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Novel Sensing Technologies for Environmental Monitoring and Detection
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Novel Sensing Technologies for Environmental Monitoring and Detection

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 February 2025 | Viewed by 5601

Special Issue Editor

Dr. George Hloupis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Surveying and Geoinformatics Engineering, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
Interests: early warning systems; sustainable and resilient cities; management of digital cultural content
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Covering a wide range of sensing technologies, this Special Issue publishes interdisciplinary articles presenting new technologies, methods, empirical findings, innovative paradigms, future trends, case studies and review articles. Acknowledging the synergies between various technologies, this Special Issue emphasizes environmental monitoring. In situ sensor networks, low-cost sensor solutions, unmanned aerial and underwater sensing technologies and energy-optimized sensor developments are the main components of the submitted contributions.

Submissions are encouraged, but are not limited to the following general areas:

  • Sensors used to increase the resilience of structures against natural disasters;
  • Low-cost visual sensing;
  • Air quality and sound pollution sensing;
  • Infrastructure for urban sensor networks;
  • Intelligent sensors;
  • Energy harvesting and efficiency for sensor solutions;
  • Real-time analytics of heterogeneous spatiotemporal sensor data; 
  • Sensing for well-being applications;
  • Ethical issues, security, and privacy in city sensor systems and applications.

Dr. George Hloupis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • intelligent sensors
  • environmental monitoring
  • early warning systems

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 11056 KiB  
Article
Portable Sensors for Dynamic Exposure Assessments in Urban Environments: State of the Science
by Jelle Hofman, Borislav Lazarov, Christophe Stroobants, Evelyne Elst, Inge Smets and Martine Van Poppel
Sensors 2024, 24(17), 5653; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24175653 - 30 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1250
Abstract
This study presents a fit-for-purpose lab and field evaluation of commercially available portable sensor systems for PM, NO2, and/or BC. The main aim of the study is to identify portable sensor systems that are capable of reliably quantifying dynamic exposure gradients [...] Read more.
This study presents a fit-for-purpose lab and field evaluation of commercially available portable sensor systems for PM, NO2, and/or BC. The main aim of the study is to identify portable sensor systems that are capable of reliably quantifying dynamic exposure gradients in urban environments. After an initial literature and market study resulting in 39 sensor systems, 10 sensor systems were ultimately purchased and benchmarked under laboratory and real-word conditions. We evaluated the comparability to reference analyzers, sensor precision, and sensitivity towards environmental confounders (temperature, humidity, and O3). Moreover, we evaluated if the sensor accuracy can be improved by applying a lab or field calibration. Because the targeted application of the sensor systems under evaluation is mobile monitoring, we conducted a mobile field test in an urban environment to evaluate the GPS accuracy and potential impacts from vibrations on the resulting sensor signals. Results of the considered sensor systems indicate that out-of-the-box performance is relatively good for PM (R2 = 0.68–0.9, Uexp = 16–66%, BSU = 0.1–0.7 µg/m3) and BC (R2 = 0.82–0.83), but maturity of the tested NO2 sensors is still low (R2 = 0.38–0.55, Uexp = 111–614%) and additional efforts are needed in terms of signal noise and calibration, as proven by the performance after multilinear calibration (R2 = 0.75–0.83, Uexp = 37–44%)). The horizontal accuracy of the built-in GPS was generally good, achieving <10 m accuracy for all sensor systems. More accurate and dynamic exposure assessments in contemporary urban environments are crucial to study real-world exposure of individuals and the resulting impacts on potential health endpoints. A greater availability of mobile monitoring systems capable of quantifying urban pollutant gradients will further boost this line of research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Sensing Technologies for Environmental Monitoring and Detection)
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15 pages, 41773 KiB  
Article
Long-Range Imaging of Alpha Emitters Using Radioluminescence in Open Environments: Daytime and Night-Time Applications
by Lingteng Kong, Thomas Bligh Scott, John Charles Clifford Day and David Andrew Megson-Smith
Sensors 2024, 24(16), 5345; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24165345 - 18 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1132
Abstract
Alpha emitters like plutonium pose severe health risks when ingested, damaging DNA and potentially causing cancer. Traditional detection methods require proximity within millimeters of the contamination source, presenting safety risks and operational inefficiencies. Long-range detection through alpha radioluminescence (RL) offers a promising alternative. [...] Read more.
Alpha emitters like plutonium pose severe health risks when ingested, damaging DNA and potentially causing cancer. Traditional detection methods require proximity within millimeters of the contamination source, presenting safety risks and operational inefficiencies. Long-range detection through alpha radioluminescence (RL) offers a promising alternative. However, most of the previous experiments have been carried out under controlled conditions that preclude the overwhelming effect of ambient light. This study demonstrates the successful detection of a 3 MBq alpha emitter in an open environment using a compact alpha camera. This camera incorporates a deep-cooled CCD and a low f-number lens system designed to minimize the blue shift effects of filters. Night-time imaging was achieved with a dual-filter system using a sandwich filter assembly centered at 337 nm and 343 nm for capturing alpha RL and subtracting background light, respectively. At night, the alpha source was detected from 1 m away within one minute, and the lowest detection limit can be calculated as 75 kBq. The system was also evaluated under simulated urban lighting conditions. For daytime imaging, a stack of tilted 276 nm short pass filters minimized sunlight interference, enabling the detection of the alpha source at 70 cm within 10 min under indirect sunlight. This research highlights the viability of long-range optical detection of alpha emitters for environmental monitoring in real-world settings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Sensing Technologies for Environmental Monitoring and Detection)
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20 pages, 20632 KiB  
Article
An Iterative 3D Correction plus 2D Inversion Procedure to Remove 3D Effects from 2D ERT Data along Embankments
by Azadeh Hojat
Sensors 2024, 24(12), 3759; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24123759 - 9 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1093
Abstract
This paper addresses the problem of removing 3D effects as one of the most challenging problems related to 2D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) monitoring of embankment structures. When processing 2D ERT monitoring data measured along linear profiles, it is fundamental to estimate and [...] Read more.
This paper addresses the problem of removing 3D effects as one of the most challenging problems related to 2D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) monitoring of embankment structures. When processing 2D ERT monitoring data measured along linear profiles, it is fundamental to estimate and correct the distortions introduced by the non-uniform 3D geometry of the embankment. Here, I adopt an iterative 3D correction plus 2D inversion procedure to correct the 3D effects and I test the validity of the proposed algorithm using both synthetic and real data. The modelled embankment is inspired by a critical section of the Parma River levee in Colorno (PR), Italy, where a permanent ERT monitoring system has been in operation since November 2018. For each model of the embankment, reference synthetic data were produced in Res2dmod and Res3dmod for the corresponding 2D and 3D models. Using the reference synthetic data, reference 3D effects were calculated to be compared with 3D effects estimated by the proposed algorithm at each iteration. The results of the synthetic tests showed that even in the absence of a priori information, the proposed algorithm for correcting 3D effects converges rapidly to ideal corrections. Having validated the proposed algorithm through synthetic tests, the method was applied to the ERT monitoring data in the study site to remove 3D effects. Two real datasets from the study site, taken after dry and rainy periods, are discussed here. The results showed that 3D effects cause about ±50% changes in the inverted resistivity images for both periods. This is a critical artifact considering that the final objective of ERT monitoring data for such studies is to produce water content maps to be integrated in alarm systems for hydrogeological risk mitigation. The proposed algorithm to remove 3D effects is thus a rapid and validated solution to satisfy near-real-time data processing and to produce reliable results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Sensing Technologies for Environmental Monitoring and Detection)
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17 pages, 4598 KiB  
Article
Low-Cost Approach to an Instream Water Depth Sensor Construction Using Differential Pressure Sensors and Arduino Microcontrollers
by Reagan H. Pearce, Michael A. Chadwick, Bruce Main, Kris Chan, Carl D. Sayer and Ian R. Patmore
Sensors 2024, 24(8), 2488; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24082488 - 12 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1615
Abstract
Accurate hydrological data with high spatial resolution is important for flood risk and water resource management, particularly under the context of climate change. The cost of monitoring networks, as well as the characteristics of the hydrological environment itself, can be a barrier to [...] Read more.
Accurate hydrological data with high spatial resolution is important for flood risk and water resource management, particularly under the context of climate change. The cost of monitoring networks, as well as the characteristics of the hydrological environment itself, can be a barrier to meeting these data requirements, however. This study covers the design and testing of a low-cost, “build-it-yourself”, instream water depth sensor providing an assessment of its potential in future hydrological monitoring projects. The low-cost sensor was built using an Arduino microcontroller, a differential pressure sensor and a thermistor, a real-time clock, and an SD card module. The low-cost logger was deployed in tandem with a factory-calibrated Solinst®LevelLogger® 5 Junior for 6 months in the River Wissey, UK. We found the mean absolute error of the Arduino-based logger relative to the commercial setup to be ±0.69 cm for water depth and ±0.415 °C for water temperature. Economically, the Arduino-based logger offers an advantage, costing a total of £133.35 (USD 168.26 at time of publication) comparative to the industrial comparison’s cost of £408 (USD 514.83 at time of publication). This study concludes that the low cost of the Arduino-based logger gives a strong advantage to its incorporation in hydrological data collection, if the trade-offs (i.e., time investment and accuracy) are considered acceptable and appropriate for a project. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Sensing Technologies for Environmental Monitoring and Detection)
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