Smart Antennas and Intelligent Sensors Based Systems: Enabling Technologies and Applications

open access articleThe growing communication and computing capabilities in the devices enlarge the connected world and improve the human life comfort level. The evolution of intelligent sensor networks and smart antennas has led to the development of smart devices and systems for real-time monitoring of various environments. The demand of smart antennas and intelligent sensors significantly increases when dealing with multiuser communication system that needs to be adaptive, especially in unknown adverse environment [1–3]. The smart antennas based arrays are capable of steering the main beam in any desired direction while placing nulls in the unwanted directions. Intelligent sensor networks integration with smart antennas will provide algorithms and interesting application to collect various data of environment to make intelligent decisions [4, 5]. The aim of this special issue is to provide an inclusive vision on the current research in the area of intelligent sensors and smart antenna based systems for enabling various applications and technologies. We cordially invite some researchers to contribute papers that discuss the issues arising in intelligent sensors and smart antenna based system. Hence, this special issue offers the state-of-the-art research in this field

Approaches to the use of sensor data to improve classroom experience

quipping classrooms with inexpensive sensors can enable students and teachers with the opportunity to interact with the classroom in a smart way. In this paper an approach to acquiring contextual data from a classroom environment, using inexpensive sensors, is presented. We present our approach to formalising the usage data. Further we demonstrate how the data was used to model specific room usage situation as cases in a Case-based reasoning (CBR) system. The room usage data was than integrated in a room recommendations system, reasoning on the formalised usage data. We also detail on our on-going work to integrating the systems presented in this paper into our Smart University vision

Architectural implications for context adaptive smart spaces

Buildings and spaces are complex entities containing complex social structures and interactions. A smart space is a composite of the users that inhabit it, the IT infrastructure that supports it, and the sensors and appliances that service it. Rather than separating the IT from the buildings and from the appliances that inhabit them and treating them as separate systems, pervasive computing combines them and allows them to interact. We outline a reactive context architecture that supports this vision of integrated smart spaces and explore some implications for building large-scale pervasive systems

Form Factor Improvement of Smart-Pixels for Vision Sensors through 3-D Vertically- Integrated Technologies

While conventional CMOS active pixel sensors embed only the circuitry required for photo-detection, pixel addressing and voltage buffering, smart pixels incorporate also circuitry for data processing, data storage and control of data interchange. This additional circuitry enables data processing be realized concurrently with the acquisition of images which is instrumental to reduce the number of data needed to carry to information contained into images. This way, more efficient vision systems can be built at the cost of larger pixel pitch. Vertically-integrated 3D technologies enable to keep the advnatges of smart pixels while improving the form factor of smart pixels.Office of Naval Research N000141110312Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación IPT-2011-1625-43000

A smart vision sensor for detecting risk factors of a toddler's fall in a home environment

This paper presents a smart vision sensor for detecting risk factors of a toddler's fall in an indoor home environment assisting parents' supervision to prevent fall injuries. We identified the risk factors by analyzing real fall injury stories and referring to a related organization's suggestions to prevent falls. In order to detect the risk factors using computer vision, two major image processing methods, clutter detection and toddler tracking, were studied with using only one commercial web-camera. For practical purposes, there is no need for a toddler to wear any sensors or markers. The algorithms for detection have been developed, implemented and tested

Optics-less smart sensors and a possible mechanism of cutaneous vision in nature

Optics-less cutaneous (skin) vision is not rare among living organisms, though its mechanisms and capabilities have not been thoroughly investigated. This paper demonstrates, using methods from statistical parameter estimation theory and numerical simulations, that an array of bare sensors with a natural cosine-law angular sensitivity arranged on a flat or curved surface has the ability to perform imaging tasks without any optics at all. The working principle of this type of optics-less sensor and the model developed here for determining sensor performance may be used to shed light upon possible mechanisms and capabilities of cutaneous vision in nature