Smart Measurement Architectures and Autonomous Sensors: Emerging Techniques, Nonlinear Features, Future Trends

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, there has been an increasing demand for smart measurement architectures and autonomous sensors and transducers. In this context, emerging techniques, the exploitation of nonlinear features in measurement systems, and novel materials/solutions for self-sustained sensors have emerged as prominent research areas and continue to grow at a rapid pace in several branches of science.

In particular, measurement systems based on energy scavengers and “smart” self-powered sensors/transducers have arouse the interest of the international scientific community, with a special emphasis in the areas of measurement, instrumentation, and metrology. Recent efforts to recover energy from the environment and to supply or to sustain measurement architectures have been focused at the macro scale, but also are important at the integrated scale (MEMS, Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems) and the nano scale (NEMS, Nano-Electro-Mechanical-Systems).

It is worth noting that several ways to improve the performance and efficiency of measurement architectures and sensors have been explored in the literature, including conversion methods, extraction mechanisms, the exploitation of nonlinearities, novel readouts, and several other intriguing and singular methods.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to publish high-quality research articles as well as reviews that address recent developments, progresses on theories, principles, methodologies of transduction/sensing, and techniques regarding smart measurement architectures and autonomous solutions, in addition to the relevant prospects, opportunities, and challenges in this field.

We welcome submissions on a wide range of topics that include, but are not limited to:

• Self-powered and autonomous or quasi-autonomous sensors;
• Smart solutions in measurements systems;
• Novel methodologies of measurement based on nonlinear behaviors;
• Wake-up solutions and “zero-current” stand-by methods;
• Smart energy harvesting;
• Smart techniques for non-destructive analyses and non-invasive measurements;
• Linear and nonlinear mechanisms and techniques;
• Emerging technologies and methods for energy harvesting;
• Power management and interfaces;
• Low-power conditioning circuits for sensors;
• Nonlinear electro-mechanical transducers;
• The exploitation of complexity in sensors, MEMS, and NEMS;
• Emerging materials and methods for sensing and energy conversions.

Prof. Carlo Trigona
Guest Editor

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• autonomous sensors
• smart measurement systems
• smart energy harvesting