Ricerc@Sapienza

We describe the rationale, the design and development of an iOS framework to enhance the end user experience of car-related apps. The car framework fuses the smartphone sensors' raw data to detect user behaviour and car events, and provides relevant and timely information that an app can use to relief the user from manually inputting data and to foster implicit interaction. Thus, app developers can focus on user needs and UX rather than on code complexity. We show how detected events map common needs of car-related apps.

The many fundamental roto-vibrational resonances of chemical compounds result in strong absorption lines in the mid-infrared region (λ ∼ 2–20 μm). For this reason, mid-infrared spectroscopy plays a key role in label-free sensing, in particular, for chemical recognition, but often lacks the required sensitivity to probe small numbers of molecules. In this work, we propose a vibrational sensing scheme based on Bloch surface waves (BSWs) on 1D photonic crystals to increase the sensitivity of mid-infrared sensors. We report on the design and deposition of CaF2/ZnS 1D photonic crystals.

We report on hybrid inorganic/organic one-dimensional photonic crystal biochips sustaining Bloch surface waves. The biochips were used, together with an optical platform operating in a label-free and fluorescence configuration simultaneously, to detect the cancer biomarker Angiopoietin 2 in a protein base buffer. The hybrid photonic crystals embed in their geometry a thin functionalization poly-acrylic acid layer deposited by plasma polymerization, which is used to immobilize a monoclonal antibody for highly specific biological recognition.

We report on the use of an optical sensing platform based on Bloch surface waves sustained by one-dimensional photonic crystals as a novel optical tool to probe in real time the fluid flow at a boundarywall of a microfluidic channel under dynamic conditions. Understanding how fluid flow interacts withwall surfaces is crucial for a broad range of biological processes and engineering applications, such as sur-face wave biosensing. The proposed platform provides nanometric resolution with respect to the distancefrom the boundary wall sensor’s surface.

The advanced lead fast reactor European demonstrator (ALFRED) is a European research initiative into the framework of the Generation IV International Forum facilities. ALFRED is a scaled down reactor compared to the industrial prototype European lead fast reactor proposed in lead-cooled European advanced demonstration reactor. It has a relatively low power (125 MWe) with a compact design to reduce the cost but maintaining its representativeness and it is cooled by pure lead.

Nanotechnology has paved the way to innovative food packaging materials and analytical methods to provide the consumers with healthier food and to reduce the ecological footprint of the whole food chain. Combining antimicrobial and antifouling properties, thermal and mechanical protection, oxygen and moisture barrier, as well as to verify the actual quality of food, e.g., sensors to detect spoilage, bacterial growth, and to monitor incorrect storage conditions, or anticounterfeiting devices in food packages may extend the products shelf life and ensure higher quality of foods.

Bidirectional underwater acoustic communications usually request the transmission of some control information among nodes to govern the data flow. Control signaling, employed as frame reception validation, is also a peculiarity of the Automatic Repeat on reQuest (ARQ) schemes. An alternative solution to the error control problem is using forward error correction, even though high redundancy is needed to obtain the low error rate, hence leading to a sensible throughput reduction. Furthermore, no control on data integrity is allowed.

Solar radiation, generally referred to the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the Sun, constitutes one of the most critical risks for human exploration in space. Whereas on Earth such radiation is filtered for the shorter and highly hazardous wavelengths by the atmosphere and its ozone layer, in space solar radiation has profound and adverse effects on the structural and electronic components of spacecrafts, as well as on biological systems, if they are not properly shielded.

In this work, the fabrication and properties of ultraviolet-sensing films based on hybrid nanomaterials, containing graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) as signal transducer and DNA as UV-sensitive element, are investigated. The sensor components are prepared by sonication-driven non-covalent assembly and are embedded in a polymer matrix for enhanced adhesion on several types of space-grade materials and structures. We show that these nanomaterial sensing films can be used to monitor the effects of UV radiation exposure in real time.