In the ever-evolving landscape of modern agriculture, the integration of advanced technologies has become indispensable for optimizing crop management and ensuring sustainable food production. This paper presents the development and implementation of a real-time AI-assisted push-broom hyperspectral system for plant identification. The push-broom hyperspectral technique, coupled with artificial intelligence, offers unprecedented detail and accuracy in crop monitoring. This paper details the design and construction of the spectrometer, including optical assembly and system integration. The real-time acquisition and classification system, utilizing an embedded computing solution, is also described. The calibration and resolution analysis demonstrates the accuracy of the system in capturing spectral data. As a test, the system was applied to the classification of plant leaves. The AI algorithm based on neural networks allows for the continuous analysis of hyperspectral data relative up to 720 ground positions at 50 fps.

The fluid–structure interactions between flexible fibres and viscous flows play an essential role in various biological phenomena, medical problems and industrial processes. Of particular interest is the case of particles transported freely in time-dependent flows. This work elucidates the dynamics and morphologies of actin filaments under oscillatory shear flows by combining microfluidic experiments, numerical simulations and theoretical modelling. Our work reveals that, in contrast to steady shear flows, in which small orientational fluctuations from a flow-aligned state initiate tumbling and deformations, the periodic flow reversal allows the filament to explore many different configurations at the beginning of each cycle. Investigation of filament motion during half time periods of oscillation highlights the critical role of the initial filament orientation on the emergent dynamics. This strong coupling between orientation and deformation results in new deformation regimes and novel higher-order buckling modes absent in steady shear flows. The primary outcome of our analysis is the possibility of suppression of buckling instabilities for certain combinations of the oscillation frequency and initial filament orientation, even in very strong flows. We explain this unusual behaviour through a weakly nonlinear Landau theory of buckling, in which we treat the filaments as inextensible Brownian Euler–Bernoulli rods whose hydrodynamics is described by local slender-body theory.

Poly(lactic) acid (PLA) is a bio-compatible polymer widely used in additive manufacturing, and in the form of cellular foam it shows excellent mechanical and piezoelectric properties. This type of structure can be easily 3D-printed by Fusion Deposition Modelling (FDM) with commercially available composite filaments. In this work, we present mechanical and electrical investigations on 3D-printed low-cost and eco-friendly foamed PLA. The cellular microstructure and the foaming degree were tuned by varying extrusion temperature and flowrate. The maximum surface potential and charge stability of disk samples were found in correspondence of extrusion temperature between 230 and 240 °C with a flowrate of 53–44% when charging on a heated bed at 85 °C. The cells’ morphology and correlated mechanical properties were analyzed and the measured piezoelectric $d_{33}$ coefficient was found to be 212 pC/N. These findings show the importance of printing parameters and thermal treatment during the charging process in order to obtain the highest charge storage, stability and material flexibility. These results suggest that 3D-printed cellular PLA is a promising sustainable material for sensing and energy-harvesting applications.

The need for sustainable and long-term environmental monitoring has driven the development of energy-autonomous sensors, which either operate passively or integrate energy harvesting (EH) solutions. In many applications, the energy cost of data transmission is a critical factor in autonomous sensing systems. To address this challenge, optical passive sensors, which exploit changes in reflectivity to monitor physical parameters, offer self-sustained operation without requiring an external power source. Similarly, RF-based passive sensors, both chipless and with minimal circuitry, enable wireless monitoring with low power consumption. When more energy is available, EH techniques can be combined with active optical sensors. Infrared laser-based CO₂ sensors, as well as drone-mounted optical systems, demonstrate how EH can power precise environmental measurements. Beyond optics, other sensing modalities also benefit from EH, further expanding the range of self-powered environmental monitoring technologies. This review discusses the trade-offs between passive and EH-assisted sensing strategies, with a focus on optical implementations. The outlook highlights emerging solutions to enhance sensor autonomy while minimizing the energy cost of data transmission, paving the way for sustainable and scalable environmental monitoring.

Brillouin microscopy is revolutionizing bioimaging by enabling noninvasive, label-free mapping of the microscale mechanical properties of biological samples. However, the lack of a robust physical model to disentangle the significant influence of refractive index, density, and, most critically, water content on the Brillouin signal limits its applicability and widespread adoption in complex heterogeneous materials. To address this limitation, a novel Brillouin–Raman correlative microscopy approach is proposed and demonstrated on single cells. In particular, the effects of paraformaldehyde fixation on the morphological, mechanical, and chemical properties of HEK293T cells were investigated. Following fixation, an unexpected decrease in stiffness was observed, accompanied by compositional changes detected via Raman spectroscopy. By modeling cells as biphasic systems, consisting of water and dry mass, the hydration could be decoupled from the stiffness measurements. This approach represents a significant advance in biomechanical analysis, enabling the reliable interpretation of Brillouin data and facilitating the three-dimensional micromechanical characterization of biological materials. Furthermore, it has wide-ranging potential applications in biological research, particularly in contexts where hydration plays a fundamental role, paving the way for novel insights into the diagnosis and analysis of biomedical samples.

Brillouin spectroscopy has recently attracted attention as a powerful tool for the characterization of the mechanical properties of heterogeneous materials, particularly in the biological and biomedical domains. This study investigates the procedure to use Brillouin data to provide relevant morphological parameters of micro-structured samples. When acquiring Brillouin spectra at the interface between two regions of the sample, the spectrum shows signatures of both regions. This feature can be used to precisely identify the position of the interfaces by analyzing the evolution of the fitting parameters of the Brillouin spectra acquired by performing a linear scan across the interface. This concept has been demonstrated by measuring the thickness of adherent HEK293T cells. The results are validated using fluorescence microscopy, showing an excellent agreement. The present analysis showcases the wealth of information present in the Brillouin spectrum and the potentiality of Brillouin spectroscopy not only for mechanical characterization but also for label-free, high-resolution imaging of sample morphology. The study introduces the possibility of correlating mechanical properties and shape of biological samples using a single technique.