighttime human activity intensity and population distribution is essential for understanding urban development. This study proposes an integrated analytical framework that combines multilevel coupling quantification, regional trend detection, and interpretable machine learning to examine the Nighttime Lights and [...] Read more.
Accurately characterizing the relationship between nighttime human activity intensity and population distribution is essential for understanding urban development. This study proposes an integrated analytical framework that combines multilevel coupling quantification, regional trend detection, and interpretable machine learning to examine the Nighttime Lights and Population Coupling Coordination Degree (NPCCD) across China from 2012 to 2022. Based on this framework, NPCCD is evaluated from grid to regional level, and the characteristics of effective, persistent, and newly added coupled regions are identified. Twelve socioeconomic indicators are further constructed as explanatory variables to model NPCCD using machine learning algorithms, and Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) is applied to interpret the outputs. The results show that 49.07% of China’s overall NPCCD experienced steady improvement during the study period. Significant regional disparities were observed: in the eastern and central regions, more than 60% of grids fell into the improving category, whereas nearly half of the grids in the western and northeastern regions remained unchanged. Newly emerging coupling areas exhibited an average NPCCD of 0.03, markedly lower than the 0.07 observed in persistent effective areas, reflecting a mismatch between infrastructure development and population growth. Population density, human capital, industrial upgrading, and fiscal decentralization jointly explained 58.4% of the model’s variance and were identified as the major driving forces, each showing pronounced nonlinear and interaction effects. This study provides a quantitative framework for evaluating the coordination between nighttime lights and population distribution and offers insights for sustainable and balanced regional development. Full article
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26 pages, 2634 KB  
Systematic Review
A Systematic Review of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) Applications in Sediment Management
by Md. Emon Sardar, Muhammad Arifur Rahman, Md. Rasheduzzaman, Md. Shamsuzzoha, Abul Kalam Azad, Ayesha Akter, Kamrunnahar Ishana, Ahmed Parvez, Md. Anwarul Abedin, Mohammad Kabirul Islam, Md. Sagirul Islam Majumder, Mehedi Ahmed Ansary and Rajib Shaw
NDT 2026, 4(1), 10; https://doi.org/10.3390/ndt4010010 - 6 Mar 2026
Abstract
Sediment management is defined as the strategic monitoring and control of erosion, transport, and deposition processes to maintain environmental and infrastructural stability. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) has emerged as a critical high-precision technology for monitoring sediment dynamics, erosion processes, and geomorphic change detection [...] Read more.
Sediment management is defined as the strategic monitoring and control of erosion, transport, and deposition processes to maintain environmental and infrastructural stability. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) has emerged as a critical high-precision technology for monitoring sediment dynamics, erosion processes, and geomorphic change detection across diverse environments, including riverine, coastal, watershed, and infrastructure-related landscapes. While the field of TLS technology has seen significant advancements in recent years, including improvements in data accuracy, enhanced operational performance, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning-based processing, and integration with other remote sensing tools such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and satellite light detection and ranging (LiDAR), the study has focused on these developments. These advancements have further extended the application prospects of TLS technology. Despite these advancements, there remains a crucial need to systematically identify global research trends to identify the effectiveness, limitations, and knowledge gaps of TLS in sediment management. The methodological advantages and challenges of TLS applications provide insights into its gradual development role in enhancing sediment monitoring and environmental resilience. The objective of this study is to synthesize the current state of sediment management by conducting a systematic review of 108 peer-reviewed research papers retrieved from academic databases, including Google Scholar, ResearchGate, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science, from 28 countries, published between 2000 and 2025. The study will evaluate the effectiveness of TLS methodologies in comparison to conventional techniques and management procedures, following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. It will examine their capacity to enhance measurement accuracy, reduce error margins, and improve structural guidelines, particularly by advancing TLS technology through the integration of AI and machine learning (ML) algorithms. The findings of the study indicate that TLS and Iterative Closest Point (ICP) techniques can enhance the analysis of 3D models of dam deformation, ensuring improved structural monitoring and safety. The findings offer insights into the evolving role of TLS in sediment monitoring, emphasizing its potential for enhancing environmental management and climate resilience strategies. Furthermore, this review identifies future research directions to optimize TLS applications in sediment management through interdisciplinary approaches. Full article
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21 pages, 57674 KB  
Article
Electrophysiological Characterization of Aloe vera Under Abiotic Stress: A Quantitative Basis for Plant-Based Biodosimetry
by Misael Zambrano-de la Torre, Sebastian Guzman-Alfaro, Maximiliano Guzmán-Fernández, Ricardo Robles-Ortiz, Carlos H. Espino-Salinas and Ana G. Sánchez-Reyna
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(5), 2523; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16052523 - 5 Mar 2026
Abstract
Environmental monitoring across extensive regions is often constrained by the high costs of conventional laboratory analysis. This study proposes a methodology for electrophysiological characterization of Aloe vera as a potential biological dosimeter for low-cost environmental sensing. Using an ATMega328P-based acquisition system with high-input-impedance [...] Read more.
Environmental monitoring across extensive regions is often constrained by the high costs of conventional laboratory analysis. This study proposes a methodology for electrophysiological characterization of Aloe vera as a potential biological dosimeter for low-cost environmental sensing. Using an ATMega328P-based acquisition system with high-input-impedance signal conditioning, we recorded plant biopotentials under controlled abiotic stressors. Signal variations were evaluated as a function of leaf morphology, electrode placement, and environmental variables, including light intensity, soil moisture, water saturation, and pH. The statistical validation included Jaccard similarity coefficients for repeatability and Kruskal–Wallis tests for group comparisons. The measurements showed highly repeatable baseline behavior (Jaccard similarity in the range 0.95–0.99) and significant differences across stress conditions, particularly under changes in light intensity. These findings support the feasibility of using Aloe vera electrophysiological signals as a robust and low-cost basis for developing plant-based biosensing approaches in environmental monitoring applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Agricultural Science and Technology)
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23 pages, 3614 KB  
Article
A Foundational Edge-AI Sensing Framework for Occupancy-Driven Energy Management in SMOs
by Yutong Chen, Daisuke Sumiyoshi, Xiangyu Wang, Takahiro Yamamoto, Takahiro Ueno and Jewon Oh
IoT 2026, 7(1), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/iot7010025 - 5 Mar 2026
Abstract
Occupant presence is a primary driver of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and lighting energy consumption in office environments. Existing occupancy-sensing solutions often rely on privacy-sensitive modalities or require costly infrastructure, limiting their applicability in Small and Medium Offices (SMOs). To address [...] Read more.
Occupant presence is a primary driver of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and lighting energy consumption in office environments. Existing occupancy-sensing solutions often rely on privacy-sensitive modalities or require costly infrastructure, limiting their applicability in Small and Medium Offices (SMOs). To address these limitations, this study proposes a lightweight CSI-based occupancy-sensing framework based on a dual-core ESP32-S3 architecture, enabling concurrent CSI processing, environmental sensing, and cloud communication. A multi-stage signal preprocessing pipeline compresses raw CSI streams into a compact 56×8 statistical feature matrix, achieving 98.86% classification accuracy for multi-level occupancy estimation. Compared with image-based baselines such as DenseNet121, the proposed approach reduces input data size to 24 kB and model parameters to 138 K, yielding over 129× reduction in transmission volume without sacrificing performance. These results demonstrate that the proposed framework provides a practical, privacy-preserving, and edge-deployable solution for occupancy-aware energy management in SMOs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue IoT Meets AI: Driving the Next Generation of Technology)
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23 pages, 6800 KB  
Article
CGALS-YOLO: Vision-Based Sensing for Protective Equipment Wearing Compliance Detection in Underground Environments
by Chao Huang and Hongkang Huang
Sensors 2026, 26(5), 1646; https://doi.org/10.3390/s26051646 - 5 Mar 2026
Abstract
Reliable vision-based sensing of protective equipment wearing compliance is essential for safety monitoring in underground mining environments, where complex lighting conditions, similar background textures, and large variations in the scale of wearable items significantly degrade detection performance. To address these challenges, this study [...] Read more.
Reliable vision-based sensing of protective equipment wearing compliance is essential for safety monitoring in underground mining environments, where complex lighting conditions, similar background textures, and large variations in the scale of wearable items significantly degrade detection performance. To address these challenges, this study proposes a vision-based protective equipment wearing compliance detection method for underground personnel based on CGALS-YOLO. Traditional object detection models often introduce substantial redundant background information during multi-scale feature fusion, which weakens the perception of key wearing regions, particularly for small-scale targets. To alleviate this issue, a content-guided feature fusion (CGAFusion) module is incorporated into the neck of the YOLOv8 network, enabling adaptive fusion of same-scale multi-path features through the collaborative effects of channel, spatial, and pixel attention mechanisms. This design enhances target-related feature representation while suppressing background interference in complex underground scenes. Furthermore, to reduce parameter redundancy and improve cross-scale discrimination consistency in the detection head, a lightweight shared convolution detection (LSCD) structure is introduced. By employing cross-scale shared convolution parameters, group normalization, and scale-adaptive regression, the proposed model achieves a parameter reduction of approximately 23.9% while lowering computational complexity and maintaining stable multi-scale detection performance. Experimental results on an underground protective equipment wearing compliance dataset demonstrate that CGALS-YOLO improves detection accuracy by approximately 4.6% and recall by 3.1% compared with the baseline YOLOv8n, achieving an mAP@0.5 of 89.4%. These results validate the effectiveness and practical applicability of the proposed method for real-time vision-based safety monitoring in underground environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Environmental Sensing)
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17 pages, 2985 KB  
Article
Automated BRDF Measurement for Aerospace Materials and 1D-CNN-Based Estimation of Mixed-Material Composition
by Depu Yao, Yulai Sun, Limin He, Heng Wu, Guanyu Lin, Jianing Wang and Zihui Zhang
Sensors 2026, 26(5), 1560; https://doi.org/10.3390/s26051560 - 2 Mar 2026
Viewed by 107
Abstract
With the growing global emphasis on space resources, the significance of space detection and surveillance technologies has escalated. Currently, space-based optical surveillance stands as the primary means for acquiring information on space objects. However, constrained by the diffraction limits of space telescopes, distant [...] Read more.
With the growing global emphasis on space resources, the significance of space detection and surveillance technologies has escalated. Currently, space-based optical surveillance stands as the primary means for acquiring information on space objects. However, constrained by the diffraction limits of space telescopes, distant space objects are typically imaged as point sources. The resulting lack of sufficient spatial resolution renders traditional image-based recognition algorithms ineffective. In contrast, the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) fully characterizes surface light scattering properties through four-dimensional features, significantly outperforming traditional two-dimensional spectral techniques in material identification. Consequently, leveraging BRDF signatures at varying phase angles has emerged as an effective approach for Space Object Identification. In this study, we developed an automated BRDF measurement system to characterize various typical aerospace materials and investigated the BRDF properties of mixed-material surfaces. A material composition ratio prediction model was constructed based on a One-Dimensional Convolutional Neural Network (1D-CNN). This model effectively extracts key features, including local slope variations and global waveform characteristics, from the BRDF curves. Experimental results demonstrate that the model achieves a maximum relative percentage error of 6.21%, implying a prediction accuracy for mixed-material composition ratios consistently exceeding 93.79%. Compared to image classification methods based on remote sensing imagery, the proposed approach offers higher computational efficiency, significantly reduced model complexity and computational cost, and enhanced robustness. This work provides essential data support for material identification by space-based telescopes and establishes an algorithmic and experimental foundation for intelligent space situational awareness systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Optical Sensors)
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23 pages, 27373 KB  
Article
When Reality Meets Practice: Challenges and Pitfalls in 3D Digitization Using Structured Light Scanning and Photogrammetry in Cultural Heritage
by Eleftheria Iakovaki, Markos Konstantakis, Ioannis Giaourtsakis, Evangelia Rentoumi, Dimitrios Protopapas, Christos Psarras and Efterpi Koskeridou
Information 2026, 17(3), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/info17030237 - 1 Mar 2026
Viewed by 131
Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D) digitization has become a central methodological pillar in cultural heritage documentation, conservation support, and dissemination. Despite the maturity of image-based photogrammetry and active sensing technologies, real-world digitization campaigns frequently diverge from idealized workflows due to constraints related to object accessibility, surface [...] Read more.
Three-dimensional (3D) digitization has become a central methodological pillar in cultural heritage documentation, conservation support, and dissemination. Despite the maturity of image-based photogrammetry and active sensing technologies, real-world digitization campaigns frequently diverge from idealized workflows due to constraints related to object accessibility, surface properties, lighting conditions, and operational feasibility. As a result, practitioners are often required to adapt acquisition and processing strategies dynamically, balancing geometric fidelity, visual quality, and practical limitations. This study presents a practice-oriented analysis of applied digitization workflows conducted in controlled indoor and museum environments, focusing on fragile and optically challenging cultural and paleontological objects. Structured light scanning, DSLR-based photogrammetry, and hybrid approaches were systematically explored. While structured light scanning offered high nominal resolution, its performance proved sensitive to material properties and surface behavior, leading to incomplete or unstable reconstructions in several cases. Photogrammetric workflows, when supported by controlled acquisition setups, yielded robust and visually coherent results for the majority of objects. For cases where conventional photogrammetry underperformed, alternative AI-assisted image-based reconstruction pipelines were evaluated as complementary solutions. Rather than emphasizing only successful outcomes, the paper documents recurring failure modes, decision-making trade-offs, and breakdown points across acquisition, alignment, meshing, and texturing stages. Empirical observations are synthesized into qualitative comparisons and decision-support tables, highlighting the conditions under which specific digitization strategies succeed or fail. The findings underscore that hybrid workflows, while theoretically advantageous, can amplify integration complexity and error propagation if not carefully constrained. By foregrounding practical constraints and adaptive methodological choices, this work contributes a transparent, experience-driven perspective on cultural heritage digitization, supporting more resilient planning and informed decision-making in future documentation and conservation projects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Techniques and Data Analysis in Cultural Heritage, 2nd Edition)
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34 pages, 5939 KB  
Article
Explainable Machine Learning for Volatile Fatty Acid Soft-Sensing in Anaerobic Digestion: A Pilot Feasibility Study
by Bibars Amangeldy, Assiya Boltaboyeva, Nurdaulet Tasmurzayev, Zhanel Baigarayeva, Baglan Imanbek, Aliya Jemal Getahun, Dinara Turmakhanbet, Moldir Kuatova and Waldemar Wojcik
Algorithms 2026, 19(3), 183; https://doi.org/10.3390/a19030183 - 1 Mar 2026
Viewed by 214
Abstract
Sustainable energy systems such as anaerobic digestion (AD) bioreactors exhibit complex nonlinear dynamics that complicate the monitoring of key stability indicators using conventional laboratory-based methods. As a preliminary investigation, this pilot study explores the feasibility of using machine learning-based soft sensing to estimate [...] Read more.
Sustainable energy systems such as anaerobic digestion (AD) bioreactors exhibit complex nonlinear dynamics that complicate the monitoring of key stability indicators using conventional laboratory-based methods. As a preliminary investigation, this pilot study explores the feasibility of using machine learning-based soft sensing to estimate Total Volatile Fatty Acids (TVFA(M)) from routinely measured physicochemical parameters. Using a short-term laboratory dataset obtained from controlled CO2 biomethanisation experiments, several regression models were benchmarked, including an attention-based deep learning architecture (TabNet), multi-architecture artificial neural networks (ANNs), gradient-boosting ensembles (CatBoost, XGBoost, LightGBM), and classical kernel-based approaches. Model performance was evaluated under a cross-validated framework to assess predictive capability and consistency across folds within the limited experimental scope. Among the tested models, TabNet achieved highly competitive performance, yielding an R2 of 0.8551, an RMSE of 0.0090, and an MAE of 0.0067. To support model transparency and interpretability, Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) techniques based on SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) were applied, identifying pCO2 as the dominant contributor to TVFA(M) predictions within the studied operational range. The results demonstrate the potential of explainable machine learning models as soft sensors for TVFA(M) estimation under controlled laboratory conditions. Although restricted to controlled laboratory conditions and a short observation period, this pilot study demonstrates the potential of explainable machine learning models for TVFA(M) estimation and provides a methodological benchmark for future validation using larger and more diverse datasets. Full article
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34 pages, 8190 KB  
Article
Real-Time Remote Monitoring of Environmental Conditions and Actuator Status in Smart Greenhouses Using a Smartphone Application
by Emmanuel Bicamumakuba, Md Nasim Reza, Hongbin Jin, Samuzzaman, Hyeunseok Choi and Sun-Ok Chung
Sensors 2026, 26(5), 1548; https://doi.org/10.3390/s26051548 - 1 Mar 2026
Viewed by 212
Abstract
Advancement of precision agriculture increasingly relies on cost-effective and scalable technologies for real-time environmental management, particularly in greenhouse environments where vertical and spatial microclimate heterogeneity influences crop performance. This study presents the design, implementation, and experimental validation of an Android-based smartphone application edge [...] Read more.
Advancement of precision agriculture increasingly relies on cost-effective and scalable technologies for real-time environmental management, particularly in greenhouse environments where vertical and spatial microclimate heterogeneity influences crop performance. This study presents the design, implementation, and experimental validation of an Android-based smartphone application edge supervisory monitoring system integrated with multi-layer wireless sensing and control nodes for real-time monitoring in a smart greenhouse. The system combined multi-layer wireless sensor nodes, wireless control nodes, a Long-Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) gateway, Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) communication, and a cloud-synchronized smartphone-based supervisory interface for visualizing environmental data, detecting defined abnormal events, and controlling actuators remotely. For feasibility tests, 54 sensing nodes and 12 actuator nodes were deployed across three vertical layers in two sections, measuring temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration, and light intensity. Abnormality was defined as environmental threshold violations, statistical signal deviations, actuator power inconsistencies, and communication timeout events. Experimental results revealed vertical and spatial environmental variability across greenhouse sections, while real-time time-series and 3D spatial maps enabled the rapid detection of abnormal conditions. The rule-based abnormality detection engine identified out-of-range environmental values and sensor-related inconsistencies and generated immediate notifications. Smartphone profiling revealed that display and system-level processes accounted for energy consumption, with battery power reaching a peak of 3.5 W and application CPU utilization ranging from 40% to 70% during active monitoring. The results demonstrate system-level feasibility, responsiveness, and scalability under commercial greenhouse workloads, supporting future integration of predictive control and energy-efficient operation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smartphone Sensors and Their Applications)
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18 pages, 1710 KB  
Article
Experimental Validation of Seawater Refractive-Index Modeling in the Near-Ultraviolet Band
by Siamak Khatibi and Fatemeh Tavakoli
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(5), 459; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14050459 - 28 Feb 2026
Viewed by 118
Abstract
Accurate knowledge of seawater optical properties is essential for underwater imaging, sensing, and optical communication, particularly in coastal and shallow-water environments where geometric light propagation effects can influence measurement accuracy. While empirical formulations describing the refractive index of seawater are well established and [...] Read more.
Accurate knowledge of seawater optical properties is essential for underwater imaging, sensing, and optical communication, particularly in coastal and shallow-water environments where geometric light propagation effects can influence measurement accuracy. While empirical formulations describing the refractive index of seawater are well established and widely used in the visible spectral range, their applicability in the near-ultraviolet region has received limited experimental validation. In this work, the applicability of an established empirical seawater refractive-index formulation in the near-ultraviolet band is investigated through a combined numerical and experimental approach. First, the empirical model is evaluated numerically to examine its spectral behavior across the visible–near-ultraviolet transition. The results indicate smooth and physically consistent refractive-index variation near the ultraviolet boundary. Second, a controlled laboratory experiment is conducted in which near-ultraviolet beam refraction through stratified seawater is measured using a multi-compartment tank designed to emulate discrete ocean depth intervals. Beam displacement measurements at two near-ultraviolet wavelength bands are compared directly with predictions obtained from a multi-layer ray-tracing simulation based on the empirical formulation. The close agreement between simulated and experimentally measured beam displacement across multiple depth configurations provides physical validation of the empirical refractive-index model in the near-ultraviolet region under the investigated conditions. These findings support the use of established refractive-index formulations for near-ultraviolet underwater optical modeling and contribute to a more reliable foundation for near-UV marine optical sensing and measurement applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Ocean Engineering)
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24 pages, 7868 KB  
Article
Optical Sensing Properties of New Innovative Materials: Interaction of Photoactive Copolymers with Fluorescent Nanoparticles to Create Light-Sensitive Hydrogel Films
by Oscar G. Marambio, Tomás Valdés, Héctor Díaz, Rudy Martin-Trasancos, Julio Sánchez and Guadalupe del C. Pizarro
Gels 2026, 12(3), 202; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12030202 - 28 Feb 2026
Viewed by 200
Abstract
This work investigates the use of two photoactive polymers, functionalized with quantum dots (QDs) (ZnS and CdTe/ZnS), to develop optical sensing hydrogel films through their interactions. It examines their responses to light stimulation for potential biological applications. The optical and morphological properties of [...] Read more.
This work investigates the use of two photoactive polymers, functionalized with quantum dots (QDs) (ZnS and CdTe/ZnS), to develop optical sensing hydrogel films through their interactions. It examines their responses to light stimulation for potential biological applications. The optical and morphological properties of the films were studied, revealing photoactive surfaces. The photoactive copolymers were synthesized based on poly(maleic anhydride-alt-2-methyl-2-butene), P(MAn-alt-2MB), and poly(maleic anhydride-alt-1-octadecene), P(MAn-alt-OD), by attaching the photochromic agent, 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3,3-dimethylindoline-6-nitrobenzo pyran (SP). Subsequently, QD nanoparticles (ZnS or CdTe/ZnS NPs) were incorporated into the polymer solutions in the presence of a crosslinker agent, and were then spin-coated onto glass substrates under suitable conditions to produce porous-patterned films. These films were created using a one-step bio-inspired process called the breath figure (BF) method. SEM images of QD-containing samples show a photoactive porous surface resulting from a synergistic interaction between the components. The reversibility of these macroscopic properties results from photoinduced transformations at the molecular level. The light-emitting properties of the films were characterized by blue and violet fluorescence under UV light. Advances in film-forming techniques enable the creation of functional structures with important applications, such as microstructured hydrogel films for biological uses. Full article
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20 pages, 2787 KB  
Article
Vibrational Characteristics of High-Quality MBE Grown GaAs1−x−ySbyNx/GaAs (001) Epilayers
by Devki N. Talwar and Hao-Hsiung Lin
Materials 2026, 19(5), 923; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19050923 - 28 Feb 2026
Viewed by 217
Abstract
The significant disparity between the size and electronegativity of N and group-V (P, As, Sb) atoms in dilute III–V-Ns remains a cornerstone for developing the next-generation electronics. Variations in the structural, optical, and phonon properties of the quaternary GaAs1−x−ySbyN [...] Read more.
The significant disparity between the size and electronegativity of N and group-V (P, As, Sb) atoms in dilute III–V-Ns remains a cornerstone for developing the next-generation electronics. Variations in the structural, optical, and phonon properties of the quaternary GaAs1−x−ySbyNx alloys are being used for improving the high-performance photovoltaic energy and optoelectronic technologies. Bandgap Eg tunability has assisted efficient light emission/detection to cover the crucial optical fiber wavelengths for the low-cost integrated chips in data communications and sensing devices. The lattice dynamical properties of these materials are critical for assessing the reliability to evaluate the performance of long-wavelength lasers, photodetectors, and multi-junction solar cells. Our systematic Raman measurements on high-quality MBE grown GaAs0.946Sb0.032N0.022/GaAs samples have detected ωTO(Γ)GaAs and ωTO(Γ)GaAs phonons along with a high frequency NAs local mode near ~476 cm−1. Weak phonon structures on both sides of the broad 476 cm−1 band are interpreted forming a complex NAs–Ga–SbAs defect center. Using a realistic rigid-ion model in the Green’s function framework, the simulations of impurity modes for isolated and complex defects have provided corroboration to the experimental data. Full article
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21 pages, 1599 KB  
Article
Cross-Image Feature Interaction Network for Change Detection in Remote Sensing Images
by Xiao Han, Fanghan Yang, Jieqiong Du, Xiangrong Zhang, Huiyu Zhou and Biao Hou
Remote Sens. 2026, 18(5), 717; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18050717 - 27 Feb 2026
Viewed by 121
Abstract
Remote sensing change detection (CD) is a technique for quantitatively analyzing and determining the characteristics and processes of surface change using bi-temporal remote sensing data. Deep convolutional networks have achieved remarkable success in CD tasks. However, due to the complexity of the natural [...] Read more.
Remote sensing change detection (CD) is a technique for quantitatively analyzing and determining the characteristics and processes of surface change using bi-temporal remote sensing data. Deep convolutional networks have achieved remarkable success in CD tasks. However, due to the complexity of the natural lighting environment and other factors, how to use bi-temporal images and segment objects more accurately and effectively has become a focus of research. Many existing studies have overlooked the relationship between samples, disregarding the potential connection between the same semantics across the entire sample set. Moreover, they have ignored the semantic connection between bi-temporal images and have resorted to simple techniques such as concatenation or absolute value subtraction to achieve bi-temporal feature fusion, resulting in information loss. We propose a cross-image feature interaction network consisting of three modules to address the above issues: cross-image non-local enhancement (CINE) module, which can enhance the spatial dimensional links between the same type of objects in the sample space and explores the potential relationship between the same semantics samples on the whole sample set; cross-temporal feature enhancement (CTFE) module, which interacts with bi-temporal image features to enhance real change features while suppressing irrelevant change features; and difference feature adaptive fusion (DFAF) module, which can make effective use of the bi-temporal image features extracted by the network and adaptively learns the fusion parameters. We conducted extensive experiments on two CD datasets, LEVIR-CD and DSIFN-CD, and obtained evaluation scores of 90.75%/83.07% and 69.94%/53.78% on the F1-score and IoU metrics, respectively. Our strategy surpasses existing attention-based approaches such as BIT. Full article
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