Investigation into strategies for harvesting chemical based information using digital imaging and infra-red sensors for environmental and health applications
Fay, CormacORCID: 0000-0001-9104-5527
(2013)
Investigation into strategies for harvesting chemical based information using digital imaging and infra-red sensors for environmental and health applications.
PhD thesis, Dublin City University.
Chemical sensing offers a gateway into the complex world of molecular based information. Sensing strategies are paramount in achieving this outside the confines of
restrictive laboratory settings. Two key strategies are adopted in this work, which
are generically applicable across multiple applicable areas.
This work initially focused on the application of networked sensors for monitoring
greenhouse gas emissions from landfill sites at a sampling rate of 4/day. The findings
of this study showed that the existing practice of sampling (4/year) is inadequate
for detecting emission breaches and offers more information towards understanding
landfill dynamics.
Digital imaging may offer a lower cost alternative to the current sensing model
due to the recent pervasive nature of technologies such as mobile phones. However,
chemical sensing employing this technology remains largely unexplored. This study
examines the potential of this new area of chemical sensing using several exemplar
platforms. Firstly, a mobile sensing robotic fish is used to patrol a water body
detecting chemical contaminants en-route. Secondly, imaging of wearable colourresponsive sensors is explored as a means to monitor the pH of an athlete’s sweat
in real time. Finally, analysis of chemical gradients along microfluidic channels is
evaluated through digital imaging of chemo-responsive films.
Metadata
Item Type:
Thesis (PhD)
Date of Award:
November 2013
Refereed:
No
Supervisor(s):
Corcoran, Brian, Diamond, Dermot and O'Connor, Noel E.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
Chemical sensing; Networked sensors; Environmental monitoring