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A polypyrrole-bismuth tungstate (Ppy-Bi2WO6) core-shell nanocomposite (n-type material) has been developed on a layered Ppy (p-type) base as an efficient light-capturing material exhibiting photodiode behavior. This device demonstrates promising sensitivity for light sensing and captures across a broad spectral range, from near IR to UV. The Bi2WO6/Ppy nanocomposite boasts an optimal bandgap of 2.0 eV, compared to 3.4 eV for Ppy and 2.5 eV for Bi2WO6. The crystalline size of the core-shell composite is approximately 21 nm, emphasizing its photon absorption capabilities. The composite particles, around 100 nm in length, feature a highly porous morphology that effectively traps incident photons. The performance of this optoelectronic device is evaluated using current density (J) measurements under light (Jph) and dark (Jo) conditions. In darkness, the n-p type semiconductor exhibits limited current with a Jo of −0.22 mA cm−2 at 2.0 V. When exposed to white light, the Ppy- Bi2WO6/Ppy device generates hot electrons, achieving a Jph value of 1.1 mA/cm−2 at 2.0 V. It shows a superior responsivity (R) of 6.6 mA/W at 340 nm, gradually decreasing to 6.3 mA/W at 440 nm and 4.2 mA/W at 540 nm, indicating high sensitivity across the UV-Vis spectrum. At 730 nm, the R-value is 2.6 mA/W, highlighting its sensitivity in the near IR region. Additionally, at 340 nm, the device achieves a detectivity (D) value of 0.15 × 10¹⁰ Jones, which decreases with longer wavelengths to 0.14 × 10¹⁰ Jones at 440 nm, 0.9 × 10⁹ Jones at 540 nm, and 0.63 × 10⁹ Jones at 730 nm. With its great stability, low cost, easy fabrication, and potential for mass production, this optoelectronic light sensor and photodiode device holds significant promise for industrial applications as a highly effective optoelectronic device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensor-related indoor localization has attracted considerable attention in recent years. The accuracy of conventional fingerprint solutions based on a single sensor, such as a Wi-Fi sensor, is affected by multipath interferences from other electronic devices that are produced as a result of complex indoor environments. Light sensors and magnetic (i.e., geomagnetic) field sensors can be used to enhance the accuracy of a system since they are less vulnerable to disturbances. In this paper, we propose a deep feedforward (DFF)-neural-network-based method, termed DFF-WGL, which integrates the data from the embedded Wi-Fi sensor, geomagnetic field sensor, and light sensor (WGL) in a smart device to localize the device in an indoor environment. DFF-WGL does not require complex and expensive auxiliary equipment, except for basic fluorescent lamps and low-density Wi-Fi signal coverage, conditions that are easily satisfied in modern offices or educational buildings. The proposed system was implemented on a commercial off-the-shelf android device, and performance was evaluated through an experimental analysis conducted in two different indoor testbeds, one measuring 60.5 m2 and the other measuring 38 m2, with 242 and 60 reference points, respectively. The results indicate that the model prediction with an input consisting of the combination of light, a magnetic field sensor, and two Wi-Fi RSS signals achieved mean localization errors of 0.01 m and 0.04 m in the two testbeds, respectively, compared with any subset of combination of sensors, verifying the effectiveness of the proposed DFF-WGL method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our daily lives, we engage in a variety of tasks that rely on our senses, such as seeing. Blindness is the absence of the sense of vision. According to the World Health Organization, 2.2 billion people worldwide suffer from various forms of vision impairment. Unfortunately, blind people face a variety of indoor and outdoor challenges on a daily basis, limiting their mobility and preventing them from engaging in other activities. Blind people are very vulnerable to a variety of hazards, including falls. Various barriers, such as stairs, can cause a fall. The Internet of Things (IoT) is used to track falls and send a warning message to the blind caretakers. One of the gaps in the previous works is that they were unable to differentiate between falls true and false. Treating false falls as true falls results in many false alarms being sent to the blind caretakers and thus, they may reject the IoT system. As a means of bridging this chasm, this paper proposes an intelligent shoe that is able to precisely distinguish between false and true falls based on three sensors, namely, the load scale sensor, the light sensor, and the Flex sensor. The proposed IoT system is tested in an indoor environment for various scenarios of falls using four models of machine learning. The results from our system showed an accuracy of 0.96%. Compared to the state-of-the-art, our system is simpler and more accurate since it avoids sending false alarms to the blind caretakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of plastic bottles has become a significant environmental concern, and recycling them has become a priority. Small and medium-sized recycling companies must collect and categorize large volumes of plastic bottles and sell them to larger recycling firms, a process that is time-consuming, costly, and labor-intensive. This manual sorting process can pose health risks, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and can affect worker productivity. To address these issues, this study proposes the development of an automated conveyor belt system that can rapidly and accurately separate plastic bottles by type. The system utilizes an opaque and transparent plastic bottle separation platform, which saves time, cost, and manpower. This system design provides recycling SMEs with a competitive advantage by serving as a practical application model and a prototype with an easy-to-use concept. Key tools employed in this research include product design development (PDD), Kansei engineering, manufacturing process design, controlling system, and fault tree analysis (FTA). The light sensors are critical components in the separation process, detecting the opacity or transparency of the bottles’ surfaces. The proposed prototype’s reliability will be assessed by FTA, which considers all potential failures. This study contributes to the body of knowledge surrounding the integration of conveyor systems and provides valuable information for businesses seeking to optimize their sorting processes. The guidelines developed in this study can serve as a starting point for further research on the integration of conveyors in waste sorting plants.

Abstract Background Studying the anti-predatory behavior of mammals represents an important challenge, especially for fossorial small mammals that hide in burrows. In the Arctic, such behaviors are critical to the survival of lemmings considering that predation risks are high every summer. Because detailed information about how lemmings use burrows as hideouts is still lacking, we developed a 1.59 g photosensitive collar to record any event of a small mammal moving between a dark area (e.g., burrow) and a bright area (e.g., outside the burrow). Tests of how collars affected lemming behavior were conducted in captivity in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, in November 2019 and field tests were conducted on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada, in August 2021. Results The device was made of two chemical batteries and a printed circuit board (PCB) equipped with a photosensor and a real-time clock that recorded amplitude transient thresholds of light (lux) continuously. In accordance with ethical use of such devices, we verified that no abnormal loss of body mass was observed in captive or free-ranging lemmings, and no difference in recapture rates were observed between those with and without a collar, though we could not test this for periods longer than 108 h. Measurements of light intensities revealed consistent patterns with high lux levels at mid-day and lowest during the night. Lemmings showed clearly defined behavioral patterns alternating between periods outside and inside burrows. Despite 24-h daylight in the middle of the summer, August nighttime (i.e., 11 PM to 4 AM) lux levels were insufficient for amplitude transient thresholds to be reached. Conclusion By taking advantage of the long periods of daylight in the Arctic, such technology is very promising as it sets new bases for passive recording of behavioral parameters and builds on the prospect of further miniaturization of batteries and PCBs.

Aging is a significant contributor to changes in sleep patterns, which has compounding consequences on cognitive health. A modifiable factor contributing to poor sleep is inadequate and/or mistimed light exposure. However, methods to reliably and continuously collect light levels long-term in the home, a necessity for informing clinical guidance, are not well established. We explored the feasibility and acceptability of remote deployment and the fidelity of long-term data collection for both light levels and sleep within participants' homes. The original TWLITE study utilized a whole-home tunable lighting system, while the current project is an observational study of the light environment already existing in the home. This was a longitudinal, observational, prospective pilot study involving light sensors remotely deployed in the homes of healthy adults (n = 16, mean age: 71.7 years, standard deviation: 5.0 years) who were co-enrolled in the existing Collaborative Aging (in Place) Research Using Technology (CART) sub-study within the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology (ORCATECH). For 12 weeks, light levels were recorded via light sensors (ActiWatch Spectrum), nightly sleep metrics were recorded via mattress-based sensors, and daily activity was recorded via wrist-based actigraphy. Feasibility and acceptability outcomes indicated that participants found the equipment easy to use and unobtrusive. This proof-of-concept, feasibility/acceptability study provides evidence that light sensors can be remotely deployed to assess relationships between light exposure and sleep among older adults, paving the way for measurement of light levels in future studies examining lighting interventions to improve sleep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although camera trapping has been effectively used for wildlife monitoring, its application to multihabitat insects (i.e., insects requiring terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems) is limited. Among such insects, perching dragonflies of the genus Sympetrum (darter dragonflies) are agroenvironmental indicators that substantially contribute to agricultural biodiversity. To examine whether custom-developed camera traps for perching dragonflies can be used to assess the relative population density of darter dragonflies, camera trapping, a line-transect survey of mature adult dragonflies, and a line-transect survey of exuviae were conducted for three years in rice paddy fields in Japan. The detection frequency of camera traps in autumn was significantly correlated with the density index of mature adults recorded during the transect surveys in the same season for both Sympetrum infuscatum and other darter species. In analyses of camera-detection frequency in autumn and exuviae in early summer, a significant correlation was observed between the camera-detection frequency of mature adults and the exuviae-density index in the following year for S. infuscatum; however, a similar correlation was not observed for other darter species. These results suggest that terrestrial camera trapping has the potential to be effective for monitoring the relative density of multihabitat users such as S. infuscatum, which shows frequent perching behavior and relatively short-distance dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a maxi dual axis solar tracker is proposed. This tracker is used to track the sun path within a day and during a year. The tracking system is composed of two parts: mechanical and electrical parts. The mechanical part is composed of panel carrier, panel carrier rotator according to horizontal/vertical axis, two actuators. The electrical part is composed of light sensor, microcontroller, relays. The light sensor receives an artificial light and sends a potential difference as an analog signal to microcontroller. The microcontroller converts the analog signal into a digital signal using ADC and sends it to relays. The relays activate the two actuators to orient the maxi solar PV into the artificial light with the purpose to produce maximum energy.

Phytochrome photoreceptors control plant growth, development, and the shade avoidance response that limits crop yield in high-density agricultural plantings. Cyanobacteriochromes (CBCRs) are distantly related photosensory proteins that control cyanobacterial metabolism and behavior in response to light. Photoreceptors in both families reversibly photoconvert between two photostates via photoisomerization of linear tetrapyrrole (bilin) chromophores. Spectroscopic and biochemical studies have demonstrated heterogeneity in both photostates, but the structural basis for such heterogeneity remains unclear. We report solution NMR structures for both photostates of the red/green CBCR NpR6012g4 from Nostoc punctiforme In addition to identifying structural changes accompanying photoconversion, these structures reveal structural heterogeneity for residues Trp655 and Asp657 in the red-absorbing NpR6012g4 dark state, yielding two distinct environments for the phycocyanobilin chromophore. We use site-directed mutagenesis and fluorescence and absorbance spectroscopy to assign an orange-absorbing population in the NpR6012g4 dark state to the minority configuration for Asp657. This population does not undergo full, productive photoconversion, as shown by time-resolved spectroscopy and absorption spectroscopy at cryogenic temperature. Our studies thus elucidate the spectral and photochemical consequences of structural heterogeneity in a member of the phytochrome superfamily, insights that should inform efforts to improve photochemical or fluorescence quantum yields in the phytochrome superfamily.

Copyright of Journal of Graduate School of Natural & Applied Sciences of Mehmet Akif Ersoy University / Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü Dergisi is the property of Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Studying the anti-predatory behavior of mammals represents an important challenge, especially for fossorial small mammals that hide in burrows. In the Arctic, such behaviors are critical to the survival of lemmings considering that predation risks are high every summer. Because detailed information about how lemmings use burrows as hideouts is still lacking, we developed a 1.59 g photosensitive collar to record any event of a small mammal moving between a dark area (e.g., burrow) and a bright area (e.g., outside the burrow). Tests of how collars affected lemming behavior were conducted in captivity in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, in November 2019 and field tests were conducted on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada, in August 2021. Results: The device was made of two chemical batteries and a printed circuit board (PCB) equipped with a photosensor and a real-time clock that recorded amplitude transient thresholds of light (lux) continuously. In accordance with ethical use of such devices, we verified that no abnormal loss of body mass was observed in captive or free-ranging lemmings, and no difference in recapture rates were observed between those with and without a collar, though we could not test this for periods longer than 108 h. Measurements of light intensities revealed consistent patterns with high lux levels at mid-day and lowest during the night. Lemmings showed clearly defined behavioral patterns alternating between periods outside and inside burrows. Despite 24-h daylight in the middle of the summer, August nighttime (i.e., 11 PM to 4 AM) lux levels were insufficient for amplitude transient thresholds to be reached. Conclusion: By taking advantage of the long periods of daylight in the Arctic, such technology is very promising as it sets new bases for passive recording of behavioral parameters and builds on the prospect of further miniaturization of batteries and PCBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, an energy-saving smart light controlling system has been proposed that can maintain the desired intensity of light in a room automatically. Unlike the conventional light controlling system, the proposed system splits a large room into several zones and analyzes the light intensity of each zone; hence, the controlling unit adjusts the light intensity to the desired level. The main controlling unit consists of a light sensor, a motion sensor, a relay with a driver unit, an LCD display, etc. for controlling light efficiently to reduce the power waste. The sensors measure the intensity of light, based on the standard light intensity data chart the controller units make a decision how many light bulbs are needed to be switched ON/OFF in a particular zone. Moreover, the system automatically switched-OFF all light bulbs when there is nobody in the room. Proteus design suite 8.0 is used to design and simulation of the proposed system. Moreover, the PCB layout is designed using ExpressPCB version 7.5.0. The proposed system is capable of minimizing the power loss by up to 44% in comparison to the conventional light management system.

In this report, we demonstrated an application of a thin film Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) as a light sensor integrated with an Android smartphone as a model of smart street lighting. BST thin films were fabricated using chemical solution deposition methods followed by spin coating with a variety of mole fractions. We assumed that changes in the lattice parameters of its tetragonal crystal structure caused by variations in the mole fraction result in different ions displacement characteristics that induce charges polarization in the crystal structure. We have confirmed that the BST thin film with mole fraction x = 0.500 was the best thin film for the light sensor in this prototype. Furthermore, it has been found that the smart street lighting gives ∼69.23 % power saving and lower power usage than a conventional street lighting. Additionally, this developed system has successfully reported the lamp status that is to be maintained to an Android phone of the maintainer by using a short message system. This self-reporting makes it easy for maintainer to identify broken lamps and to do repairs. Moreover, implementation of such features to the street lighting can reduce the operating cost.

This work reports on the synthesis of small molecular semiconductor 2-(1H-pyrrol-1-yl)-anthracene-9,10-dione (PAD) via wet chemical precipitation route method for its possible potential applications in sensors. Thin film characterization of the synthesized PAD is carried out by studying its surface morphology, bond dynamics, and optical properties. For studying sensing characteristics of the PAD, its 100 nm thick film is thermally deposited on pre-patterned silver (Ag) electrodes over glass substrate having ~45 µm inter-electrode gaps to prepare Ag/PAD/Ag sensor. The effects of humidity (%RH), temperature (T), and illumination of light (Ev) on the fabricated Ag/PAD/Ag sensor are studied by changing one of the three (%RH, T, and Ev) parameters at a time and measuring the corresponding variations in capacitance (C) and capacitive reactance (X) of the device. As C and X also depend on frequency, sensing properties of the Ag/PAD/Ag sensor are measured at two different frequencies (120 Hz and 1 kHz) to find the optimum sensitivity conditions. To investigate reproducibility and repeatability of Ag/PAD/Ag sensor, each measurement is taken several times and also hysteresis loops of %RH vs. C are plotted at 120 Hz and 1 kHz to find the percent errors in each cycle of measurements. The sensor is active to sense humidity, temperature, and illumination within a broad range, i.e., from 15–93%RH, 293–382 K, and 1500–20,000 lx, respectively. Other key parameters of the sensor i.e., the humidity response time (TRes) and recovery time (TRec), are measured, which are 5 and 7 s, respectively, whereas for light sensing the values of TRes and TRec are measured to be 3.8 and 2.6 s, respectively. The measured values of TRes and TRec for the fabricated Ag/PAD/Ag sensor are shorter and better as compared to those of previously reported for similar kind of small molecular based sensors. The sensing properties of Ag/PAD/Ag device exhibit the potential of PAD for humidity, temperature, and light sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultivation of mushrooms is not a simple task for traditional mushroom farmers, because the productivity of the mushroom farm depends on the ability to regulate the environment surrounding the mushroom farm. In addition, another problem for traditional mushroom farmers is that they cannot grow various types of mushrooms related to marketing. This research presents a mobile application for assisting mushroom farmers to understand the growing situation. The proposed mobile application called the easy mushroom application is based on the Internet of things (IoT) concept. The easy mushroom has been designed to analyse the humidity and light intensity relationship at a specific time. The experimental results show that the Easy-Mushroom mobile application provides a relationship between light intensity, humidity, and tolerance humidity level of mushroom.

A GPS sensor is the main part of the system in vehicle tracking applications. However, a GPS sensor becomes the limitation of low-cost vehicle tracking applications because a GPS sensor comes with the running cost of our vehicle tracking system. To solve this problem, this paper presents an IoT based concept to track a vehicle without a GPS sensor. To evaluate the proposed concepts, a light sensor and a vibration sensor have been compared to show the real-time data. The proposed algorithm shows that the vibration sensor provides a high accuracy more than a light sensor.

Smartphone sensors are gaining research interest due to continuous sensor upgrades, leading to more precise readings of these sensors. For this study, the light sensor of a smartphone was used in determining light transmittance during the phase inversion process of ultrafiltration polysulfone-membrane manufacturing. Membrane separation is one of the best available technologies when it comes to water and wastewater treatment. The purpose of this study was to correlate light transmittance, at certain demixing steps during phase inversion, with membrane porosity, pure water flux and cross-sectional SEM images. Results show close relation between light transmittance and the mentioned membrane properties.

At present, many are found in a hospital, the number of inpatients is not balanced with the number of medical staff, especially in the nursing service on duty 24 hours to monitor the patient's condition one by one. As a result of these limitations, the possibility of negligence of the guard officer is very possible, especially in monitoring the condition of infusion fluids in patients. In the task of monitoring the condition of the patient's intravenous fluids, nurses usually have to go back and forth and check the condition of the infusion manually at any time that has been previously estimated. On the basis of this reality, in this final assignment a monitoring system for intravenous fluids was made in real time and centrally that can control the infusion fluid volume of patients based on ATMEGA32 microcontroller with proportional-derivative control method and can provide information about the condition of the patient's actual infusion fluid to medical personnel or guard officers centrally using cables that reconnected and function as a means of communication between the microcontroller and the computer. This tool uses a light sensor to detect the height of the infusion fluid and convert it to liquid volume at ATMEGA 32. If the liquid reaches the minimum volume, then the information from the sensor running or detecting infusion fluid will be processed through a microcontroller and sent to a computer that functions as a monitor or LCD.

Exposure to bright light appears to be protective against myopia in both animals (chicks, monkeys) and children, but quantitative data on human light exposure are limited. In this study, we report on a technique for quantifying light exposure using wearable sensors. Twenty-seven young adult subjects wore a light sensor continuously for two weeks during one of three seasons, and also completed questionnaires about their visual activities. Light data were analyzed with respect to refractive error and season, and the objective sensor data were compared with subjects' estimates of time spent indoors and outdoors. Subjects' estimates of time spent indoors and outdoors were in poor agreement with durations reported by the sensor data. The results of questionnaire-based studies of light exposure should thus be interpreted with caution. The role of light in refractive error development should be investigated using multiple methods such as sensors to complement questionnaires.

Background: Light at night disrupts circadian rhythms, and circadian disruption is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Whether personal light exposure predicts diabetes risk has not been demonstrated in a large prospective cohort. We therefore assessed whether personal light exposure patterns predicted risk of incident type 2 diabetes in UK Biobank participants, using ∼13 million hours of light sensor data., Methods: Participants (N = 84,790, age (M ± SD) = 62.3 ± 7.9 years, 58% female) wore light sensors for one week, recording day and night light exposure. Circadian amplitude and phase were modeled from weekly light data. Incident type 2 diabetes was recorded (1997 cases; 7.9 ± 1.2 years follow-up; excluding diabetes cases prior to light-tracking). Risk of incident type 2 diabetes was assessed as a function of day and night light, circadian phase, and circadian amplitude, adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, and polygenic risk., Findings: Compared to people with dark nights (0-50th percentiles), diabetes risk was incrementally higher across brighter night light exposure percentiles (50-70th: multivariable-adjusted HR = 1.29 [1.14-1.46]; 70-90th: 1.39 [1.24-1.57]; and 90-100th: 1.53 [1.32-1.77]). Diabetes risk was higher in people with lower modeled circadian amplitude (aHR = 1.07 [1.03-1.10] per SD), and with early or late circadian phase (aHR range: 1.06-1.26). Night light and polygenic risk independently predicted higher diabetes risk. The difference in diabetes risk between people with bright and dark nights was similar to the difference between people with low and moderate genetic risk., Interpretation: Type 2 diabetes risk was higher in people exposed to brighter night light, and in people exposed to light patterns that may disrupt circadian rhythms. Avoidance of light at night could be a simple and cost-effective recommendation that mitigates risk of diabetes, even in those with high genetic risk., Funding: Australian Government Research Training Program., Competing Interests: AJKP and SWC have received research funding from Delos and Versalux. AJKP and SWC are co-directors of Circadian Health Innovations Pty Ltd. SWC has consulted for Dyson. SWC received research funding from Beacon Lighting. MKR has received consulting fees from Eli Lilly. DPW, ACB, CHCY, JML, QX, and RS declare no competing interests relevant to this manuscript., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Smartphone sensors are gaining research interest due to continuous sensor upgrades, leading to more precise readings of these sensors. For this study, the light sensor of a smartphone was used in determining light transmittance during the phase inversion process of ultrafiltration polysulfone-membrane manufacturing. Membrane separation is one of the best available technologies when it comes to water and wastewater treatment. The purpose of this study was to correlate light transmittance, at certain demixing steps during phase inversion, with membrane porosity, pure water flux and cross-sectional SEM images. Results show close relation between light transmittance and the mentioned membrane properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One critical point of dairy farm management is calving and neonatal first care. Timely calving assistance is associated with the reduction of calf mortality and postpartum uterine disease, and with improved fertility in dairy cattle. This study aimed to evaluate the performance and profitability of an intravaginal sensor for the prediction of stage II of labor in dairy farms, thus allowing proper calving assistance. Seventy-three late-gestating Italian Holstein cows were submitted to the insertion of an intravaginal device, equipped with light and temperature sensors, connected with a Central Unit for the commutation of a radio-signal into a cell phone alert. The remote calving alarm correctly identified the beginning of the expulsive phase of labor in 86.3% of the monitored cows. The mean interval from alarm to complete expulsion of the fetus was 71.56 ± 52.98 min, with a greater range in cows with dystocia (p = 0.012). The sensor worked correctly in both cold and warm weather conditions, and during day- or night-time. The intravaginal probe was well tolerated, as any cow showed lesions to the vaginal mucosa after calving. Using sex-sorted semen in heifers and beef bull semen in cows at their last lactation, the economic estimation performed through PrecisionTree™ software led to an income improvement of 119 € and 123 €/monitored delivery in primiparous and pluriparous cows, respectively. Remote calving alarm devices are key components of “precision farming” management and proven to improve animal welfare, to reduce calf losses and to increase farm incomes.

Sunlight incident on the Earth’s atmosphere is essential for life, and it is the driving force of a host of photo-chemical and environmental processes, such as the radiative heating of the atmosphere. We report the description and application of a physical methodology relative to how an ensemble of very low-cost sensors (with a total cost of R2> 0.99. Both the circuits used and the code have been made publicly available. By accurately calibrating the low-cost sensors, we are able to distribute a large number of low-cost sensors in a neighborhood scale area. It provides unprecedented spatial and temporal insights into the micro-scale variability of the wavelength resolved irradiance, which is relevant for air quality, environmental and agronomy applications.

We propose a novel approach to measure photosynthetically active radiation (PAR ) in the form of photosynthetic photon flux density with an inexpensive, small multi-channel spectrometer sensor, with integrated optical filters and analog-to-digital converter. Our experiments prove that the combination of eight spectral channels with different optical sensitivities, such as the sensorchip in use (AS7341, ams), derive the PAR with an accuracy of 14/m2/s. Enabled by the sensor architecture, additional information about the light quality can be retrieved which is expressed in the RLQI. A calibration method is proposed, and exemplary measurements are performed. Moreover, the integration in a solar-powered wireless sensor node is outlined, which enables long-term field experiments with high sensor densities and may be used to obtain important indexes, such as the GPP.

Two-dimensional materials, including molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), present promising sensing and detecting capabilities thanks to their extreme sensitivity to changes in the environment. Their reduced thickness also facilitates the electrostatic control of the channel and opens the door to flexible electronic applications. However, these materials still exhibit integration difficulties with complementary-MOS standardized processes and methods. The device reliability is compromised by gate insulator selection and the quality of the metal/semiconductor and semiconductor/insulator interfaces. Despite some improvements regarding mobility, hysteresis and Schottky barriers having been reported thanks to metal engineering, vertically stacked heterostructures with compatible thin-layers (such as hexagonal boron nitride or device encapsulation) variability is still an important constraint to sensor performance. In this work, we fabricated and extensively characterized the reliability of as-synthesized back-gated MoS2 transistors. Under atmospheric and room-temperature conditions, these devices present a wide electrical hysteresis (up to 5 volts) in their transfer characteristics. However, their performance is highly influenced by the temperature, light and pressure conditions. The singular signature in the time response of the devices points to adsorbates and contaminants inducing mobile charges and trapping/detrapping carrier phenomena as the mechanisms responsible for time-dependent current degradation. Far from being only a reliability issue, we demonstrated a method to exploit this device response to perform light, temperature and/or pressure sensors in as-synthesized devices. Two orders of magnitude drain current level differences were demonstrated by comparing device operation under light and dark conditions while a factor up to 105 is observed at vacuum versus atmospheric pressure environments.

Street maintenance and improvement are significant missions in ensuring transportation safety, especially at nighttime because the severity of injuries doubles at night. Driving visibility and road surface conditions are key factors behind nighttime traffic accidents, and they must be solved as a major priority. Having an exclusive report representing this issue becomes useful documentation for preparing an effective plan for repairing and upgrading a street at appropriate locations. However, road observations are mostly performed by humans, so reports are imprecise owing to the limitation of human cognition and documentation during observation at night. For this reason, the aim of this work is to create a visualization report for monitoring the risk on a street at nighttime. To achieve this goal, a light sensor for measuring brightness on the road, a gyro sensor and an accelerometer for detecting pavement defects, and a location sensor for marking the current latitude and longitude are placed in a car, and the data obtained are transferred to a cloud database while driving on the road. After that, all data are analyzed by machine learning techniques to identify some critical failures and report on map visualization. The result demonstrates that this approach can visualize the right defect at the correct location, and it will become an important contribution to transport safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytochrome photoreceptors control plant growth, development, and the shade avoidance response that limits crop yield in highdensity agricultural plantings. Cyanobacteriochromes (CBCRs) are distantly related photosensory proteins that control cyanobacterial metabolism and behavior in response to light. Photoreceptors in both families reversibly photoconvert between two photostates via photoisomerization of linear tetrapyrrole (bilin) chromophores. Spectroscopic and biochemical studies have demonstrated heterogeneity in both photostates, but the structural basis for such heterogeneity remains unclear. We report solution NMR structures for both photostates of the red/green CBCR NpR6012g4 from Nostoc punctiforme. In addition to identifying structural changes accompanying photoconversion, these structures reveal structural heterogeneity for residues Trp655 and Asp657 in the red-absorbing NpR6012g4 dark state, yielding two distinct environments for the phycocyanobilin chromophore. We use site-directed mutagenesis and fluorescence and absorbance spectroscopy to assign an orangeabsorbing population in the NpR6012g4 dark state to the minority configuration for Asp657. This population does not undergo full, productive photoconversion, as shown by time-resolved spectroscopy and absorption spectroscopy at cryogenic temperature. Our studies thus elucidate the spectral and photochemical consequences of structural heterogeneity in a member of the phytochrome superfamily, insights that should inform efforts to improve photochemical or fluorescence quantum yields in the phytochrome superfamily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryptochromes (CRYs) entrain the circadian clocks of plants and animals to light. Irradiation of the Drosophila cryptochrome (dCRY) causes reduction of an oxidized flavin cofactor by a chain of conserved tryptophan (Trp) residues. However, it is unclear how redox chemistry within the Trp chain couples to dCRY-mediated signaling. Here, we show that substitutions of four key Trp residues to redox-active tyrosine and redox-inactive phenylalanine tune the light sensitivity of dCRY photoreduction, conformational activation, cellular stability, and targeted degradation of the clock protein timeless (TIM). An essential surface Trp gates electron flow into the flavin cofactor, but can be relocated for enhanced photoactivation. Differential effects of Trp-mediated flavin photoreduction on cellular turnover of TIM and dCRY indicate that these activities are separated in time and space. Overall, the dCRY Trp chain has evolutionary importance for light sensing, and its manipulation has implications for optogenetic applications of CRYs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We successfully fabricated a planar nanocomposite film that uses a composite of silver nanoparticles and titanium dioxide film (Ag-TiO2) for ultraviolet (UV) and blue light detection and application in ozone gas sensor. Ultraviolet-visible spectra revealed that silver nanoparticles have a strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect. A strong redshift of the plasmonic peak when the silver nanoparticles covered the TiO2 thin film was observed. The value of conductivity change for the Ag-TiO2 composite is 4–8 times greater than that of TiO2 film under UV and blue light irradiation. The Ag-TiO2 nanocomposite film successfully sensed 100 ppb ozone. The gas response of the composite film increased by roughly six and four times under UV and blue light irradiation, respectively. We demonstrated that a Ag-TiO2 composite gas sensor can be used with visible light (blue). The planar composite significantly enhances photo catalysis. The composite films have practical application potential for wearable devices.

The interior space of large-scale buildings, such as hospitals, with a variety of departments, is so complicated that people may easily lose their way while visiting. Difficulties in wayfinding can cause stress, anxiety, frustration and safety issues to patients and families. An indoor navigation system including route planning and localization is utilized to guide people from one place to another. The localization of moving subjects is a critical-function component in an indoor navigation system. Pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) is a technology that is widely employed for localization due to the advantage of being independent of infrastructure. To improve the accuracy of the localization system, combining different technologies is one of the solutions. In this study, a multi-sensor fusion approach is proposed to improve the accuracy of the PDR system by utilizing a light sensor, Bluetooth and map information. These simple mechanisms are applied to deal with the issue of accumulative error by identifying edge and sub-edge information from both Bluetooth and the light sensor. Overall, the accumulative error of the proposed multi-sensor fusion approach is below 65 cm in different cases of light arrangement. Compared to inertial sensor-based PDR system, the proposed multi-sensor fusion approach can improve 90% of the localization accuracy in an environment with an appropriate density of ceiling-mounted lamps. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach can improve the localization accuracy by utilizing multi-sensor data and fulfill the feasibility requirements of localization in an indoor navigation system.

In this paper, a new wireless sensor, designed for a 0.35 μm CMOS technology, is presented. The microchip was designed to be placed on an object for the continuous remote monitoring of its temperature and illumination state. The temperature sensor is based on the temperature dependence of the I-V characteristics of bipolar transistors available in CMOS technology, while the illumination sensor is an integrated p-n junction photodiode. An on-chip 2.5 GHz transmitter, coupled to a mm-sized dipole radiating element fabricated on the same microchip and made in the top metal layer of the same die, sends the collected data wirelessly to a radio receiver using an On-Off Keying (OOK) modulation pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a fully integrated photodiode-based low-power and low-mismatch stimulator for a subretinal prosthesis. It is known that a subretinal prosthesis achieves 1600-pixel stimulators on a limited single-chip area that is implanted beneath the bipolar cell layer. However, the high-density pixels cause high power dissipation during stimulation and high fabrication costs because of special process technologies such as the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor CMOS image sensor process. In addition, the many residual charges arising from the high-density pixel stimulation have deleterious effects, such as tissue damage and electrode corrosion, on the retina tissue. In this work, we adopted a switched-capacitor current mirror technique for the single-pixel stimulator (SPStim) that enables low power consumption and low mismatch in the subretinal device. The customized P+/N-well photodiode used to sense the incident light in the SPStim also reduces the fabrication cost. The 64-pixel stimulators are fabricated in a standard 0.35-μm CMOS process along with a global digital controller, which occupies a chip area of 4.3 × 3.2 mm2 and are ex-vivo demonstrated using a dissected pig eyeball. According to measured results, the SPStim accomplishes a maximum biphasic pulse amplitude of 143 μA, which dissipates an average power of 167 μW in a stimulation period of 5 ms, and an average mismatch of 1.12 % between the cathodic and anodic pulses.

Rational design of optogenetic tools is inherently linked to the understanding of photoreceptor function. Structural analysis of elements involved in signal integration in individual sensor domains provides an initial idea of their mode of operation, but understanding how local structural rearrangements eventually affect signal transmission to output domains requires inclusion of the effector regions in the characterization. However, the dynamic nature of these assemblies renders their structural analysis challenging and therefore a combination of high- and low-resolution techniques is required to appreciate functional aspects of photoreceptors.This review focuses on the potential of Hydrogen-Deuterium exchange coupled to mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) for complementing the structural characterization of photoreceptors. In this respect, the ability of HDX-MS to provide information on the conformational dynamics and the possibility to address multiple functionally relevant states in solution render this methodology ideally suitable. We highlight recent examples demonstrating the potential of HDX-MS and discuss how these results can help to improve existing optogenetic systems or guide the design of novel optogenetic tools.

In the present study, investigations were conducted to analyse the possibility of using the Lego Mindstorms light and color sensors in agriculture. The appropriate design was made which consisting of these sensors and control units that provided the information on measured values. The changes in color of tomato fruit (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) during maturation process were registered by using the appropriate color and light sensors with the analysis of the possibility of monitoring fruit ripening process and registration of any pathological changes of color. The values measured by sensors are presented in a graphical form, providing an analogy between the results given by Lego Mindstorms color sensor and Lego Mindstorms light sensor. The reliability of sensor readings was analysed by consideration of width of range of the results, from the beginning to the end of the maturation process and comparation with results of the other studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in vehicle population in recent years have given rise to a number of global problems such as air pollution, blockage of roads, waste of fuel and time. These issues exist due to the congestion caused by vehicles while finding the parking slot especially in metropolitan cities. Even today, many of the existing parking systems provide a passive information to the drivers regarding the availability of parking slots. Currently, the sensors deployed for detecting the vehicle presence in parking facilities are not reliable and are expensive. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis on crucial aspects for designing a smart parking system such as sensor selection and optimal position for sensor deployment for accurate detection. Initially, two most common sensor, Light Dependable Resistor (LDR) sensor that works on shadow detection principal and Infra-Red (IR) sensor which works on object detection mechanism are used. The performance analysis of the accuracy for detection of vacant parking slots and vehicle detection under different conditions is presented. It is concluded that IR sensor outperforms LDR sensor in terms of it's accuracy in detecting the vacant parking slots and vehicle detection in different environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Le sujet que nous traitons dans cet article est une comparaison de l’énergie reçue par des panneaux solaires sur deux installations différentes. Nous réalisons deux supports de panneau solaire, l’un qui est mobile et capable de se tourner dans deux directions différentes, et l’autre qui est fixe et orienter dans un seul angle. Le travail englobe plusieurs domaines à savoir, la mécanique, l’électronique, la micro-informatique et l’électricité. Dans ce rapport, nous décrivons brièvement la partie mécanique. Par contre, la partie électronique et la micro-informatique seront détaillées. A Madagascar, le soleil passe beaucoup plus de temps au Nord durant l’année. Par conséquent, le support fixe est installé de façon que le panneau soit orienté au Nord avec un angle bien défini. Tandis que le support mobile est conçu pour orienter Est-Ouest et Nord-Sud ou vis-versa. Un module électronique s’impose pour gérer ce support mobile. Nous réalisons alors un circuit de contrôle, qui gère le système à support mobile de façon automatique et autonome, dont le coeur est un microcontrôleur Atmega81. Ce module est composé de plusieurs interfaces2 pour les capteurs de lumière, les capteurs de position et ainsi que le circuit de puissance pour les moteurs. Le pilotage est assuré par un programme bien approprié pour éviter un chevauchement entre les différentes parties du système mécanique. A partir de ces deux installations, nous effectuons des mesures de puissance que les panneaux solaires peuvent fournir.

Light sensors are increasingly used to monitor vegetation growing status by measuring reflectance or transmittance in multispectral or photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) bands. The measurements are then used to estimate vegetation indices or the fraction of absorbed PAR (FPAR) in a continuous and long-term manner and to serve as inputs to environmental monitoring and calibration/validation data for satellite remote sensing. However, light-sensor calibration is often overlooked or not properly attended to, which leads to difficulties when comparing the measurement results across sites and through time. In this paper, we investigate a practical and accurate user-level in situ calibration method in daylight. The calibration of a sensor pair is made for measuring either bihemispherical reflectance or hemispherical-conical reflectance, which are the two most common ground-based spectral measurements. Procedures and considerations are suggested for user calibration. We also provide a method for calibrating and measuring a single-sensor reflectance- derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from red and near-infrared bands. The calibration error propagation is analyzed, and the induced uncertainties in vegetation reflectance and in the NDVI are evaluated. The analysis and field measurements show that the NDVI estimated from a user calibration factor can be as accurate as, or even more accurate than, the manufacturer's calibration. The in situ calibration described here remedies the situation where reflectance for large field-of-view sensors cannot be always estimated from the manufacturer's calibration. The method developed in this paper may help improve the reliability of long-term field spectral measurements and contributes to the near-surface remote sensing of vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]