SMART SENSORS FULFILLING THE PROMISE OF THE IOT

Posted by Enrg Tech on January 24th, 2020

The promise

The Internet of things promises to make life simpler, exciting and a lot more fulfilling for every consumer by interconnecting the world around them. The fulfillment of this dream lies in the quantity and quality of actionable information. This brings out how crucial sensors are in IoT; they gather and protect this actionable input data. This role is better fulfilled by smart sensors

• Smart sensors

Smart sensors are devices that take input from the environment and uses built-microprocessor and software to perform predefines functions on this input and then passes the data on. Smart sensors may also include a number of other components other than the primary sensor, for instance, analog filters, transducer, excitation control, and amplifiers. The predefined functions include data conversion and digital processing. Smart sensors offer more accurate and automated collection of data from the physical environment.For smart sensors to be really effective they should bear the following features and capabilities:

• Edge analytics

The power of a sensor is measured by how much data can be processed at the sensor level. The ability to analyze data at the sensor level reduces latency, offloads network traffic and enhances reaction to close by devices.

• Security

Cyber attacks have become very prevalent and IoT endpoints are very susceptible to such attacks. Therefore, a multilayer security approach should be implemented in the design stage of smart sensors.

• Scalable

Sensors need to be configured in such a manner that their numbers can easily be scaled. Plugging in or removing sensors along the network should easy and simple.

• Upgradeable

Technology is changing rapidly hence smart sensors ought to be “future-proof” to allow for remote firmware updates.

Easy to commission

Smart sensors can be tedious and expensive hence it is crucial that they are designed to ensure easy installation and commissioning using an automated process to cut down on the cost and hours spent on the exercise

Affordable

Smart sensors ought to be inexpensive so as to encourage adoption. Price of sensors is crucial when considering the cost of an IoT network.

Privacy protected

Some of the data collected by smart sensors include personal information mostly when it comes home and workplace environments. Such data deserve effective privacy protection measures.

Smart sensors delivering on the promise

Smart sensors have so far played a key role in delivering the IoT promise. They have enabled IoT change to reshape user experience in various industries including transport, agriculture, utilities and smart cities. Actually, smart cities make up 47% of all the connected devices a clear indication that despite not bearing the complete package of features and functionalities just yet, smart sensors are already changing life as we know it. It’s not going to be easy to meet all these features while keeping up with the customer demand, but the closer we get, the closer we are to living the IoT promise.