Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42451265›Full record

ArticleSensors (Basel, Switzerland)2026

A Smart, Cost-Effective Programmable Gas Flowmeter Retrofitted from a Glass Rotameter.

Xingcai Qin, Qi Cao, Zhiyuan Yuan, Yifan Hao, Sen Liu, Lianhui Wang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Xingcai QinKey Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China.ORCID 0000-0002-5969-4057
Qi CaoKey Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China.
Zhiyuan YuanKey Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China.
Yifan HaoKey Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China.
Sen LiuKey Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China.
Lianhui WangKey Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 22175097
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Programmable gas flowmeters with remote reading and control are increasingly needed in the era of automation and AI. However, commercially available options remain expensive, hindering their adoption. We therefore developed a cost-effective programmable flowmeter as a compact device based on a low-cost glass rotameter. This system consists of a reading unit (webcam + rotameter), a control unit (development board + stepper motor-actuated valve) using an open-loop pre-calibrated step-to-flow matrix, and a terminal interface. The side-view imaging of the glass rotameter avoids occlusion of the rotor by the scale, enabling reliable rotor identification using well-established algorithms. The flow rate is derived by mapping the normalized rotor position to the scale instead of recognizing the scale markings or numerals. Two terminal configurations are offered: USB-connected (PC + MATLAB) and embedded (Raspberry Pi + Python). The USB-connected configuration uses direct serial communication between MATLAB and Arduino for stepper motor step control, ensuring fast response and good compatibility. The prototype retains manual control and direct eye reading. Experiments demonstrated strong programmability, fast response (0.2 s), high accuracy (mean error < 3%), and stable reading (fluctuation < 0.5%). This cost-effective yet programmable gas flowmeter is expected to benefit gas sensor development and accelerate automation in fluid-related fields.

Indexed as

computer visionglass rotameterMATLAB–Arduino communicationprogrammable flowmeterstepper motor-actuated valve

Identifiers

PMID42451265
PMCPMC13363873

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.