scholarly journals A Self-Powered Wireless Water Quality Sensing Network Enabling Smart Monitoring of Biological and Chemical Stability in Supply Systems

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Carminati ◽  
Andrea Turolla ◽  
Lorenzo Mezzera ◽  
Michele Di Mauro ◽  
Marco Tizzoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Stability ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Monitoring Networks ◽  
Efficient Management ◽  
Processing Strategies ◽  
Management Processes ◽  
Direct Energy ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Self Powered ◽  
Supply Systems

A smart, safe, and efficient management of water is fundamental for both developed and developing countries. Several wireless sensor networks have been proposed for real-time monitoring of drinking water quantity and quality, both in the environment and in pipelines. However, surface fouling significantly affects the long-term reliability of pipes and sensors installed in-line. To address this relevant issue, we presented a multi-parameter sensing node embedding a miniaturized slime monitor able to estimate the micrometric thickness and type of slime. The measurement of thin deposits in pipes is descriptive of water biological and chemical stability and enables early warning functions, predictive maintenance, and more efficient management processes. After the description of the sensing node, the related electronics, and the data processing strategies, we presented the results of a two-month validation in the field of a three-node pilot network. Furthermore, self-powering by means of direct energy harvesting from the water flowing through the sensing node was also demonstrated. The robustness and low cost of this solution enable its upscaling to larger monitoring networks, paving the way to water monitoring with unprecedented spatio-temporal resolution.

scholarly journals Biomechanics of Trail Running Performance: Quantification of Spatio-Temporal Parameters by Using Low Cost Sensors in Ecological Conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2093
Author(s):  
Noé Perrotin ◽  
Nicolas Gardan ◽  
Arnaud Lesprillier ◽  
Clément Le Goff ◽  
Jean-Marc Seigneur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Step Length ◽  
Measurement Unit ◽  
Ecological Conditions ◽  
Sports Science ◽  
Ground Contact Time ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Performance Results ◽  
Trail Running

The recent popularity of trail running and the use of portable sensors capable of measuring many performance results have led to the growth of new fields in sports science experimentation. Trail running is a challenging sport; it usually involves running uphill, which is physically demanding and therefore requires adaptation to the running style. The main objectives of this study were initially to use three “low-cost” sensors. These low-cost sensors can be acquired by most sports practitioners or trainers. In the second step, measurements were taken in ecological conditions orderly to expose the runners to a real trail course. Furthermore, to combine the collected data to analyze the most efficient running techniques according to the typology of the terrain were taken, as well on the whole trail circuit of less than 10km. The three sensors used were (i) a Stryd sensor (Stryd Inc. Boulder CO, USA) based on an inertial measurement unit (IMU), 6 axes (3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer) fixed on the top of the runner’s shoe, (ii) a Global Positioning System (GPS) watch and (iii) a heart belt. Twenty-eight trail runners (25 men, 3 women: average age 36 ± 8 years; height: 175.4 ± 7.2 cm; weight: 68.7 ± 8.7 kg) of different levels completed in a single race over a 8.5 km course with 490 m of positive elevation gain. This was performed with different types of terrain uphill (UH), downhill (DH), and road sections (R) at their competitive race pace. On these sections of the course, cadence (SF), step length (SL), ground contact time (GCT), flight time (FT), vertical oscillation (VO), leg stiffness (Kleg), and power (P) were measured with the Stryd. Heart rate, speed, ascent, and descent speed were measured by the heart rate belt and the GPS watch. This study showed that on a ≤10 km trail course the criteria for obtaining a better time on the loop, determined in the test, was consistency in the effort. In a high percentage of climbs (>30%), two running techniques stand out: (i) maintaining a high SF and a short SL and (ii) decreasing the SF but increasing the SL. In addition, it has been shown that in steep (>28%) and technical descents, the average SF of the runners was higher. This happened when their SL was shorter in lower steep and technically challenging descents.

scholarly journals Spatio-Temporal Change Monitoring of Outside Manure Piles Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Images

Drones ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Geonung Park ◽  
Kyunghun Park ◽  
Bonggeun Song
Keyword(s):  
Point Source ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Image Data ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Point Source Pollution ◽  
Efficient Management ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Agricultural Areas ◽  
Water Quality Deterioration

Water quality deterioration due to outdoor loading of livestock manure requires efficient management of outside manure piles (OMPs). This study was designed to investigate OMPs using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for efficient management of non-point source pollution in agricultural areas. A UAV was used to acquire image data, and the distribution and cover installation status of OMPs were identified through ortho-images; the volumes of OMP were calculated using digital surface model (DSM). UAV- and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS)-derived DSMs were compared for identifying the accuracy of calculated volumes. The average volume accuracy was 92.45%. From April to October, excluding July, the monthly average volumes of OMPs in the study site ranged from 64.89 m3 to 149.69 m3. Among the 28 OMPs investigated, 18 were located near streams or agricultural waterways. Establishing priority management areas among the OMP sites distributed in a basin is possible using spatial analysis, and it is expected that the application of UAV technology will contribute to the efficient management of OMPs and other non-point source pollutants.

Green Communication Infrastructure (GCI) Serving Different Smart City Applications

2021 ◽  
Vol 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qutaiba I. Ali ◽  
Issam Jafar
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
System Level ◽  
Green Communication ◽  
Communication Infrastructure ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Self Powered ◽  
Application Fields

Aims: The aim of the Green Communication Infrastructure ‎‎(GCI) project is to understand the idea of a self ‎‎"sustainably" controlled correspondence foundation ‎fitting for smart city application fields. ‎ Background: This paper shows the endeavors to understand the idea of a ‎self "sustainably" energized communication foundation ‎fitting for smart city application fields. The recommended ‎Green Communication Infrastructure (CGI) comprises ‎different kinds of remote settled (or even versatile) hubs ‎performing diverse activities as per the application ‎requests. An imperative class of these hubs is the Wireless ‎Solar Router (WSR). Objective: The work in this venture was begun in 2009 with the aim ‎of demonstrating the essential advances that must be taken to ‎accomplish such framework and to proclaim the value of ‎embracing natural vitality assets in building mission ‎basic frameworks. Alternate destinations of this venture ‎are introducing a sensibly cost, solid, verified, and simple ‎to introduce correspondence foundation.‎ Method: The arrangement to actualize the GCI was accomplished ‎subsequent to passing two structure levels: device level and ‎system level. Result: The suggested system is highly applicable and serves a wide ‎range of smart city application fields and hence many ‎people and organizations can utilize this system. ‎ Conclusion: The presence of a reliable, secured, low cost, easy to install ‎and self-powered communication infrastructure is ‎mandatory in our nowadays. The communities in ‎developing countries or in rural areas need such a system ‎highly in order to communicate with other people in the ‎world which will affect positively their social and ‎economic situation.

How low-cost air pollution sensors could make homes smarter?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Omidvarborna ◽  
Prashant Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Indoor Air Pollution ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Indoor Air Pollutants

<p>The majority of people spend most of their time indoors, where they are exposed to indoor air pollutants. Indoor air pollution is ranked among the top ten largest global burden of a disease risk factor as well as the top five environmental public health risks, which could result in mortality and morbidity worldwide. The spent time in indoor environments has been recently elevated due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak when the public are advised to stay in their place for longer hours per day to protect lives. This opens an opportunity to low-cost air pollution sensors in the real-time Spatio-temporal mapping of IAQ and monitors their concentration/exposure levels indoors. However, the optimum selection of low-cost sensors (LCSs) for certain indoor application is challenging due to diversity in the air pollution sensing device technologies. Making affordable sensing units composed of individual sensors capable of measuring indoor environmental parameters and pollutant concentration for indoor applications requires a diverse scientific and engineering knowledge, which is not yet established. The study aims to gather all these methodologies and technologies in one place, where it allows transforming typical homes into smart homes by specifically focusing on IAQ. This approach addresses the following questions: 1) which and what sensors are suitable for indoor networked application by considering their specifications and limitation, 2) where to deploy sensors to better capture Spatio-temporal mapping of indoor air pollutants, while the operation is optimum, 3) how to treat the collected data from the sensor network and make them ready for the subsequent analysis and 4) how to feed data to prediction models, and which models are best suited for indoors.</p>

scholarly journals User-Centred Design of a Final Results Report for Participants in Multi-Sensor Personal Air Pollution Exposure Monitoring Campaigns

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 12544
Author(s):  
Johanna Amalia Robinson ◽  
Rok Novak ◽  
Tjaša Kanduč ◽  
Thomas Maggos ◽  
Demetra Pardali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Personal Exposure ◽  
Final Report ◽  
Draft Report ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
User Centred Design ◽  
Exposure Monitoring ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Using low-cost portable air quality (AQ) monitoring devices is a growing trend in personal exposure studies, enabling a higher spatio-temporal resolution and identifying acute exposure to high concentrations. Comprehension of the results by participants is not guaranteed in exposure studies. However, information on personal exposure is multiplex, which calls for participant involvement in information design to maximise communication output and comprehension. This study describes and proposes a model of a user-centred design (UCD) approach for preparing a final report for participants involved in a multi-sensor personal exposure monitoring study performed in seven cities within the EU Horizon 2020 ICARUS project. Using a combination of human-centred design (HCD), human–information interaction (HII) and design thinking approaches, we iteratively included participants in the framing and design of the final report. User needs were mapped using a survey (n = 82), and feedback on the draft report was obtained from a focus group (n = 5). User requirements were assessed and validated using a post-campaign survey (n = 31). The UCD research was conducted amongst participants in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and the results report was distributed among the participating cities across Europe. The feedback made it clear that the final report was well-received and helped participants better understand the influence of individual behaviours on personal exposure to air pollution.

scholarly journals Seasonal Influence on the Performance of Low-Cost NO2 Sensor Calibrations

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (23) ◽  
pp. 7919
Author(s):  
Sjoerd van Ratingen ◽  
Jan Vonk ◽  
Christa Blokhuis ◽  
Joost Wesseling ◽  
Erik Tielemans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Sensor Technology ◽  
Monitoring Networks ◽  
Technical Problems ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
Short Period ◽  
No2 Sensor ◽  
One Year

Low-cost sensor technology has been available for several years and has the potential to complement official monitoring networks. The current generation of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) sensors suffers from various technical problems. This study explores the added value of calibration models based on (multiple) linear regression including cross terms on the performance of an electrochemical NO2 sensor, the B43F manufactured by Alphasense. Sensor data were collected in duplicate at four reference sites in the Netherlands over a period of one year. It is shown that a calibration, using O3 and temperature in addition to a reference NO2 measurement, improves the prediction in terms of R2 from less than 0.5 to 0.69–0.84. The uncertainty of the calibrated sensors meets the Data Quality Objective for indicative methods specified by the EU directive in some cases and it was verified that the sensor signal itself remains an important predictor in the multilinear regressions. In practice, these sensors are likely to be calibrated over a period (much) shorter than one year. This study shows the dependence of the quality of the calibrated signal on the choice of these short (monthly) calibration and validation periods. This information will be valuable for determining short-period calibration strategies.

scholarly journals Pencil–paper on-skin electronics

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (31) ◽  
pp. 18292-18301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yadong Xu ◽  
Ganggang Zhao ◽  
Liang Zhu ◽  
Qihui Fei ◽  
Zhe Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Uric Acid ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Transdermal Drug Delivery System ◽  
Gradient Distribution ◽  
Light Emitting ◽  
Energy Harvesters ◽  
Self Powered ◽  
Reconfigurable Assembly

Pencils and papers are ubiquitous in our society and have been widely used for writing and drawing, because they are easy to use, low-cost, widely accessible, and disposable. However, their applications in emerging skin-interfaced health monitoring and interventions are still not well explored. Herein, we report a variety of pencil–paper-based on-skin electronic devices, including biophysical (temperature, biopotential) sensors, sweat biochemical (pH, uric acid, glucose) sensors, thermal stimulators, and humidity energy harvesters. Among these devices, pencil-drawn graphite patterns (or combined with other compounds) serve as conductive traces and sensing electrodes, and office-copy papers work as flexible supporting substrates. The enabled devices can perform real-time, continuous, and high-fidelity monitoring of a range of vital biophysical and biochemical signals from human bodies, including skin temperatures, electrocardiograms, electromyograms, alpha, beta, and theta rhythms, instantaneous heart rates, respiratory rates, and sweat pH, uric acid, and glucose, as well as deliver programmed thermal stimulations. Notably, the qualities of recorded signals are comparable to those measured with conventional methods. Moreover, humidity energy harvesters are prepared by creating a gradient distribution of oxygen-containing groups on office-copy papers between pencil-drawn electrodes. One single-unit device (0.87 cm2) can generate a sustained voltage of up to 480 mV for over 2 h from ambient humidity. Furthermore, a self-powered on-skin iontophoretic transdermal drug-delivery system is developed as an on-skin chemical intervention example. In addition, pencil–paper-based antennas, two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) circuits with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and batteries, reconfigurable assembly and biodegradable electronics (based on water-soluble papers) are explored.

scholarly journals Hierarchically patterned self-powered sensors for multifunctional tactile sensing

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (34) ◽  
pp. eabb9083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Wang ◽  
Heting Wu ◽  
Lin Xu ◽  
Hainan Zhang ◽  
Ya Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Fast Response ◽  
Temperature Sensors ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Tactile Sensing ◽  
Material Identification ◽  
Flexible Sensors ◽  
Temperature Stimulus ◽  
Self Powered ◽  
Multifunctional Sensor

Flexible sensors are highly desirable for tactile sensing and wearable devices. Previous researches of smart elements have focused on flexible pressure or temperature sensors. However, realizing material identification remains a challenge. Here, we report a multifunctional sensor composed of hydrophobic films and graphene/polydimethylsiloxane sponges. By engineering and optimizing sponges, the fabricated sensor exhibits a high-pressure sensitivity of >15.22 per kilopascal, a fast response time of <74 millisecond, and a high stability over >3000 cycles. In the case of temperature stimulus, the sensor exhibits a temperature-sensing resolution of 1 kelvin via the thermoelectric effect. The sensor can generate output voltage signals after physical contact with different flat materials based on contact-induced electrification. The corresponding signals can be, in turn, used to infer material properties. This multifunctional sensor is excellent in its low cost and material identification, which provides a design concept for meeting the challenges in functional electronics.

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