Design Of Sensor System Research Articles

Fuzz-Fish: A Design and Implementation of Fuzzy Fishpond Aquaculture Control Sensing SystemFuzz-Fish: A Design and Implementation of Fuzzy Fishpond Aquaculture Control Sensing System

Fuzz-Fish: A Design and Implementation of Fuzzy Fishpond Aquaculture Control Sensing SystemFuzz-Fish: A Design and Implementation of Fuzzy Fishpond Aquaculture Control Sensing System

Wrinkled Soft Sensor With Variable Afferent Morphology: Case of Bending Actuation

The sensor morphology is of great importance, especially for tactile sensors that mainly transduce physical contacts to perceivable signals for further processing by the central system. Sensors with various morphology can result in different signal thus potentially influencing perception. Most previous researches on tactile sensor morphology focused on revealing advance of a particular morphology in a binary manner, by providing sensors with and without that morphology then comparing the performance. Less attention was paid to sensors with changeable morphology. We demonstrate in this letter a wrinkled soft tactile sensor with variable morphology, leading to tunable sensing and perception property. Specifically, the geometrical structure of wrinkles and the overall stiffness of the sensor can be varied by changing the sensor bending state. This morphing behavior was modeled analytically, and verified by both Finite Element Analysis and real experiment. Furthermore, these morphological variations were found to closely affect the performance of sensor in three tasks including force sensing, shape discrimination and texture detection. Interestingly, for each task, there was always an optimal morphological state that maximized the sensor performance, namely force sensitivity and perception accuracy. This sheds light to novel active tactile sensing system design, thus realizing “active” by adapting morphology instead of sensorimotor control algorithm to optimize perception gain.

Metal-embedded fiber optic sensor packaging and signal demodulation scheme towards high-frequency dynamic measurements in harsh environments

Optical fiber-based sensors are commonly used for industrial monitoring and control processes due to their small size, resistance to electromagnetic interference, and ability to perform a wide variety of high-precision measurements. However, implementing optical fiber sensors in harsh environments is challenging because they are small and fragile. Proper packaging of fiber-optic sensors could extend their use to harsh environments, including at high temperature and under high radiation. Furthermore, conventional fiber optic-based measurement systems often use computationally expensive signal processing algorithms which hinder their use in high-frequency dynamic applications. This work reports on the design of an optical fiber-pressure sensor system based on low-coherence interferometry that uses a metal-embedded optical fiber to provide a robust sensor package. A novel phase demodulation scheme is proposed to extract length changes from the deformation of a thin diaphragm within a Fabry–Pérot cavity to measure pressure. The sensor has been tested to ±100kPa, has a theoretical linear response over a ±270kPa dynamic range (24dB maximum signal-to-noise ratio), and can resolve pressure transients up to 3910kPa/s. Sampling at 100kHz, the present sensor can resolve 2kPa dynamic pressures at frequencies up to 2kHz. Faster transients on the order of tens to hundreds of kHz can theoretically be resolved at the expense of decreasing the maximum resolvable amplitude. A methodology for designing a LCI pressure sensor for a given application is outlined based on the limitations imposed by the Nyquist criterion, the diaphragm's resonant frequency, the LCI optoelectronics, and the phase demodulation scheme. The sensor is the first to implement a low-coherence light source and a Fabry–Pérot interferometer designed to provide real-time high-fidelity pressure measurements using a metal-embedded optical fiber. The demonstrated sensor provides a platform for sensing in harsh conditions such as in nuclear and energy applications.

Multimetric Event-Driven System for Long-Term Wireless Sensor Operation for SHM Applications

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are promising solutions for large infrastructure monitoring because of their ease of installation, computing and communication capability, and cost-effectiveness. Long-term Civil structural health monitoring (SHM), however, is still a challenge because it requires continuous data acquisition for the detection of random events such as earthquakes and structural collapse. To achieve long-term operation, it is necessary to reduce the power consumption of sensor nodes designed to capture random events and, thus, enhance structural safety. In this paper, we present an event-based sensing system design based on an ultra-low-power microcontroller with programmable event-detection mechanism to allow continuous monitoring; the device is triggered by vibration, strain, or a timer and has a programmed threshold, resulting in ultra-low-power consumption of the sensor node. Furthermore, the proposed system can be easily reconfigured to any existing wireless sensor platform to enable ultra-low power operation. For validation, the proposed system was integrated with a commercial wireless platform to allow strain, acceleration, and time-based triggering with programmed thresholds and current consumptions of 7.43 and 0.85 mA in active and inactive modes, respectively.

Design and optimization of perovskite plasmonic nano-laser for operation at room temperature

This work presents the design and optimization of a cascade nano-laser using CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite. Due to increasing threshold gain with decreasing device size and high Auger losses, the use of perovskite as the active medium in the cascade nano-laser was proposed, as the material possesses a high emission rate in the visible wavelength region, with relative ease of device fabrication. By optimizing the thickness of the perovskite, its width, and the thickness of the silica used, photonic and plasmonic modes were created, which were further considered to permit the generation of lasing, using their respective Purcell factors. The pump wavelength considered was 400 nm, with the laser emission then at 537 nm. For suitability of plasmonic lasing, a Purcell factor FP of 1.22 is reported here, with no possibility for photonic lasing due to its FP value being less than 1 in this design. However, mode-crossing effects were observed in the plasmonic mode at λ = 400 nm for two designs: at a silica thickness of 27.5 nm with perovskite thickness and width of 100 and 300 nm, respectively, and at a silica thickness of 30 nm with perovskite thickness and width of 95 and 300 nm, respectively. These mode-crossing effects can be further analyzed to use these devices in the design of potential new sensor systems, mainly for gas and chemical sensing, exploiting the refractive index sensing capability as a means to determine the concentration of the gases, or other chemicals, under study.

High-Altitude Balloon-Based Sensor System Design and Implementation.

As a kind of large-scale unmanned aerial vehicle, a high-altitude balloon can carry a large load up to tens of kilometers in the near space for a long time, which brings a new way for the stratosphere atmospheric detection. In order to provide a suitable working environment for the near-space detection load, it is necessary to design a sensor system based on a high-altitude balloon, which is used to provide environmental temperature, height position, and attitude information, current working, and video surveillance. The high-altitude balloon-based sensor system designed in this paper had participated in the near-space flight experiment, whose total flight time was 30 h and 53 min, and the horizontal flight time was 28 h and 58 min crossing the day and night. The high-altitude balloon-based sensor system had withstood the severe environment of the near-space during the day and night, providing accurate temperature measurement, real-time altitude position and attitude data acquisition, reliable current monitoring, and comprehensive video surveillance. In the next three years, the high-altitude balloon-based sensor system developed in this paper will continue to participate in the experiment and provide support for more detection loads.

Piezoresistive disposable weight sensor with increased sensitivity

This study presents the design, simulation, implementation, and experimental characterization of a paperbased perforated disposable weight sensor system with a double piezoresistive layer. The demonstrated system is designed to achieve highly sensitive weight sensing operations with low-cost materials. For that purpose, the main fabrication material of the proposed disposable sensor is selected as a 289 $\mu$m thick Strathmore 400 series Bristol paper. Approximately 48 $\mu$m thick piezoresistive graphite paste is coated onto both sides of the paper-based cantilever beam with the aim of acquiring more sensitive weight-sensing capability. Additionally, the proposed paper-based structure has rows of closely spaced perforations at prespecified locations to facilitate the bending of the cantilever beam and to further increase the sensitivity of the system. A peripheral electronic read-out circuitry is developed and integrated into the system. It is experimentally demonstrated that the proposed weight-sensing system can measure miniature weights ranging to 2 g with a resolution of 20 mg. The implemented sensor has a sensitivity of 17.13 mV/mN or 168.01 mV/g. Key words: This study presents the design, simulation, implementation, and experimental characterization of a paperbased perforated disposable weight sensor system with a double piezoresistive layer. The demonstrated system is designed to achieve highly sensitive weight sensing operations with low-cost materials. For that purpose, the main fabrication material of the proposed disposable sensor is selected as a 289$\mu$m thick Strathmore 400 series Bristol paper. Approximately 48 $\mu$m thick piezoresistive graphite paste is coated onto both sides of the paper based cantilever beam with the aim of acquiring more sensitive weight-sensing capability. Additionally, the proposed paper-based structure has rows of closely spaced perforations at prespecified locations to facilitate the bending of the cantilever beam and to further increase the sensitivity of the system. A peripheral electronic read-out circuitry is developed and integrated into the system. It is experimentally demonstrated that the proposed weight-sensing system can measure miniature weights ranging to 2 g with a resolution of 20 mg. The implemented sensor has a sensitivity of 17.13 mV/mN or 168.01 mV/g.

Kontaktallergie auf Glukosemesssysteme und Insulinpumpen

The design and development of insulin pumps and various glucose sensor systems has an enormous impact on life quality of diabetic patients. Surveillance and therapy of diabetes has improved due to the new diabetic devices, which are affixed to the patients' skin for several days. Since their introduction, irritant and allergic contact dermatitis have been frequently reported. Patients often acquire contact sensitization to isobornyl acrylate, N,N-dimethylacrylamide or formerly to 2‑ethyl-cyanoacrylate. These contact allergens were found in the patch, in the glue to affix the box on the patch or in the casing of the system itself. Development of contact allergy to substances of these systems may result in the need to abandon modern diabetic devices.

Incorporating the Qualitative Variable Comfort into the Design of a Wearable Body Sensor System

The design of mechatronic devices commonly includes qualitative design objectives that can play a significant role in the consumer appeal and the success of the product. This article presents an approach to incorporate the qualitative design objective comfort into the design process of a wearable device by determining the most suitable locations to mount such hardware. The objective is modeled through multiple criteria to represent comfort. The model is formulated through the theory of fuzzy measures and the Choquet integral. The fuzzy measures are determined through two different and new methods. One method uses a least squares algorithm and the other determines fuzzy measures using a preference ranking of alternatives. In this approach, the preference rankings are locations, ordered from the most comfortable to the least comfortable. This order of locations can be replicated with the determined fuzzy measures and Choquet integral, to build the comfort model. An error that quantifies the inaccuracy in the order of preferred to nonpreferred alternatives is introduced. The comfort model that is established in this article is validated using a training set and a test set. A comparison between the two methods that determine the fuzzy measures is presented.

EQuilibrium: A Prototype of a Sensor-Based Balance Training and Monitoring System

Abstract Integrated sensor devices are becoming a valuable tool for monitoring, evaluation, and real-time feedback during various exercises in sports, physical rehabilitation, and injury prevention. In this paper, we present the design and development of an inertial sensor system integrated into a fitness ball called eQuilibrium. The main application of this system would be balance training, analysis, and monitoring. The sensor system is composed of an inertial measurement unit sensor with a microcontroller and a WiFi communication module. The wireless sensor device is sending data to LabView application running on a laptop computer. The gyroscope and accelerometer provide a variety of signals, and we defined and evaluated three possible metrics to match the signals with the actual execution of the exercises. The metrics include i) angle rotation range, ii) mean absolute angular velocity, mean absolute acceleration deviation, and iv) mean absolute acceleration gradient. For the initial evaluation of the system, we specified test protocol and tasks that were executed by test subjects and monitored by a trained tester. There are four tasks in the protocol, and each task was being executed for at least 5 seconds. The first task was a reference task, standing on the feet of both legs. In the remaining tasks, the subject was standing on the tips of the toes (both legs, single leg), with the heels as high as possible off the ground. We conducted initial tests to analyze the operation of the system and obtain the initial measurement results. Our preliminary results indicate that several scalar metrics derived from motion sensor data can be used to evaluate motion intensity in the control of body balance. Rotation angle range, mean absolute rotation speed, mean absolute acceleration standard deviation, and mean absolute acceleration gradient are scalar values and independent of sensor axis orientation. In the future, we plan to perform more test executions and compare the sensor results with subjective self-reports of the test subjects, as well as the physical rehabilitation expert evaluations.

Sensing system with an artificial neural network based on floating-gate metal oxide semiconductor transistors

This paper shows a novel design of a gas sensor system based on artificial neural networks and Floating-gate MOS Transistors (FGMOS). Two types of circuits with FGMOS transistors of minimum dimensions were designed and simulated by Simulink of Matlab; simulations and experimental measurements results were compared obtaining good expectations. The reason of using FGMOS is that ANN can also be implemented with these kinds of devices, since ANN’s based on FGMOS are able to produce pseudo Gaussian-functions. These functions give a reliable option to determine the gas concentration. A sensitive thin film can be deposited on the FGMOS’s floating gate, which produces a charge variation due to the chemical reaction between the sensitive layer and the gas species, modifying the threshold voltage thereby a correlation of drain current of the FGMOS with gas concentration can be obtained. Therefore, a generator circuit was implemented for the pseudo Gaussian signal with FGMOS. This system can be applied in environments with dangerous species such as CO2, CO, methane, propane, among others. Simulations demonstrated that the implemented proposal has a good performance as an alternative method for sensing gas concentrations, compared with conventional sensors.

Coating of upconversion nanoparticles with silica nanoshells of 5-250 nm thickness.

A concept for the growth of silica shells with a thickness of 5–250 nm onto oleate-coated NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) is presented. The concept enables the precise adjustment of shell thicknesses for the preparation of thick-shelled nanoparticles for applications in plasmonics and sensing. First, an initial 5–11 nm thick shell is grown onto the UCNPs in a reverse microemulsion. This is followed by a stepwise growth of these particles without a purification step, where in each step equal volumes of tetraethyl orthosilicate and ammonia water are added, while the volumes of cyclohexane and the surfactant Igepal® CO-520 are increased so that the ammonia water and surfactant concentrations remain constant. Hence, the number of micelles stays constant, and their size is increased to accommodate the growing core–shell particles. Consequently, the formation of core-free silica particles is suppressed. When the negative zeta potential of the particles, which continuously decreased during the stepwise growth, falls below −40 mV, the particles can be dispersed in an ammoniacal ethanol solution and grown further by the continuous addition of tetraethyl orthosilicate to a diameter larger than 500 nm. Due to the high colloidal stability, a coalescence of the particles can be suppressed, and single-core particles are obtained. This strategy can be easily transferred to other nanomaterials for the design of plasmonic nanoconstructs and sensor systems.

Design of sensor system for air pollution and human vital monitoring for connected cyclists

This study addresses the design of smart sensor system aided bicycle that can be exploited as a platform for the acquisition of real-time data. In particular, in this work, the authors address the pressing issues like air pollution monitoring and health monitoring by using sensors that were seen as limitations in the already existing smart e-bike monitoring system. The sensor system presented in this study is capable of monitoring parameters such as location, heart rate of the rider and air quality levels in real-time. The data thus collected is fed into Thingspeak, an open Internet of Things platform powered by Matlab. The data is then visually represented in an Android application for riders to view and analyse the monitored parameters. The Android application designed for the system assists the user with location tracking, pollution mapping and health monitoring. Furthermore, security is also considered in this work which is addressed with the help of a fingerprint sensor and a global system for mobile/global positioning system module to alert the user in case of system theft. The system attached to the bicycle can be implemented on a large scale as a fleet/bike sharing system in order to map the pollution of an entire city with the help of IoT, thus aiding the development of greenfield smart city and additionally monitoring the vitals of the user riding the bicycle leading to intelligent transportation system. This study details the design and implementation of the hardware and software, enlists the outcomes of the system and explores the future scope and development.

Noise characteristics with CMOS sensor array scaling

An important consideration when scaling semiconductor sensor devices is the effect it may have on noise performance. Overall signal to noise ratio can be improved both by increasing sensor size, or alternatively by averaging the signal from two or more smaller sensors. In the design of sensor systems it is not immediately clear which is the best strategy to pursue. In this paper, we present a detailed theoretical and experimental study based on three different sensor arrays that show that an array of small independent sensors is always less noisy than a large sensor of the same size.

A Low-Power High-Data-Transmission Multi-Lead ECG Acquisition Sensor System.

This study presents a low-power multi-lead wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) signal sensor system design that can simultaneously acquire the electrocardiograms from three leads, I, II, and V1. The sensor system includes two parts, an ECG test clothing with five electrode patches and an acquisition device. Compared with the traditional 12-lead wired ECG detection instrument, which limits patient mobility and needs medical staff assistance to acquire the ECG signal, the proposed vest-type ECG acquisition system is very comfortable and easy to use by patients themselves anytime and anywhere, especially for the elderly. The proposed study incorporates three methods to reduce the power consumption of the system by optimizing the micro control unit (MCU) working mode, adjusting the radio frequency (RF) parameters, and compressing the transmitted data. In addition, Huffman lossless coding is used to compress the transmitted data in order to increase the sampling rate of the acquisition system. It makes the whole system operate continuously for a long period of time and acquire abundant ECG information, which is helpful for clinical diagnosis. Finally, a series of tests were performed on the designed wearable ECG device. The results have demonstrated that the multi-lead wearable ECG device can collect, process, and transmit ECG data through Bluetooth technology. The ECG waveforms collected by the device are clear, complete, and can be displayed in real-time on a mobile phone. The sampling rate of the proposed wearable sensor system is 250 Hz per lead, which is dependent on the lossless compression scheme. The device achieves a compression ratio of 2.31. By implementing a low power design on the device, the resulting overall operational current of the device is reduced by 37.6% to 9.87 mA under a supply voltage of 2.1 V. The proposed vest-type multi-lead ECG acquisition device can be easily employed by medical staff for clinical diagnosis and is a suitable wearable device in monitoring and nursing the off-ward patients.

Remote Sensor Design for Visual Recognition With Convolutional Neural Networks

While deep learning technologies for computer vision have developed rapidly since 2012, modeling of remote sensing systems has remained focused around human vision. In particular, remote sensing systems are usually constructed to optimize sensing cost-quality trade-offs with respect to human image interpretability. While some recent studies have explored remote sensing system design as a function of simple computer vision algorithm performance, there has been little work relating this design to the state-of-the-art in computer vision: deep learning with convolutional neural networks. We develop experimental systems to conduct this analysis, showing results with modern deep learning algorithms and recent overhead image data. Our results are compared to standard image quality measurements based on human visual perception, and we conclude not only that machine and human interpretability differ significantly, but that computer vision performance is largely self-consistent across a range of disparate conditions. This research is presented as a cornerstone for a new generation of sensor design systems which focus on computer algorithm performance instead of human visual perception.

Design and verification of FBG strain gauge

Compared with the traditional electrical resistance strain gauge, the fibre Bragg grating (FBG) is a new material that can be used to produce the strain sensor, which has many advantages such as convenient installation, low temperature drifting, less signal interference and higher transmitted quality. In this study, FBG sensor system configuration, design principle, numerical simulation and loading tests for the FBG strain gauge are expatiated extensively. At the last, one-axial and three-axial strain gauges are produced and some conclusions have been put forward. So the FBG strain gauge can meet the precision of the structure monitoring and replace the traditional sensors.

Design and fabrication of cost-effective heart-rate pulse monitoring sensor system

A traditional approach of heart rate measurement has always meant that people must go to hospitals to examine the patient disease at Cardiologist and medical officer. Most people have difficult such as no transport and lazy to go to the hospital for the check-ups of their conditions heart rate. This is because, before have a treatment or medical check-up, they should do an appointment. Besides that, demands of works very high nowadays. People busy with their works until forget to do medical check-ups. Additionally, the available portable heart rate monitoring machine is costly to buy for all. In this research, we develop a system which can be accommodate for all while everyone can do their check up at home and do not waste their time by waiting for their turn in the hospital to do the medical check-ups. The prototype is built using low cost electronics components. The prototype can do a self-check-up before seeing a medical practitioner may reduce mortality rate due to the silent killer that is heart attacks.

Design of a Portable Orthogonal Surface Acoustic Wave Sensor System for Simultaneous Sensing and Removal of Nonspecifically Bound Proteins.

One challenge for current surface acoustic wave (SAW) biosensors is reducing nonspecific adsorption. A device propagating Rayleigh and shear horizontal surface acoustic waves in orthogonal directions fabricated in ST quartz has the capability of achieving simultaneous detection and nonspecific binding (NSB) protein removal. Current measurement methods for a SAW sensor system based on this device require large-size and expensive equipment such as a vector network analyzer (VNA), signal generator, and frequency counter, which are not suitable for portable, especially point-of-care, applications. In this work, a portable platform based on a direct digital synthesizer (DDS) is investigated for the orthogonal SAW sensor, integrating signal synthesis, gain control, phase/amplitude measurement, and data processing in a small, portable electronic system. This prototype was verified for both stability and repeatability, and the results matched very well with VNA measurements. Finally, system performance in real-time sensing and NSB removal was evaluated.

Smart Remote Nodes Fed by Power Over Fiber in Internet of Things Applications

Smart IoT solutions integrated into power grid stations are important due to their high economic and social value. Power over fiber technology to remotely feeding sensors and control electronics is a good choice in these environments of high electromagnetic interference. A sensing system design for magnetic field monitoring, fire and temperature/presence detection, and remotely fed by optical means is discussed. This design includes two types of nodes, smart and passive. Smart remote nodes have an energy manager to provide power on demand. Asymmetric splitting is proposed to optimize power distribution. Some tests on remote node power consumption, feeding, sensing, and centralized monitoring in one type of those nodes are successfully performed and reported.