SensorsPub Date : 2026-10-02DOI: 10.3390/s26196253
Rafal Szczepanski, Erfu Yang
{"title":"Advances in Sensing, Control and Path Planning for Robotic Systems.","authors":"Rafal Szczepanski, Erfu Yang","doi":"10.3390/s26196253","DOIUrl":"10.3390/s26196253","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Robotic systems are increasingly expected to operate autonomously, safely, and efficiently in dynamic and uncertain environments [...].</p>","PeriodicalId":21698,"journal":{"name":"Sensors","volume":"26 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13667463/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"MultiNet: Improving Gaze Estimation via Face-to-Camera Distance and Multi-Branch Learning.","authors":"Nikita Ligostaev, Nicola Conci, Roberto Passerone, Andrey Somov","doi":"10.3390/s26196265","DOIUrl":"10.3390/s26196265","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We present MultiNet, a multi-branch pipeline that directly predicts the gaze vector or the point of gaze from multiple modalities derived from a single camera capture. In particular, we address the under-explored use of metric face-to-camera distance estimated from a conventional RGB web camera for appearance-based gaze estimation, in contrast to many distance-aware alternatives which require depth sensors, stereo rigs, or additional hardware. The proposed method employs a convolutional neural network (CNN) with attentional feature fusion and integrates cropped face images, left and right eye patches, head-pose information, and estimated camera-to-face distance. We also introduce NLGaze, a 141,000-image dataset collected for unconstrained and natural desktop settings, thereby emphasizing real-world applicability. In a person-specific real-time evaluation, MultiNet-Base reaches a root mean square error (RMSE) of 43.01 pixels at 15 frames per second (FPS) on a desktop with an off-the-shelf web-camera. We evaluate the proposed method against representative state-of-the-art solutions on benchmark datasets. MultiNet achieves angular errors of 2.94°, 7.47°, and 7.58° at best on the MPIIFaceGaze, Gaze360, and NLGaze datasets, respectively, demonstrating competitive or superior performance in appearance-based gaze estimation. The results of the ablation study show that the attentional feature fusion mechanism and the addition of the estimated distance input to the set of input modalities result in significant angular error reduction.</p>","PeriodicalId":21698,"journal":{"name":"Sensors","volume":"26 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13667471/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SensorsPub Date : 2026-10-02DOI: 10.3390/s26196257
Mehmet Erkan Yuksel
{"title":"Gateway-Driven Hybrid Adaptive Power Management for Energy-Harvesting LPWAN IoT Nodes Using Fuzzy Logic.","authors":"Mehmet Erkan Yuksel","doi":"10.3390/s26196257","DOIUrl":"10.3390/s26196257","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN)-based Internet of Things (IoT) deployments require energy management strategies that adapt to dynamic operating conditions without increasing the processing burden on energy-harvesting nodes. These nodes must coordinate data reporting with mandatory local services within a finite energy budget. Conventional fixed duty-cycling and synchronization policies do not jointly account for node energy availability, network traffic, and environmental factors influencing energy harvesting. This study presents hybrid adaptive power management (HA-PM), a framework combining gateway-based reporting-period adaptation with node-side scheduling and power-mode selection. A gateway fuzzy logic controller (FLC) evaluates supercapacitor state of charge (SoC), network traffic, and weather/control context to adjust the reporting period. The node selects the feasible plan with the lowest estimated total node energy from a finite catalog, subject to mandatory service and timing requirements. The reporting period specifies data-reporting requirements, while the local schedule determines available low-power intervals. Simulations compare HA-PM with fixed-period baselines across representative deployment, workload, harvesting, and adverse-condition scenarios. Results indicate that HA-PM reduces communication-related energy consumption, increases low-power-mode residency, and improves supercapacitor-level operational continuity under the evaluated conditions. Stress tests further demonstrate adaptive responses to adverse harvesting and traffic scenarios. These findings support HA-PM as a practical, context-aware energy management strategy for energy-harvesting LPWAN IoT applications, although the reported results are contingent on the specified simulation models, parameters, and operating scenarios.</p>","PeriodicalId":21698,"journal":{"name":"Sensors","volume":"26 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13667690/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SensorsPub Date : 2026-10-02DOI: 10.3390/s26196269
Valerii Chepizhenko, Svitlana Pavlova, Fuzhong Li
{"title":"Synergetic Control Framework for Autonomous UAV Swarm Coordination.","authors":"Valerii Chepizhenko, Svitlana Pavlova, Fuzhong Li","doi":"10.3390/s26196269","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/s26196269","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study presents a synergetic control approach for coordinating the motion of a UAV swarm based on self-organization principles and energy potential interactions. The proposed method effectively addresses the known limitations of traditional potential field techniques by introducing a procedure for synthesizing the synergetic control of swarm motion using a virtual force field with symmetric attraction and repulsion functions. A Lyapunov/LaSalle stability analysis and a geometric safety radius argument show that this keeps the swarm's motion conflict-free, subject to the platform's kinematic constraints, and supports stable formation maintenance. Damping terms are incorporated into the equations of motion to eliminate self-oscillations and, via an energy (Lyapunov) argument, we show that the resulting system converges to the critical point set of the total interaction potential. A synergetic controller based on virtual pendulum meters is introduced to prevent stagnation. A specialized mathematical framework is developed to mitigate the curse of dimensionality, as confirmed through simulations, although the per-step computational cost scales approximately quadratically with swarm size. The swarm formation time increases sublinearly with the number of UAVs, highlighting the approach's scalability. A swarm self-organization modeling study reveals three characteristic phases: namely, chaotic motions, transitional reconfiguration, and ordered swarm behavior. The formation process corresponds to a gradual minimization of inter-UAV interaction energy, while stable collective motion is achieved by maintaining a constant polarization of vehicle heading angles. Through simulations, parameter ranges that provide optimal synergetic properties during swarm formation and coordinated movement are identified. The findings are further illustrated, as a proof of concept, through real-world experimental tests of swarm control.</p>","PeriodicalId":21698,"journal":{"name":"Sensors","volume":"26 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Standardized Short-Wave Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging for Non-Destructive Spectral Comparison of Coin Denominations, Design Variants, and Surface-Use Conditions.","authors":"Hsin-Che Wang, Kuo-Chih Su, Yi-Jing Sheen, Chiu-Chin Sung, Min-Yi Chou, Kuan-Jung Pan, Hsian-Min Chen","doi":"10.3390/s26196264","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/s26196264","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Coins contain multiple types of information, including denomination, design variant, year of issue, and surface condition. This study established a standardized 900-1700 nm short-wave infrared hyperspectral imaging (SWIR-HSI) workflow for controlled and non-destructive spectral comparison of metallic coins. Twenty-five independent New Taiwan dollar (NT$10) coins were used to evaluate imaging position, coin side, and aperture setting. At position 13 on the reverse side, the mean spectral standard deviations were 0.192, 0.142, and 0.151 for F1.8, F2.8, and F4, respectively, and F2.8 was selected for subsequent measurements. Using the same NT$10 coin, support-material and in-plane rotation experiments produced spectral angle mapper (SAM) ranges of 0.232-1.087 and 0.132-0.581, respectively. Under the standardized conditions, the SAM value between one new and one circulated NT$10 coin was 0.729. Pairwise SAM values ranged from 0.260 to 1.680 among eight NT$10 design variants and from 0.458 to 2.449 among six denomination or special-year samples. An initial repeatability evaluation under the current experimental conditions, using three additional NT$10 coins and 24 acquisitions, yielded mean SAM values of 0.2450°, 0.6368°, and 0.3323° for repositioning, inter-day, and inter-operator comparisons, respectively, with an overall median spectral CV of 0.83%. These results quantitatively demonstrate that acquisition conditions affect SWIR spectral measurement and that selected coin samples exhibit measurable spectral differences under controlled conditions. The present study focuses on acquisition standardization and descriptive spectral comparison and does not establish validated coin classification, material identification, or surface-condition assessment.</p>","PeriodicalId":21698,"journal":{"name":"Sensors","volume":"26 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SensorsPub Date : 2026-10-02DOI: 10.3390/s26196255
Jakub Chylek, Michal Gryga, Dalibor Ciprian, Petr Hlubina
{"title":"A Metal-Dielectric Photonic Crystal and Its Phase Response Utilized in an Ultra-High-Performance Humidity Sensor.","authors":"Jakub Chylek, Michal Gryga, Dalibor Ciprian, Petr Hlubina","doi":"10.3390/s26196255","DOIUrl":"10.3390/s26196255","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Metal-dielectric photonic crystals (MDPhCs) generating Bloch-like surface waves (BLSWs) are accompanied by narrow resonance dips and sensitivities to gaseous analytes outperforming the BSW-based sensors. In this theoretical paper, we report on a sensing concept based on the phase interrogation and BLSWs supported by an MDPhC in the Kretschmann configuration when the sensing characteristics are substantially improved. For an MDPhC comprising two bilayers of TiO<sub>2</sub>/Ag with a termination layer of TiO<sub>2</sub>, we show that the BLSW-based phase response is characterized by a steep and abrupt phase difference between the TM and TE waves. It was revealed that for the refractive index (RI) change in a range of 1.0002727-1.0003751 RI units (RIU) or, equivalently, for a relative humidity (RH) change in air in a range of 0-100 %RH, the sensitivities to the RI and RH are up to 70 μm/RIU and 0.072 nm/%RH, respectively, and the figures of merit (FOMs) are up to 700,000 RIU<sup>-1</sup> and 0.717 %RH<sup>-1</sup>, respectively. In addition, the limits of detection (LODs) reach 1.4 × 10<sup>-7</sup> RIU and 0.14 %RH, respectively. We also evaluated the phase difference at specific wavelengths, and the phase sensitivities to the RI and RH at a wavelength of 1637.92 nm are as high as 4.7 × 10<sup>7</sup> deg/RIU and 47.7 deg/%RH, respectively. The corresponding LODs are as low as 2.1 × 10<sup>-10</sup> RIU and 2.1 × 10<sup>-4</sup> %RH, respectively. This research demonstrates that the BLSW-based sensors employing MDPhCs and utilizing the phase interrogation exhibit outstanding sensing characteristics, and they can be used in a simple, ultra-high-performance humidity sensing.</p>","PeriodicalId":21698,"journal":{"name":"Sensors","volume":"26 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13667448/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SensorsPub Date : 2026-10-02DOI: 10.3390/s26196261
Jaromir Gajewski, Jerzy Łopatka
{"title":"A Hybrid Raytracing and Deep Learning-Based Approach for Single-Site Localization of Radio Emitters in Urban Environment.","authors":"Jaromir Gajewski, Jerzy Łopatka","doi":"10.3390/s26196261","DOIUrl":"10.3390/s26196261","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Efficient passive radio monitoring in dense urban areas is obstructed by multipath propagation and NLOS conditions, causing conventional single-site localization methods to suffer from compounding geometric errors and sparse data availability. To address these limitations, this paper introduces a novel hybrid framework that fuses physics-based wave propagation geometry with data-driven machine learning. The proposed methodology utilizes an advanced, Circulant Modified MUSIC (CM-MUSIC) algorithm to reliably resolve highly correlated wave components on a 5-element Uniform Circular Arrays (UCA) antenna. The extracted directional inputs are processed via a backward raytracing engine to generate a continuous spatial likelihood map, which is then filtered by a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) trained as a sector semantic mask. Empirical field validation using a low-cost Software Defined Radio (SDR) platform capturing analog FM transmissions demonstrated high tracking precision and robust noise immunity under severe spatial constraints, while an ideal sector-classification scenario analysis confirmed that the proposed framework closely converges to the theoretical accuracy limits of the geometric model. This framework provides a scalable, highly cost-effective, and hardware-preserving single-site solution for modern civilian radio spectrum regulatory enforcement.</p>","PeriodicalId":21698,"journal":{"name":"Sensors","volume":"26 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13667486/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SensorsPub Date : 2026-10-02DOI: 10.3390/s26196258
Eleni Lamprou, Dimitrios Papakyriakou, Despina P Kalogianni
{"title":"Advances in Urinary Liquid Biopsy: A Review of Emerging Sensing Platforms for Early Cancer Screening and Diagnosis.","authors":"Eleni Lamprou, Dimitrios Papakyriakou, Despina P Kalogianni","doi":"10.3390/s26196258","DOIUrl":"10.3390/s26196258","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Early screening of many types of cancers remains limited by the invasiveness of gold-standard tissue biopsies and the poor specificity of traditional clinical biomarkers like prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Non-invasive liquid biopsies are the emerging alternatives. Urine is one of the preferred body fluids for liquid biopsy as it offers a rich, easily accessible and large-volume source of cancer-specific metabolites, proteins, nucleic acids, extracellular vesicles, and cancer cells. This review reports the recent advancements in urinary cancer (bio)sensing technologies, including mainly optical and electrochemical platforms. To overcome the low specificity and detectability of the existing systems, novel nanomaterials, such as metal-organic frameworks, carbon dots, metal nanoparticles, and molecularly imprinted polymers, that offer increased surface area, cost-effectiveness and enzyme-free platforms, as well as accelerated electron transfer, were introduced to provide lower detection limits to the femtomolar and attomolar levels. Additionally, the integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence for biochemical \"fingerprint\" analysis enhanced diagnostic accuracy. Finally, we discuss the gap between novel sensing systems and robust diagnostic devices for decentralized point-of-care testing (POCT) and personalized medicine in clinical routine.</p>","PeriodicalId":21698,"journal":{"name":"Sensors","volume":"26 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13667545/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SensorsPub Date : 2026-10-02DOI: 10.3390/s26196260
Jianju Ren, Yuxuan Li, Xinpeng Yan, Bao Zhang, Wenlong Zhang
{"title":"Preliminary Experimental Study on the Cross-Specimen Borehole Applicability of Identical Rock-Mass Characteristics Using Built-In Multi-Sensor MWD Monitoring for a Roof Bolter.","authors":"Jianju Ren, Yuxuan Li, Xinpeng Yan, Bao Zhang, Wenlong Zhang","doi":"10.3390/s26196260","DOIUrl":"10.3390/s26196260","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Built-in multi-sensor measurement-while-drilling (MWD) modules on roof bolters can record torque, thrust, rotational speed, and displacement during drilling. This study examines whether identical rock types produce consistent MWD responses when tested through different boreholes in separate composite specimens. Three laboratory-scale composite specimens containing yellow sandstone (YS), dark-colored red sandstone (DCRS), and light-colored red sandstone (LCRS) were drilled with the same integrated rig, and the sensor responses and specific energy were compared using descriptive distributions, mean values, and relative differences. The results descriptively indicate that torque and thrust respond more clearly to lithological changes than rotational speed, while torque is generally the most stable indicator. Under nominally identical lithological conditions, responses varied across boreholes in separate composite specimens, with reported relative differences reaching approximately 30% in some comparisons. Because one borehole was drilled per specimen, this preliminary study identifies a cross-specimen reproducibility limitation only; it does not estimate within-rock-mass variability or validate a transferable prediction model. The practical implication is limited to showing that single-borehole formulas should not be transferred without calibration, while normalization, hierarchical modeling, and larger multi-borehole validation remain future research directions.</p>","PeriodicalId":21698,"journal":{"name":"Sensors","volume":"26 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13667595/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SensorsPub Date : 2026-10-02DOI: 10.3390/s26196263
Jin-Young Rim, Eo-Jin Jeon, Chang-Yull Lee
{"title":"Resistance Temperature Detector for INHA RoSAT Rollable Solar Panel Using Electrohydrodynamic Inkjet Printing.","authors":"Jin-Young Rim, Eo-Jin Jeon, Chang-Yull Lee","doi":"10.3390/s26196263","DOIUrl":"10.3390/s26196263","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rollable solar panels can increase the available photovoltaic area of CubeSats, but their flexible structure requires a flexible sensor for monitoring surface temperature during operation. In this study, an Ag-based flexible resistance temperature detector (RTD) was fabricated by electrohydrodynamic (EHD) inkjet printing for the rollable solar panel of the 3U CubeSat INHA RoSAT. The sensor was formed on a polyimide (PI) substrate and protected with a PI coating. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis were used to assess the imidization, residual solvent removal, and thermal stability of the coating. The sensor was then evaluated through an eight-cycle thermal cycling test from -25 to 125 °C, tailored with reference to MIL-STD-1540. The coating, heat-treated up to 250 °C, showed clear imide formation and no notable mass loss below 500 °C. During thermal cycling, the sensor exhibited stable resistance behavior with a drift rate of 0.032%/h. The derived calibration equation yielded a mean absolute error of 1.44 °C, while the temperature coefficient of resistance and hysteresis were 0.269%/°C and 1.2% of full-scale output (FSO), respectively. These results support the feasibility of the sensor for integration with rollable solar panels and future on-orbit temperature estimation.</p>","PeriodicalId":21698,"journal":{"name":"Sensors","volume":"26 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13667520/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}