SENSORS, ACTUATORS, AND SMART OBJECTS
A sensor: It senses
More specifically, a sensor measures some physical
quantity and converts that measurement reading into a
digital representation.
That digital representation is typically passed to another
device for transformation into useful data that can be
consumed by intelligent devices or humans
Sensors are not limited to human-like sensory data.
They are able to provide an extremely wide spectrum of rich
and diverse measurement data with far greater precision than
human senses
Categories
Active or passive:
Sensors can be categorized based on whether they produce an
energy output and typically require an external power
supply (active) or
Whether they simply receive energy and typically require no
external power supply (passive).
Invasive or non-invasive:
Sensors can be categorized based on whether a sensor is part
of the environment it is measuring (invasive) or
External to it (non-invasive).
Contact or no-contact:
Sensors can be categorized based on whether they require
physical contact with what they are measuring
(contact) or not (no-contact).
Absolute or relative:
Sensors can be categorized based on whether they
measure on an absolute scale (absolute) or based on a
difference with a fixed or variable reference value
(relative).
Area of application:
Sensors can be categorized based on the specific industry
or vertical where they are being used.
How sensors measure:
Sensors can be categorized based on the physical
mechanism used to measure sensory input (for
example, thermoelectric, electrochemical, piezoresistive, optic, electric,
fluid mechanic, photoelastic).
What sensors measure:
Sensors can be categorized based on their applications
or what physical variables they measure.
Note that this is by no means an exhaustive list, and there are
many other classification and taxonomic schemes for sensors,
including those based on material, cost, design, and other
factors
Categorization based on what physical phenomenon a
sensor is measuring
11
Precision agriculture (smart farming)
which uses a variety of technical advances to improve the efficiency,
sustainability, and profitability of traditional farming practices.
This includes the use of GPS and satellite aerial imagery for determining field
viability; robots for high-precision planting, harvesting, irrigation, and so on; and
real-time analytics and artificial intelligence to predict optimal crop yield, weather
impacts, and soil quality.
Among the most significant impacts of precision agriculture are those dealing
with sensor measurement of a variety of soil characteristics. These
include real- time measurement of soil quality, pH levels, salinity, toxicity levels,
moisture levels for irrigation planning, nutrient levels for fertilization planning, and
so on.
All this detailed sensor data can be analyzed to provide highly valuable and
actionable insight to boost productivity and crop yield.
IoT Use Case: Area of precision agriculture
(smart farming)
biodegradable, passive microsensors to measure soil and crop and
conditions
.
These sensors, developed at North Dakota State University
(NDSU), can be planted directly in the soil and left in the ground
to biodegrade without any harm to soil quality.
Figure 3-1 Biodegradable Sensors Developed by NDSU for Smart Farming
Sensors in a Smart Phone
Figure 3-3 Growth and Predictions in the Number of Sensors
Actuators
Actuators are natural complements to sensors
Sensors are designed to sense and measure practically any
measurable variable in the physical world.
They convert their measurements (typically analog) into
electric signals or digital representations that can be
consumed by an intelligent agent (a device or a human).
Actuators, on the others hand, receive some type of
control signal (commonly an electric signal or
digital command) that triggers a physical effect,
usually some type of motion, force, and so on.
Sensors provide the information, actuators provide the
action
Actuators also vary greatly in function, size, design, and so on.
Some common ways that they can be classified include the
following:
Type of motion: Actuators can be classified based on the type of
motion they produce (for example, linear, rotary, one/two/three-
axes).
Power: Actuators can be classified based on their power output
(for example, high power, low power, micro power)
Binary or continuous: Actuators can be classified based on the
number of stable-state outputs.
Area of application: Actuators can be classified based on the
specific industry or vertical where they are used.
Type of energy: Actuators can be classified based on their
energy type.
Classification based on energy type
