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"IEEE Sensors Alert" is a pilot project of the IEEE Sensors Council. Started as one of its new initiatives, this weekly digest publishes teasers and condensed versions of our journal papers in layperson's language.
Articles Posted in the Month (October 2025)
Low Latency Visual Inertial Odometry With On-Sensor Accelerated Optical Flow for Resource-Constrained UAVs
Author: Kuhne Jonas, Benini Luca, Magno Michele
Published in: IEEE Sensors Journal (Volume: 25, Issue: 5, March 2025)
Summary Contributed by: Jonas Kühne (Author)
Visual-inertial odometry (VIO) is increasingly used for autonomous navigation in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This study introduces a low-latency VIO system that integrates an on-camera optical flow accelerator with an existing state-of-the-art VIO pipeline. Offloading motion tracking to the sensor itself significantly reduces computational load (53.7%), energy consumption (14.24%), and latency (49.4%). This approach maintains, and in some cases even improves, tracking accuracy, making it ideal for resource-constrained UAVs.
Published in: IEEE Sensors Journal (Volume: 25, Issue: 6, March 2025)
Summary Contributed by: Payal Savani
Sensors are the silent sentinels of technology, translating invisible changes into meaningful data. Among them, pH sensors are vital for monitoring hydrogen ion concentration in biomedical and environmental fields. The study explores a high-performance Extended-Gate Field-Effect Transistor (EGFET) based pH sensor, developed by modifying zinc oxide with phosphorene. It has boosted sensitivity from 51.0 to 62.5 mV/pH and lowered the drift rate from 1.428 to 0.714 mV/h.
Published in: IEEE Sensors Journal (Volume: 25, Issue: 5, March 2025)
Summary Contributed by: Gianluca Barile (Author)
The ease of fabrication and versatile use make capacitive sensors a popular choice. This work introduces a fully differential analogue read-out circuit for differential capacitive sensors, featuring an auto-balancing bridge with voltage-controlled capacitors (VCCs) and integral negative feedback. The interface achieved 102 mV/pF sensitivity, and a linearity error of 0.47%, with 8–11 ms dynamic response times. The design enhances sensitivity and linearity, reduces parasitic effects, and demonstrates strong potential for precision sensing.
The Implementation of Single VCII-Based RC Sinusoidal Oscillators: 28 Novel Configurations
Author: Barile Gianluca, Scarsella Massimo
Published in: IEEE Sensors Journal (Volume: 25, Issue: 5, March 2025)
Summary Contributed by: Gianluca Barile (Author)
The design of sinusoidal oscillators is a challenging research area. This work presents 28 novel, energy-efficient RC (Resistor-Capacitor) sinusoidal oscillators based on a single second-generation voltage conveyor (VCII). These designs significantly reduce component count compared to traditional operational amplifier circuits and operate in current-mode, enabling low power consumption without requiring an additional voltage output buffer. Experimental validation confirmed 16 configurations operating as expected, highlighting their potential for advanced sensor interfacing applications.
Design and Optimization of a Highly Sensitive Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor for Accurate Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Author: Mahmud Russel Reza, Barua Bobby, Islam M. Shariful, Mondal Tanu Prava, Rafi Shah Ali
Published in: IEEE Sensors Journal (Volume: 25, Issue: 6, March 2025)
Summary Contributed by: Russel Reza Mahmud (Author)
Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) has transformed medical diagnostics. This paper presents a highly sensitive SPR biosensor developed for the accurate detection of tuberculosis (TB) causing bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. By leveraging a novel hybrid structure incorporating black phosphorus and optimized material layers, the sensor achieved remarkable angular sensitivity, enabling rapid, label-free diagnosis with high precision. It can detect even trace amounts of bacteria, providing a powerful tool for faster and accurate TB screening.
Enhancement of Target Localization Based on Angle-of-Arrival Measurement via Quantum Sensor Networks
Author: Chai Hongzhou, Hui Jun
Published in: IEEE Sensors Journal (Volume: 25, Issue: 6, March 2025)
Summary Contributed by: Hongzhou Chai (Author)
With the advancement of quantum information technology, integrating quantum resources, such as entangled photons into traditional measurement fields can improve parameter estimation accuracy. This study introduces a novel quantum-enhanced angle-of-arrival (AoA) estimation method for evaluating the performance of a quantum sensing localization system. The work contributes to realizing quantum navigation and localization with drastically improved integrated accuracy, thereby refining its applications in radar, navigation, wireless communication, and target localization.
Published in: IEEE Sensors Journal (Volume: 25, Issue: 5, March 2025)
Summary Contributed by: Simone Benatti (Author)
Accurate hand motion modeling is important for intuitive human–machine interaction (HMI). This paper introduces an event-based high-density surface electromyography encoding method for multifinger force estimation, optimized for real-time, low-power microcontroller applications. Evaluated on the High-densitY Surface Electromyogram Recording (HYSER) dataset in realistic multiday settings, it showed competitive accuracy. With energy consumption under 6.5 μJ per sample and latency below 280 μs, it enables efficient, real-time regression for future wearable HMI applications.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) pose significant health risks, making the effective monitoring of these compounds essential. This article presents a novel, cost-effective chemoresistive sensor that uses citrate-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) deposited on cotton fabric for precise acetone (CH3COCH3) detection. Its impedance-based mechanism demonstrates high selectivity and strong reusability. This AuNP-Textile sensor offers a promising solution for portable, real-time VOC exposure assessment in applications ranging from health monitoring to environmental pollution.
A Multimatrix E-Nose With Optimal Multiranged AFE Circuit for Human Volatilome Fingerprinting
Author: Radogna Antonio Vincenzo, Capone Simonetta, D'Amico Stefano, Forleo Angiola, Grassi Giuseppe, Siciliano Pietro Aleardo
Published in: IEEE Sensors Journal (Volume: 25, Issue: 5, March 2025)
Summary Contributed by: Radogna Antonio Vincenzo (Author)
The human volatilome, a combination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in breath and bodily fluids, reflects overall health and can signal the early onset of disease. This study presents SPYROX, an electronic nose that converts VOC signatures into digital fingerprints. It features a multirange analog front-end (AFE) circuit with a multimatrix learning algorithm for adaptive sensitivity across diverse samples. SPYROX offers an accurate, non-invasive, portable solution for routine health screenings and diagnostics.
Published in: IEEE Sensors Journal (Volume: 25, Issue: 5, March 2025)
Summary Contributed by: Saurabh Dubey
Niobium-doped BZT-BCT thin films are emerging as a sustainable, high-performance alternative to the toxic lead zirconate titanate (PZT) for piezoelectric devices. Fabricated via a sol-gel process and optimized poling, these lead-free films exhibit enhanced dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties. With stable switching, improved resonance, and strong mechanical integrity, they demonstrate promise for MEMS devices, biomedical implants, and energy-harvesting applications, thus paving the way for eco-friendly piezoelectric technologies.
The recent COVID outbreaks highlighted the need for breathing rate monitoring and increased the demand for hospitalized patients. Monitoring breathing rate is vital for diagnosing diseases and observing patients with pulmonary conditions. The pros and cons of different techniques are studied and categorized under contact and remote modes of respiratory monitoring systems. Various Radar-based methods found to be more suitable for respiration monitoring are discussed.
After years of existence and research efforts, dielectric materials in non-contact bioelectrodes guarantee the hope and survival of patients with heart abnormalities. Without painful skin abrasion, cardiac monitoring devices could reliably ensure constant care and well-being of patients. The researchers provide invaluable insights into the influence of dielectric materials that could change the future of ECG monitoring systems.
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