Sensors

12 pages, 2763 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improvement of Depth Profiling into Biotissues Using Micro Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy on a Needle with Selective Passivation

by Joho Yun¹, Hyeon Woo Kim¹ and Jong-Hyun Lee^1,2,*

¹ Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju 500-712, Korea

² School of Mechanical Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 500-712, Korea

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2207; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122207 - 21 Dec 2016

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 7592

Abstract

A micro electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)-on-a-needle for depth profiling (μEoN-DP) with a selective passivation layer (SPL) on a hypodermic needle was recently fabricated to measure the electrical impedance of biotissues along with the penetration depths. The SPL of the μEoN-DP enabled the sensing [...] Read more.

A micro electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)-on-a-needle for depth profiling (μEoN-DP) with a selective passivation layer (SPL) on a hypodermic needle was recently fabricated to measure the electrical impedance of biotissues along with the penetration depths. The SPL of the μEoN-DP enabled the sensing interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) to contribute predominantly to the measurement by reducing the relative influence of the connection lines on the sensor output. The discrimination capability of the μEoN-DP was verified using phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at various concentration levels. The resistance and capacitance extracted through curve fitting were similar to those theoretically estimated based on the mixing ratio of PBS and deionized water; the maximum discrepancies were 8.02% and 1.85%, respectively. Depth profiling was conducted using four-layered porcine tissue to verify the effectiveness of the discrimination capability of the μEoN-DP. The magnitude and phase between dissimilar porcine tissues (fat and muscle) were clearly discriminated at the optimal frequency of 1 MHz. Two kinds of simulations, one with SPL and the other with complete passivation layer (CPL), were performed, and it was verified that the SPL was advantageous over CPL in the discrimination of biotissues in terms of sensor output. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Point-of-Care Biosensors)

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17 pages, 3033 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ambulatory Assessment of Instantaneous Velocity during Walking Using Inertial Sensor Measurements

by Angelo Maria Sabatini^* and Andrea Mannini

The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2206; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122206 - 21 Dec 2016

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6367

Abstract

A novel approach for estimating the instantaneous velocity of the pelvis during walking was developed based on Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs). The instantaneous velocity was modeled by the sum of a cyclical component, decomposed in the Medio-Lateral (ML), VerTical (VT) and Antero-Posterior (AP) [...] Read more.

A novel approach for estimating the instantaneous velocity of the pelvis during walking was developed based on Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs). The instantaneous velocity was modeled by the sum of a cyclical component, decomposed in the Medio-Lateral (ML), VerTical (VT) and Antero-Posterior (AP) directions, and the Average Progression Velocity (APV) over each gait cycle. The proposed method required the availability of two IMUs, attached to the pelvis and one shank. Gait cycles were identified from the shank angular velocity; for each cycle, the Fourier series coefficients of the pelvis and shank acceleration signals were computed. The cyclical component was estimated by Fourier-based time-integration of the pelvis acceleration. A Bayesian Linear Regression (BLR) with Automatic Relevance Determination (ARD) predicted the APV from the stride time, the stance duration, and the Fourier series coefficients of the shank acceleration. Healthy subjects performed tasks of Treadmill Walking (TW) and Overground Walking (OW), and an optical motion capture system (OMCS) was used as reference for algorithm performance assessment. The widths of the limits of agreements (±1.96 standard deviation) were computed between the proposed method and the reference OMCS, yielding, for the cyclical component in the different directions: ML: ±0.07 m/s (±0.10 m/s); VT: ±0.03 m/s (±0.05 m/s); AP: ±0.06 m/s (±0.10 m/s), in TW (OW) conditions. The ARD-BLR achieved an APV root mean square error of 0.06 m/s (0.07 m/s) in the same conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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9 pages, 2770 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Ultrasensitive Long-Period Fiber Grating-Based Refractive Index Sensor with Long Wavelengths

by Qiu-Shun Li^1,*, Xu-Lin Zhang², Jian-Guo Shi¹, Dong Xiang³, Lan Zheng¹, Yan Yang¹, Jun-Hui Yang¹, Dong Feng¹ and Wen-Fei Dong^3,*

¹ Key Biosensor Laboratory of Shandong Province, Biology Institute of Shandong Academy of Sciences, Jinan 250014, China

² State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China

³ CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-Medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215163, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2205; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122205 - 21 Dec 2016

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5830

Abstract

The response of a novel long-period fiber grating (LPFG) with a period of 180 µm to a surrounding refractive index (RI) was investigated. The results displayed that, with the increase in RI of the surrounding media of cladding glass in the grating region, [...] Read more.

The response of a novel long-period fiber grating (LPFG) with a period of 180 µm to a surrounding refractive index (RI) was investigated. The results displayed that, with the increase in RI of the surrounding media of cladding glass in the grating region, the resonant peak located at 1336.4 nm in the transmission spectrum gradually shifts towards a shorter wavelength, while the resonant peak located at 1618 nm gradually shifted towards a longer wavelength. Moreover, the resonant peak at 1618 nm is much more sensitive to the surrounding RI than that of the one at 1336.4 nm. Compared with the conventional LPFG and other types of wavelength-interrogated RI sensors, such as ring resonators, surface plasmon resonance sensors, and Fabry–Perot interferometric sensors, this novel LPFG possesses a higher sensitivity, which achieved 10,792.45 nm/RIU (RI unit) over a RI range of 1.4436–1.4489. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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19 pages, 11932 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Secure and Efficient Key Coordination Algorithm for Line Topology Network Maintenance for Use in Maritime Wireless Sensor Networks

by Walid Elgenaidi^1,2, Thomas Newe^1,2,*

, Eoin O’Connell^1,2

, Daniel Toal²

and Gerard Dooly^1,2

¹ Optical Fibre Sensors Research Centre, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, University of Limerick, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland

² Mobile and Marine Robotics Research Centre, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, University of Limerick, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2204; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122204 - 21 Dec 2016

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5286

Abstract

There has been a significant increase in the proliferation and implementation of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in different disciplines, including the monitoring of maritime environments, healthcare systems, and industrial sectors. It has now become critical to address the security issues of data communication [...] Read more.

There has been a significant increase in the proliferation and implementation of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in different disciplines, including the monitoring of maritime environments, healthcare systems, and industrial sectors. It has now become critical to address the security issues of data communication while considering sensor node constraints. There are many proposed schemes, including the scheme being proposed in this paper, to ensure that there is a high level of security in WSNs. This paper presents a symmetric security scheme for a maritime coastal environment monitoring WSN. The scheme provides security for travelling packets via individually encrypted links between authenticated neighbors, thus avoiding a reiteration of a global rekeying process. Furthermore, this scheme proposes a dynamic update key based on a trusted node configuration, called a leader node, which works as a trusted third party. The technique has been implemented in real time on a Waspmote test bed sensor platform and the results from both field testing and indoor bench testing environments are discussed in this paper. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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15 pages, 5070 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Topological Path Planning in GPS Trajectory Data

by Padraig Corcoran

School of Computer Science & Informatics, Cardiff University, Queen’s Buildings, 5 The Parade, Roath, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2203; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122203 - 21 Dec 2016

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5035

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel solution to the problem of computing a set of topologically inequivalent paths between two points in a space given a set of samples drawn from that space. Specifically, these paths are homotopy inequivalent where homotopy is a topological [...] Read more.

This paper proposes a novel solution to the problem of computing a set of topologically inequivalent paths between two points in a space given a set of samples drawn from that space. Specifically, these paths are homotopy inequivalent where homotopy is a topological equivalence relation. This is achieved by computing a basis for the group of homology inequivalent loops in the space. An additional distinct element is then computed where this element corresponds to a loop which passes through the points in question. The set of paths is subsequently obtained by taking the orbit of this element acted on by the group of homology inequivalent loops. Using a number of spaces, including a street network where the samples are GPS trajectories, the proposed method is demonstrated to accurately compute a set of homotopy inequivalent paths. The applications of this method include path and coverage planning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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15 pages, 3853 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development and Validation of a UAV Based System for Air Pollution Measurements

by Tommaso Francesco Villa¹, Farhad Salimi², Kye Morton³

, Lidia Morawska^1,* and Felipe Gonzalez³

¹ International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health (ILAQH), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), 2 George St, Brisbane QLD 4000, Australia

² Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7000, Australia

³ Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation (ARCAA), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), 2 George St, Brisbane QLD 4000, Australia

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2202; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122202 - 21 Dec 2016

Cited by 175 | Viewed by 15621

Abstract

Air quality data collection near pollution sources is difficult, particularly when sites are complex, have physical barriers, or are themselves moving. Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer new approaches to air pollution and atmospheric studies. However, there are a number of critical design [...] Read more.

Air quality data collection near pollution sources is difficult, particularly when sites are complex, have physical barriers, or are themselves moving. Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer new approaches to air pollution and atmospheric studies. However, there are a number of critical design decisions which need to be made to enable representative data collection, in particular the location of the air sampler or air sensor intake. The aim of this research was to establish the best mounting point for four gas sensors and a Particle Number Concentration (PNC) monitor, onboard a hexacopter, so to develop a UAV system capable of measuring point source emissions. The research included two different tests: (1) evaluate the air flow behavior of a hexacopter, its downwash and upwash effect, by measuring air speed along three axes to determine the location where the sensors should be mounted; (2) evaluate the use of gas sensors for CO₂, CO, NO₂ and NO, and the PNC monitor (DISCmini) to assess the efficiency and performance of the UAV based system by measuring emissions from a diesel engine. The air speed behavior map produced by test 1 shows the best mounting point for the sensors to be alongside the UAV. This position is less affected by the propeller downwash effect. Test 2 results demonstrated that the UAV propellers cause a dispersion effect shown by the decrease of gas and PN concentration measured in real time. A Linear Regression model was used to estimate how the sensor position, relative to the UAV center, affects pollutant concentration measurements when the propellers are turned on. This research establishes guidelines on how to develop a UAV system to measure point source emissions. Such research should be undertaken before any UAV system is developed for real world data collection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue UAV-Based Remote Sensing)

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15 pages, 3218 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Smart Device-Supported BDS/GNSS Real-Time Kinematic Positioning for Sub-Meter-Level Accuracy in Urban Location-Based Services

by Liang Wang^1,3,*, Zishen Li^1,2,*, Jiaojiao Zhao^1,3, Kai Zhou¹, Zhiyu Wang^1,3 and Hong Yuan¹

¹ Academy of Opto-Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China

² Key Laboratory for Urban Geomatics of National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation, Beijing 100044, China

³ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2201; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122201 - 21 Dec 2016

Cited by 43 | Viewed by 9019

Abstract

Using mobile smart devices to provide urban location-based services (LBS) with sub-meter-level accuracy (around 0.5 m) is a major application field for future global navigation satellite system (GNSS) development. Real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning, which is a widely used GNSS-based positioning approach, can improve [...] Read more.

Using mobile smart devices to provide urban location-based services (LBS) with sub-meter-level accuracy (around 0.5 m) is a major application field for future global navigation satellite system (GNSS) development. Real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning, which is a widely used GNSS-based positioning approach, can improve the accuracy from about 10–20 m (achieved by the standard positioning services) to about 3–5 cm based on the geodetic receivers. In using the smart devices to achieve positioning with sub-meter-level accuracy, a feasible solution of combining the low-cost GNSS module and the smart device is proposed in this work and a user-side GNSS RTK positioning software was developed from scratch based on the Android platform. Its real-time positioning performance was validated by BeiDou Navigation Satellite System/Global Positioning System (BDS/GPS) combined RTK positioning under the conditions of a static and kinematic (the velocity of the rover was 50–80 km/h) mode in a real urban environment with a SAMSUNG Galaxy A7 smartphone. The results show that the fixed-rates of ambiguity resolution (the proportion of epochs of ambiguities fixed) for BDS/GPS combined RTK in the static and kinematic tests were about 97% and 90%, respectively, and the average positioning accuracies (RMS) were better than 0.15 m (horizontal) and 0.25 m (vertical) for the static test, and 0.30 m (horizontal) and 0.45 m (vertical) for the kinematic test. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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25 pages, 2211 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Semantic Agent-Based Service Middleware and Simulation for Smart Cities

by Ming Liu¹

, Yang Xu^1,*

, Haixiao Hu¹ and Abdul-Wahid Mohammed²

¹ School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China

² School of Engineering, University for Development Studies, Tamale 00233, Ghana

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2200; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122200 - 21 Dec 2016

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6161

Abstract

With the development of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) technology, a variety of embedded and mobile devices is integrated to interact via the platform of the Internet of Things, especially in the domain of smart cities. One of the primary challenges is that selecting the appropriate [...] Read more.

With the development of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) technology, a variety of embedded and mobile devices is integrated to interact via the platform of the Internet of Things, especially in the domain of smart cities. One of the primary challenges is that selecting the appropriate services or service combination for upper layer applications is hard, which is due to the absence of a unified semantical service description pattern, as well as the service selection mechanism. In this paper, we define a semantic service representation model from four key properties: Capability (C), Deployment (D), Resource (R) and IOData (IO). Based on this model, an agent-based middleware is built to support semantic service enablement. In this middleware, we present an efficient semantic service discovery and matching approach for a service combination process, which calculates the semantic similarity between services, and a heuristic algorithm to search the service candidates for a specific service request. Based on this design, we propose a simulation of virtual urban fire fighting, and the experimental results manifest the feasibility and efficiency of our design. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart City: Vision and Reality)

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20 pages, 4794 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Diverse Planning for UAV Control and Remote Sensing

by Jan Tožička^* and Antonín Komenda

AI Center, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, 166 27 Praha 6, Czech Republic

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2199; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122199 - 21 Dec 2016

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 6211

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are suited to various remote sensing missions, such as measuring air quality. The conventional method of UAV control is by human operators. Such an approach is limited by the ability of cooperation among the operators controlling larger fleets of [...] Read more.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are suited to various remote sensing missions, such as measuring air quality. The conventional method of UAV control is by human operators. Such an approach is limited by the ability of cooperation among the operators controlling larger fleets of UAVs in a shared area. The remedy for this is to increase autonomy of the UAVs in planning their trajectories by considering other UAVs and their plans. To provide such improvement in autonomy, we need better algorithms for generating alternative trajectory variants that the UAV coordination algorithms can utilize. In this article, we define a novel family of multi-UAV sensing problems, solving task allocation of huge number of tasks (tens of thousands) to a group of configurable UAVs with non-zero weight of equipped sensors (comprising the air quality measurement as well) together with two base-line solvers. To solve the problem efficiently, we use an algorithm for diverse trajectory generation and integrate it with a solver for the multi-UAV coordination problem. Finally, we experimentally evaluate the multi-UAV sensing problem solver. The evaluation is done on synthetic and real-world-inspired benchmarks in a multi-UAV simulator. Results show that diverse planning is a valuable method for remote sensing applications containing multiple UAVs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue UAV-Based Remote Sensing)

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14 pages, 1104 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Sensor Selection and Power Allocation Algorithm for Multiple-Target Tracking in an LPI Radar Network

by Ji She

, Fei Wang and Jianjiang Zhou^*

Key Laboratory of Radar Imaging and Microwave Photonics, Ministry of Education, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211106, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2193; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122193 - 21 Dec 2016

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 5491

Abstract

Radar networks are proven to have numerous advantages over traditional monostatic and bistatic radar. With recent developments, radar networks have become an attractive platform due to their low probability of intercept (LPI) performance for target tracking. In this paper, a joint sensor selection [...] Read more.

Radar networks are proven to have numerous advantages over traditional monostatic and bistatic radar. With recent developments, radar networks have become an attractive platform due to their low probability of intercept (LPI) performance for target tracking. In this paper, a joint sensor selection and power allocation algorithm for multiple-target tracking in a radar network based on LPI is proposed. It is found that this algorithm can minimize the total transmitted power of a radar network on the basis of a predetermined mutual information (MI) threshold between the target impulse response and the reflected signal. The MI is required by the radar network system to estimate target parameters, and it can be calculated predictively with the estimation of target state. The optimization problem of sensor selection and power allocation, which contains two variables, is non-convex and it can be solved by separating power allocation problem from sensor selection problem. To be specific, the optimization problem of power allocation can be solved by using the bisection method for each sensor selection scheme. Also, the optimization problem of sensor selection can be solved by a lower complexity algorithm based on the allocated powers. According to the simulation results, it can be found that the proposed algorithm can effectively reduce the total transmitted power of a radar network, which can be conducive to improving LPI performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Multi-Sensor Information Fusion: Theory and Applications)

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11 pages, 1405 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Feasibility of a Gelatin Temperature Sensor Based on Electrical Capacitance

by Fernando Teixeira Silva^1,2,*,†, Brice Sorli³, Veronica Calado²

, Carole Guillaume¹ and Nathalie Gontard¹

¹ Joint Research Unit Agropolymers Engineering and Emerging Technologies, UMR 1208 INRA/SupAgroM/UMII/CIRAD, 2 Place Pierre Viala, 34060 Montpellier, France

² Escola de Química, Universidade Federal of Rio de Janeiro, 21941-909 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

³ Institut d’Electronique et des Systèmes, UMR CNRS 5214, Université de Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France

^† Permanent address: Embrapa Agroindústria de Alimentos, Avenida das Américas 29501, CEP 23020-470 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2197; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122197 - 20 Dec 2016

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5605

Abstract

The innovative use of gelatin as a temperature sensor based on capacitance was studied at a temperature range normally used for meat cooking (20–80 °C). Interdigital electrodes coated by gelatin solution and two sensors of different thicknesses (38 and 125 µm) were studied [...] Read more.

The innovative use of gelatin as a temperature sensor based on capacitance was studied at a temperature range normally used for meat cooking (20–80 °C). Interdigital electrodes coated by gelatin solution and two sensors of different thicknesses (38 and 125 µm) were studied between 300 MHz and 900 MHz. At 38 µm, the capacitance was adequately measured, but for 125 µm the slope capacitance versus temperature curve decreased before 900 MHz due to the electrothermal breakdown between 60 °C and 80 °C. Thus, for 125 µm, the capacitance was studied applying 600 MHz. Sensitivity at 38 µm at 868 MHz (0.045 pF/°C) was lower than 125 µm at 600 MHz (0.14 pF/°C), influencing the results in the simulation (temperature range versus time) of meat cooking; at 125 µm, the sensitivity was greater, mainly during chilling steps. The potential of gelatin as a temperature sensor was demonstrated, and a balance between thickness and frequency should be considered to increase the sensitivity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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15 pages, 5370 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nondestructive In Situ Measurement Method for Kernel Moisture Content in Corn Ear

by Han-Lin Zhang^1,2, Qin Ma^1,2, Li-Feng Fan^1,2, Peng-Fei Zhao^1,3, Jian-Xu Wang^1,2, Xiao-Dong Zhang^1,2

, De-Hai Zhu^1,2, Lan Huang^1,2

, Dong-Jie Zhao^1,2 and Zhong-Yi Wang^1,2,3,*

¹ College of Information and Electrical Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China

² Key Laboratory of Agricultural Information Acquisition Technology (Beijing), Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100083, China

³ Modern Precision Agriculture System Integration Research Key Laboratory, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100083, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2196; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122196 - 20 Dec 2016

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6800

Abstract

Moisture content is an important factor in corn breeding and cultivation. A corn breed with low moisture at harvest is beneficial for mechanical operations, reduces drying and storage costs after harvesting and, thus, reduces energy consumption. Nondestructive measurement of kernel moisture in an [...] Read more.

Moisture content is an important factor in corn breeding and cultivation. A corn breed with low moisture at harvest is beneficial for mechanical operations, reduces drying and storage costs after harvesting and, thus, reduces energy consumption. Nondestructive measurement of kernel moisture in an intact corn ear allows us to select corn varieties with seeds that have high dehydration speeds in the mature period. We designed a sensor using a ring electrode pair for nondestructive measurement of the kernel moisture in a corn ear based on a high-frequency detection circuit. Through experiments using the effective scope of the electrodes’ electric field, we confirmed that the moisture in the corn cob has little effect on corn kernel moisture measurement. Before the sensor was applied in practice, we investigated temperature and conductivity effects on the output impedance. Results showed that the temperature was linearly related to the output impedance (both real and imaginary parts) of the measurement electrodes and the detection circuit’s output voltage. However, the conductivity has a non-monotonic dependence on the output impedance (both real and imaginary parts) of the measurement electrodes and the output voltage of the high-frequency detection circuit. Therefore, we reduced the effect of conductivity on the measurement results through measurement frequency selection. Corn moisture measurement results showed a quadric regression between corn ear moisture and the imaginary part of the output impedance, and there is also a quadric regression between corn kernel moisture and the high-frequency detection circuit output voltage at 100 MHz. In this study, two corn breeds were measured using our sensor and gave R² values for the quadric regression equation of 0.7853 and 0.8496. Full article

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

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11 pages, 3393 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Configurations of Splitter/Combiner Microstrip Sections Loaded with Stepped Impedance Resonators (SIRs) for Sensing Applications

by Lijuan Su

, Javier Mata-Contreras, Paris Vélez

and Ferran Martín^*

CIMITEC, Departament d’Enginyeria Electrònica, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2195; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122195 - 20 Dec 2016

Cited by 53 | Viewed by 6923

Abstract

In this paper, several configurations of splitter/combiner microstrip sections loaded with stepped impedance resonators (SIRs) are analyzed. Such structures are useful as sensors and comparators, and the main aim of the paper is to show that the proposed configurations are useful for the [...] Read more.

In this paper, several configurations of splitter/combiner microstrip sections loaded with stepped impedance resonators (SIRs) are analyzed. Such structures are useful as sensors and comparators, and the main aim of the paper is to show that the proposed configurations are useful for the optimization of sensitivity and discrimination. Specifically, for comparison purposes, i.e., to determine anomalies, abnormalities or defects of a sample under test (SUT) in comparison to a reference sample, it is shown that up to three samples can be simultaneously tested. Simple models of the proposed structures are presented, and these models are validated through electromagnetic simulation and experiment. Finally, the principle of operation is validated through a proof-of-concept demonstrator. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies and Techniques for Microwave and Wireless Sensors)

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25 pages, 13353 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sci-Fin: Visual Mining Spatial and Temporal Behavior Features from Social Media

by Jiansu Pu^*, Zhiyao Teng, Rui Gong, Changjiang Wen and Yang Xu

School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2194; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122194 - 20 Dec 2016

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6173

Abstract

Check-in records are usually available in social services, which offer us the opportunity to capture and analyze users’ spatial and temporal behaviors. Mining such behavior features is essential to social analysis and business intelligence. However, the complexity and incompleteness of check-in records bring [...] Read more.

Check-in records are usually available in social services, which offer us the opportunity to capture and analyze users’ spatial and temporal behaviors. Mining such behavior features is essential to social analysis and business intelligence. However, the complexity and incompleteness of check-in records bring challenges to achieve such a task. Different from the previous work on social behavior analysis, in this paper, we present a visual analytics system, Social Check-in Fingerprinting (Sci-Fin), to facilitate the analysis and visualization of social check-in data. We focus on three major components of user check-in data: location, activity, and profile. Visual fingerprints for location, activity, and profile are designed to intuitively represent the high-dimensional attributes. To visually mine and demonstrate the behavior features, we integrate WorldMapper and Voronoi Treemap into our glyph-like designs. Such visual fingerprint designs offer us the opportunity to summarize the interesting features and patterns from different check-in locations, activities and users (groups). We demonstrate the effectiveness and usability of our system by conducting extensive case studies on real check-in data collected from a popular microblogging service. Interesting findings are reported and discussed at last. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Big Data and Cloud Computing for Sensor Networks)

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14 pages, 1895 KiB

Open AccessArticle

BDS Precise Point Positioning for Seismic Displacements Monitoring: Benefit from the High-Rate Satellite Clock Corrections

by Tao Geng

, Xing Su

, Rongxin Fang^*, Xin Xie, Qile Zhao and Jingnan Liu

GNSS Research Center, Wuhan University, 129 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430079, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2192; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122192 - 20 Dec 2016

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5817

Abstract

In order to satisfy the requirement of high-rate high-precision applications, 1 Hz BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) satellite clock corrections are generated based on precise orbit products, and the quality of the generated clock products is assessed by comparing with those from the [...] Read more.

In order to satisfy the requirement of high-rate high-precision applications, 1 Hz BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) satellite clock corrections are generated based on precise orbit products, and the quality of the generated clock products is assessed by comparing with those from the other analysis centers. The comparisons show that the root mean square (RMS) of clock errors of geostationary Earth orbits (GEO) is about 0.63 ns, whereas those of inclined geosynchronous orbits (IGSO) and medium Earth orbits (MEO) are about 0.2–0.3 ns and 0.1 ns, respectively. Then, the 1 Hz clock products are used for BDS precise point positioning (PPP) to retrieve seismic displacements of the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake. The derived seismic displacements from BDS PPP are consistent with those from the Global Positioning System (GPS) PPP, with RMS of 0.29, 0.38, and 1.08 cm in east, north, and vertical components, respectively. In addition, the BDS PPP solutions with different clock intervals of 1 s, 5 s, 30 s, and 300 s are processed and compared with each other. The results demonstrate that PPP with 300 s clock intervals is the worst and that with 1 s clock interval is the best. For the scenario of 5 s clock intervals, the precision of PPP solutions is almost the same to 1 s results. Considering the time consumption of clock estimates, we suggest that 5 s clock interval is competent for high-rate BDS solutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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13 pages, 814 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Sum-of-Squares and Semidefinite Programming Approach for Maximum Likelihood DOA Estimation

by Shu Cai^1,*

, Quan Zhou^2,3 and Hongbo Zhu¹

¹ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Wireless Communication, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210003, China

² Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Broad Band Communication and Sensor Network Technology, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210003, China

³ School of Computer and Software, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2191; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122191 - 20 Dec 2016

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4592

Abstract

Direction of arrival (DOA) estimation using a uniform linear array (ULA) is a classical problem in array signal processing. In this paper, we focus on DOA estimation based on the maximum likelihood (ML) criterion, transform the estimation problem into a novel formulation, named [...] Read more.

Direction of arrival (DOA) estimation using a uniform linear array (ULA) is a classical problem in array signal processing. In this paper, we focus on DOA estimation based on the maximum likelihood (ML) criterion, transform the estimation problem into a novel formulation, named as sum-of-squares (SOS), and then solve it using semidefinite programming (SDP). We first derive the SOS and SDP method for DOA estimation in the scenario of a single source and then extend it under the framework of alternating projection for multiple DOA estimation. The simulations demonstrate that the SOS- and SDP-based algorithms can provide stable and accurate DOA estimation when the number of snapshots is small and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is low. Moveover, it has a higher spatial resolution compared to existing methods based on the ML criterion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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17 pages, 1299 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Interference-Aware Traffic-Priority-Based Link Scheduling Algorithm for Interference Mitigation in Multiple Wireless Body Area Networks

by Thien T. T. Le and Sangman Moh^*

Department of Computer Engineering, Chosun University, 309 Pilmun-daero, Dong-gu, Gwangju 61452, Korea

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2190; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122190 - 20 Dec 2016

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5263

Abstract

Currently, wireless body area networks (WBANs) are effectively used for health monitoring services. However, in cases where WBANs are densely deployed, interference among WBANs can cause serious degradation of network performance and reliability. Inter-WBAN interference can be reduced by scheduling the communication links [...] Read more.

Currently, wireless body area networks (WBANs) are effectively used for health monitoring services. However, in cases where WBANs are densely deployed, interference among WBANs can cause serious degradation of network performance and reliability. Inter-WBAN interference can be reduced by scheduling the communication links of interfering WBANs. In this paper, we propose an interference-aware traffic-priority-based link scheduling (ITLS) algorithm to overcome inter-WBAN interference in densely deployed WBANs. First, we model a network with multiple WBANs as an interference graph where node-level interference and traffic priority are taken into account. Second, we formulate link scheduling for multiple WBANs as an optimization model where the objective is to maximize the throughput of the entire network while ensuring the traffic priority of sensor nodes. Finally, we propose the ITLS algorithm for multiple WBANs on the basis of the optimization model. High spatial reuse is also achieved in the proposed ITLS algorithm. The proposed ITLS achieves high spatial reuse while considering traffic priority, packet length, and the number of interfered sensor nodes. Our simulation results show that the proposed ITLS significantly increases spatial reuse and network throughput with lower delay by mitigating inter-WBAN interference. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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14 pages, 5020 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Omni-Directional Scanning Localization Method of a Mobile Robot Based on Ultrasonic Sensors

by Wei-Yi Mu^1,*, Guang-Peng Zhang¹, Yu-Mei Huang¹, Xin-Gang Yang¹, Hong-Yan Liu¹ and Wen Yan²

¹ Department of Mechanical and Precision Instrument Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China

² Department of Art and Design, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2189; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122189 - 20 Dec 2016

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6650

Abstract

Improved ranging accuracy is obtained by the development of a novel ultrasonic sensor ranging algorithm, unlike the conventional ranging algorithm, which considers the divergence angle and the incidence angle of the ultrasonic sensor synchronously. An ultrasonic sensor scanning method is developed based on [...] Read more.

Improved ranging accuracy is obtained by the development of a novel ultrasonic sensor ranging algorithm, unlike the conventional ranging algorithm, which considers the divergence angle and the incidence angle of the ultrasonic sensor synchronously. An ultrasonic sensor scanning method is developed based on this algorithm for the recognition of an inclined plate and to obtain the localization of the ultrasonic sensor relative to the inclined plate reference frame. The ultrasonic sensor scanning method is then leveraged for the omni-directional localization of a mobile robot, where the ultrasonic sensors are installed on a mobile robot and follow the spin of the robot, the inclined plate is recognized and the position and posture of the robot are acquired with respect to the coordinate system of the inclined plate, realizing the localization of the robot. Finally, the localization method is implemented into an omni-directional scanning localization experiment with the independently researched and developed mobile robot. Localization accuracies of up to ±3.33 mm for the front, up to ±6.21 for the lateral and up to ±0.20° for the posture are obtained, verifying the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed localization method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasonic Sensors)

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43 pages, 12407 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Smart Pipe System for a Shipyard 4.0

by Paula Fraga-Lamas^*

, Diego Noceda-Davila, Tiago M. Fernández-Caramés

, Manuel A. Díaz-Bouza and Miguel Vilar-Montesinos

Unidad Mixta de Investigación Navantia-UDC, Universidade da Coruña, Edificio Talleres Tecnológicos, Mendizábal s/n, Ferrol 15403, Spain

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2186; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122186 - 20 Dec 2016

Cited by 50 | Viewed by 14795

Abstract

As a result of the progressive implantation of the Industry 4.0 paradigm, many industries are experimenting a revolution that shipyards cannot ignore. Therefore, the application of the principles of Industry 4.0 to shipyards are leading to the creation of Shipyards 4.0. Due to [...] Read more.

As a result of the progressive implantation of the Industry 4.0 paradigm, many industries are experimenting a revolution that shipyards cannot ignore. Therefore, the application of the principles of Industry 4.0 to shipyards are leading to the creation of Shipyards 4.0. Due to this, Navantia, one of the 10 largest shipbuilders in the world, is updating its whole inner workings to keep up with the near-future challenges that a Shipyard 4.0 will have to face. Such challenges can be divided into three groups: the vertical integration of production systems, the horizontal integration of a new generation of value creation networks, and the re-engineering of the entire production chain, making changes that affect the entire life cycle of each piece of a ship. Pipes, which exist in a huge number and varied typology on a ship, are one of the key pieces, and its monitoring constitutes a prospective cyber-physical system. Their improved identification, traceability, and indoor location, from production and through their life, can enhance shipyard productivity and safety. In order to perform such tasks, this article first conducts a thorough analysis of the shipyard environment. From this analysis, the essential hardware and software technical requirements are determined. Next, the concept of smart pipe is presented and defined as an object able to transmit signals periodically that allows for providing enhanced services in a shipyard. In order to build a smart pipe system, different technologies are selected and evaluated, concluding that passive and active RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) are currently the most appropriate technologies to create it. Furthermore, some promising indoor positioning results obtained in a pipe workshop are presented, showing that multi-antenna algorithms and Kalman filtering can help to stabilize Received Signal Strength (RSS) and improve the overall accuracy of the system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enabling the Move from Wireless Sensor Networks to Internet of Things and Cyber-Physical Systems)

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16 pages, 3528 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Monitoring Building Deformation with InSAR: Experiments and Validation

by Kui Yang^1,2

, Li Yan^1,*, Guoman Huang³, Chu Chen^2,4 and Zhengpeng Wu^2,4

¹ School of Geodesy and Geomatics, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China

² Tianjin Institute of Surveying and Mapping, Tianjin 300381, China

³ Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping, Beijing 100830, China

⁴ Tianjin Remote Sensing Center, Tianjin 300381, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2182; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122182 - 20 Dec 2016

Cited by 54 | Viewed by 9093

Abstract

Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) techniques are increasingly applied for monitoring land subsidence. The advantages of InSAR include high accuracy and the ability to cover large areas; nevertheless, research validating the use of InSAR on building deformation is limited. In this paper, we [...] Read more.

Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) techniques are increasingly applied for monitoring land subsidence. The advantages of InSAR include high accuracy and the ability to cover large areas; nevertheless, research validating the use of InSAR on building deformation is limited. In this paper, we test the monitoring capability of the InSAR in experiments using two landmark buildings; the Bohai Building and the China Theater, located in Tianjin, China. They were selected as real examples to compare InSAR and leveling approaches for building deformation. Ten TerraSAR-X images spanning half a year were used in Permanent Scatterer InSAR processing. These extracted InSAR results were processed considering the diversity in both direction and spatial distribution, and were compared with true leveling values in both Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and measurement of error analyses. The detailed experimental results for the Bohai Building and the China Theater showed a high correlation between InSAR results and the leveling values. At the same time, the two Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) indexes had values of approximately 1 mm. These analyses show that a millimeter level of accuracy can be achieved by means of InSAR technique when measuring building deformation. We discuss the differences in accuracy between OLS regression and measurement of error analyses, and compare the accuracy index of leveling in order to propose InSAR accuracy levels appropriate for monitoring buildings deformation. After assessing the advantages and limitations of InSAR techniques in monitoring buildings, further applications are evaluated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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16 pages, 340 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Modification of PSO Algorithm for SML Estimation of DOA

by Haihua Chen^1,*

, Shibao Li¹, Jianhang Liu¹, Fen Liu¹ and Masakiyo Suzuki²

¹ College of Computer and Communication Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266580, China

² Graduate School of Engineering, Kitami Institute of Technology, Kitami 090-8507, Japan

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2188; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122188 - 19 Dec 2016

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4606

Abstract

This paper addresses the issue of reducing the computational complexity of Stochastic Maximum Likelihood (SML) estimation of Direction-of-Arrival (DOA). The SML algorithm is well-known for its high accuracy of DOA estimation in sensor array signal processing. However, its computational complexity is very high [...] Read more.

This paper addresses the issue of reducing the computational complexity of Stochastic Maximum Likelihood (SML) estimation of Direction-of-Arrival (DOA). The SML algorithm is well-known for its high accuracy of DOA estimation in sensor array signal processing. However, its computational complexity is very high because the estimation of SML criteria is a multi-dimensional non-linear optimization problem. As a result, it is hard to apply the SML algorithm to real systems. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is considered as a rather efficient method for multi-dimensional non-linear optimization problems in DOA estimation. However, the conventional PSO algorithm suffers two defects, namely, too many particles and too many iteration times. Therefore, the computational complexity of SML estimation using conventional PSO algorithm is still a little high. To overcome these two defects and to reduce computational complexity further, this paper proposes a novel modification of the conventional PSO algorithm for SML estimation and we call it Joint-PSO algorithm. The core idea of the modification lies in that it uses the solution of Estimation of Signal Parameters via Rotational Invariance Techniques (ESPRIT) and stochastic Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) to determine a novel initialization space. Since this initialization space is already close to the solution of SML, fewer particles and fewer iteration times are needed. As a result, the computational complexity can be greatly reduced. In simulation, we compare the proposed algorithm with the conventional PSO algorithm, the classic Altering Minimization (AM) algorithm and Genetic algorithm (GA). Simulation results show that our proposed algorithm is one of the most efficient solving algorithms and it shows great potential for the application of SML in real systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensor Networks)

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18 pages, 677 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Method of Detections’ Fusion for GNSS Anti-Spoofing

by Huiqi Tao, Hong Li^* and Mingquan Lu

Department of Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2187; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122187 - 19 Dec 2016

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4742

Abstract

The spoofing attack is one of the security threats of systems depending on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). There have been many GNSS spoofing detection methods, and each of them focuses on a characteristic of the GNSS signal or a measurement that [...] Read more.

The spoofing attack is one of the security threats of systems depending on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). There have been many GNSS spoofing detection methods, and each of them focuses on a characteristic of the GNSS signal or a measurement that the receiver has obtained. The method based on a single detector is insufficient against spoofing attacks in some scenarios. How to fuse multiple detections together is a problem that concerns the performance of GNSS anti-spoofing. Scholars have put forward a model to fuse different detection results based on the Dempster-Shafer theory (DST) of evidence combination. However, there are some problems in the application. The main challenge is the valuation of the belief function, which is a key issue in DST. This paper proposes a practical method of detections’ fusion based on an approach to assign the belief function for spoofing detections. The frame of discernment is simplified, and the hard decision of hypothesis testing is replaced by the soft decision; then, the belief functions for some detections can be evaluated. The method is discussed in detail, and a performance evaluation is provided, as well. Detections’ fusion reduces false alarms of detection and makes the result more reliable. Experimental results based on public test datasets demonstrate the performance of the proposed method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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15 pages, 4380 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Fisheye-Lens-Based Photoacoustic System

by Hojong Choi¹, Jaemyung Ryu²

and Jungsuk Kim^3,*

¹ Department of Medical IT Convergence Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi 39253, Korea

² Department of Optical System Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi 39253, Korea

³ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Gachon University, In-cheon 21936, Korea

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2185; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122185 - 19 Dec 2016

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 8194

Abstract

This paper presents a novel fisheye-lens-based photoacoustic (PA) system. In conventional PA systems, mechanical motors are utilized to obtain the target information due to the small fields of view of such systems. The use of such motors introduces mechanical noise, which is difficult [...] Read more.

This paper presents a novel fisheye-lens-based photoacoustic (PA) system. In conventional PA systems, mechanical motors are utilized to obtain the target information due to the small fields of view of such systems. The use of such motors introduces mechanical noise, which is difficult to remove when processing the echo signals. A fisheye lens system offering a wide field of view would effectively reduce the motor effects (i.e., the noise) and enable the system to have a wide field of view. Therefore, in this work, we propose a novel fisheye lens scheme and describe a PA system based on the developed lens scheme. In addition, to confirm the feasibility of the fisheye-lens-based PA system, we present the typical pulse-echo responses obtained using a 20 MHz single element immersion transducer and the echo signals measured from bull’s eye tissue samples separated by approximately 4, 6, 8, and 10 cm diagonally and 2 cm vertically from the fisheye lens. The experimental results demonstrate that the echo signal amplitudes, their center frequencies, and the −6 dB bandwidths obtained using red, green, and blue lights and a fisheye lens are acceptable when the fisheye lens is separated from a sample both diagonally and vertically. Therefore, fisheye-lens-based PA systems could be a potential method of achieving wide fields of view while reducing the mechanical motor effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasonic Sensors)

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16 pages, 2498 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A New Adaptive H-Infinity Filtering Algorithm for the GPS/INS Integrated Navigation

by Chen Jiang¹

, Shu-Bi Zhang^1,2,* and Qiu-Zhao Zhang^1,2

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

² Collaborative Innovation Center for Resource Utilization and Ecological Restoration of Old Industrial Base, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2127; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122127 - 19 Dec 2016

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 6648

Abstract

The Kalman filter is an optimal estimator with numerous applications in technology, especially in systems with Gaussian distributed noise. Moreover, the adaptive Kalman filtering algorithms, based on the Kalman filter, can control the influence of dynamic model errors. In contrast to the adaptive [...] Read more.

The Kalman filter is an optimal estimator with numerous applications in technology, especially in systems with Gaussian distributed noise. Moreover, the adaptive Kalman filtering algorithms, based on the Kalman filter, can control the influence of dynamic model errors. In contrast to the adaptive Kalman filtering algorithms, the H-infinity filter is able to address the interference of the stochastic model by minimization of the worst-case estimation error. In this paper, a novel adaptive H-infinity filtering algorithm, which integrates the adaptive Kalman filter and the H-infinity filter in order to perform a comprehensive filtering algorithm, is presented. In the proposed algorithm, a robust estimation method is employed to control the influence of outliers. In order to verify the proposed algorithm, experiments with real data of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Navigation System (INS) integrated navigation, were conducted. The experimental results have shown that the proposed algorithm has multiple advantages compared to the other filtering algorithms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensors)

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10 pages, 4870 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Longitudinal Force Measurement of CWR Tracks with Hetero-Cladding FBG Sensors: A Proof of Concept

by Li-Yang Shao^1,2,*

, Meng Zhang², Kaize Xie¹, Xinpu Zhang^2,*, Ping Wang^1,* and Lianshan Yan²

¹ MOE Key Laboratory of High-Speed Railway Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China

² School of Information Science and Technology, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2184; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122184 - 18 Dec 2016

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5251

Abstract

A new method has been proposed to accurately determine longitudinal additional force in continuous welded rail (CWR) on bridges via hetero-cladding fiber Bragg grating (HC-FBG) sensors. The HC-FBG sensor consists of two FBGs written in the same type of fiber but with different [...] Read more.

A new method has been proposed to accurately determine longitudinal additional force in continuous welded rail (CWR) on bridges via hetero-cladding fiber Bragg grating (HC-FBG) sensors. The HC-FBG sensor consists of two FBGs written in the same type of fiber but with different cladding diameters. The HC-FBGs have the same temperature sensitivity but different strain sensitivity because of the different areas of the cross section. The differential strain coefficient is defined as the relative wavelength differences of two FBGs with the change of applied longitudinal force. In the verification experiment in the lab, the HC-FBGs were attached on a section of rail model of which the material property is the same as that of rail on line. The temperature and differential strain sensitivity were calibrated using a universal testing machine. As shown by the test results, the linearity between the relative wavelength difference and the longitudinal additional force is greater than 0.9999. The differential strain sensitivity is 4.85 × 10⁻⁶/N. Moreover, the relative wavelength difference is not affected by the temperature change. Compared to the theoretical results, the accumulated error is controlled within 5.0%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Fiber Bragg Grating Sensing)

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15 pages, 1210 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Local Coverage Optimization Strategy Based on Voronoi for Directional Sensor Networks

by Guanglin Zhang^1,2,*

, Shan You^1,2, Jiajie Ren^1,2, Demin Li^1,2 and Lin Wang³

¹ College of Information Science and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China

² Engineering Research Center of Digitized Textile & Fashion Technology, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 201620, China

³ Department of Automation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2183; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122183 - 18 Dec 2016

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 7026

Abstract

In this paper, we study the area coverage of directional sensor networks (DSNs) with random node distribution. The coverage of DSNs depends on the sensor’s locations, the sensing radiuses, and the working directions, as well as the angle of view (AoV), which is [...] Read more.

In this paper, we study the area coverage of directional sensor networks (DSNs) with random node distribution. The coverage of DSNs depends on the sensor’s locations, the sensing radiuses, and the working directions, as well as the angle of view (AoV), which is challenging to analyze. We transform the network area coverage problem into cell coverage problems by exploiting the Voronoi diagram, which only needs to optimize local coverage for each cell in a decentralized way. To address the cell coverage problem, we propose three local coverage optimization algorithms to improve the cell coverage, namely Move Inside Cell Algorithm (MIC), Rotate Working Direction Algorithm (RWD) and Rotation based on boundary (RB), respectively. Extensive simulations are performed to prove the effectiveness of our proposed algorithms in terms of the coverage ratio. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Algorithms for Mobile Sensing: from Wireless Sensor Networks to Mobile Crowd Sensing)

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9 pages, 2300 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Annealing Effects of Parylene-Caulked Polydimethylsiloxane as a Substrate of Electrodes

by Jinmo Jeong¹, Namsun Chou²

, Gihyun Lee³ and Sohee Kim^2,*

¹ School of Mechanical Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju 61005, Korea

² Department of Robotics Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu 42988, Korea

³ Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju 61005, Korea

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2181; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122181 - 18 Dec 2016

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 7352

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of annealing of the electrodes based on parylene-caulked polydimethylsiloxane (pc-PDMS) in terms of mechanical strength and long-term electrical property. Previously, the electrodes based on pc-PDMS showed a better ability to withstand in vivo environments because of the low [...] Read more.

This paper investigates the effects of annealing of the electrodes based on parylene-caulked polydimethylsiloxane (pc-PDMS) in terms of mechanical strength and long-term electrical property. Previously, the electrodes based on pc-PDMS showed a better ability to withstand in vivo environments because of the low water absorption and beneficial mechanical properties of the substrate, compared to native PDMS. Moreover, annealing is expected to even strengthen the mechanical strength and lower the water absorption of the pc-PDMS substrate. To characterize the mechanical strength and water absorption of the annealed pc-PDMS, tensile tests were carried out and infrared (IR) spectra were measured using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy over a month. The results showed that annealed pc-PDMS had higher mechanical strength and lower water absorption than non-annealed pc-PDMS. Then, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was measured to evaluate the electrical stability of the electrodes based on annealed pc-PDMS in phosphate-buffered saline solution at 36.5 °C. The impedance magnitude of the electrodes on annealed pc-PDMS was twice higher than that of the electrodes on non-annealed pc-PDMS in the initial days, but the impedance magnitude of the electrodes based on two different substrates converged to a similar value after eight months, indicating that the annealing effects disappear after a certain period of time in a physiological environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Modeling, Testing and Reliability Issues in MEMS Engineering)

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12 pages, 5671 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Probabilistic Data Association for Target Tracking in a Cluttered Environment

by Xiao Chen

, Yaan Li^*

, Yuxing Li, Jing Yu

and Xiaohua Li

School of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2180; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122180 - 18 Dec 2016

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 6752

Abstract

The problem of data association for target tracking in a cluttered environment is discussed. In order to improve the real-time processing and accuracy of target tracking, based on a probabilistic data association algorithm, a novel data association algorithm using distance weighting was proposed, [...] Read more.

The problem of data association for target tracking in a cluttered environment is discussed. In order to improve the real-time processing and accuracy of target tracking, based on a probabilistic data association algorithm, a novel data association algorithm using distance weighting was proposed, which can enhance the association probability of measurement originated from target, and then using a Kalman filter to estimate the target state more accurately. Thus, the tracking performance of the proposed algorithm when tracking non-maneuvering targets in a densely cluttered environment has improved, and also does better when two targets are parallel to each other, or at a small-angle crossing in a densely cluttered environment. As for maneuvering target issues, usually with an interactive multi-model framework, combined with the improved probabilistic data association method, we propose an improved algorithm using a combined interactive multiple model probabilistic data association algorithm to track a maneuvering target in a densely cluttered environment. Through Monte Carlo simulation, the results show that the proposed algorithm can be more effective and reliable for different scenarios of target tracking in a densely cluttered environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Video Analysis and Tracking Using State-of-the-Art Sensors)

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8 pages, 2551 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vision Marker-Based In Situ Examination of Bacterial Growth in Liquid Culture Media

by Kyukwang Kim¹, Duckyu Choi²

, Hwijoon Lim³, Hyeongkeun Kim²

and Jessie S. Jeon^2,*

¹ Urban Robotics Laboratory, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 291 Daehak-ro, Daejeon 34141, Korea

² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 291 Daehak-ro, Daejeon 34141, Korea

³ School of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 291 Daehak-ro, Daejeon 34141, Korea

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2179; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122179 - 18 Dec 2016

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 7006

Abstract

The detection of bacterial growth in liquid media is an essential process in determining antibiotic susceptibility or the level of bacterial presence for clinical or research purposes. We have developed a system, which enables simplified and automated detection using a camera and a [...] Read more.

The detection of bacterial growth in liquid media is an essential process in determining antibiotic susceptibility or the level of bacterial presence for clinical or research purposes. We have developed a system, which enables simplified and automated detection using a camera and a striped pattern marker. The quantification of bacterial growth is possible as the bacterial growth in the culturing vessel blurs the marker image, which is placed on the back of the vessel, and the blurring results in a decrease in the high-frequency spectrum region of the marker image. The experiment results show that the FFT (fast Fourier transform)-based growth detection method is robust to the variations in the type of bacterial carrier and vessels ranging from the culture tubes to the microfluidic devices. Moreover, the automated incubator and image acquisition system are developed to be used as a comprehensive in situ detection system. We expect that this result can be applied in the automation of biological experiments, such as the Antibiotics Susceptibility Test or toxicity measurement. Furthermore, the simple framework of the proposed growth measurement method may be further utilized as an effective and convenient method for building point-of-care devices for developing countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidics-Based Microsystem Integration Research)

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21 pages, 2566 KiB

Open AccessReview

Label-Free Aptasensors for the Detection of Mycotoxins

by Amina Rhouati^1,2, Gaelle Catanante¹, Gilvanda Nunes³, Akhtar Hayat^1,4,* and Jean-Louis Marty^1,*

¹ BAE Laboratory, Université de Perpignan Via Domitia, 52 Avenue Paul Alduy, Perpignan 66860, France

² Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Biotechnologie, Constantine 25100, Algeria

³ Technological Chemistry Department, Federal University of Maranhão, CCET/UFMA, Av. Portugueses, Cidade Universitária do Canga, 65080-040 São Luis, Brazil

⁴ Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Biomedical Materials (IRCBM) COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), Lahore 54000, Pakistan

Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2178; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122178 - 18 Dec 2016

Cited by 82 | Viewed by 11218

Abstract

Various methodologies have been reported in the literature for the qualitative and quantitative monitoring of mycotoxins in food and feed samples. Based on their enhanced specificity, selectivity and versatility, bio-affinity assays have inspired many researchers to develop sensors by exploring bio-recognition phenomena. However, [...] Read more.

Various methodologies have been reported in the literature for the qualitative and quantitative monitoring of mycotoxins in food and feed samples. Based on their enhanced specificity, selectivity and versatility, bio-affinity assays have inspired many researchers to develop sensors by exploring bio-recognition phenomena. However, a significant problem in the fabrication of these devices is that most of the biomolecules do not generate an easily measurable signal upon binding to the target analytes, and signal-generating labels are required to perform the measurements. In this context, aptamers have been emerged as a potential and attractive bio-recognition element to design label-free aptasensors for various target analytes. Contrary to other bioreceptor-based approaches, the aptamer-based assays rely on antigen binding-induced conformational changes or oligomerization states rather than binding-assisted changes in adsorbed mass or charge. This review will focus on current designs in label-free conformational switchable design strategies, with a particular focus on applications in the detection of mycotoxins. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aptasensors 2016)

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