Internet of things

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What is a sensor?
• A Sensor is an input device which provides an output (signal) with
respect to a specific physical quantity (input).
• The term “input device” in the definition of a Sensor means that it is part
of a bigger system which provides input to a main control system (like a
Processor or a Microcontroller).
• It is a device that converts signals from one energy domain to electrical
domain.
• The definition of the Sensor can be understood if we take an example in
to consideration.

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What is a sensor?
• The simplest example of a sensor is an LDR or a Light Dependent
Resistor.
• It is a device, whose resistance varies according to intensity of light it is
subjected to.
• When the light falling on an LDR is more, its resistance becomes very
less and when the light is less, well, the resistance of the LDR becomes
very high.
• This can help in finding the amount of light falling on the LDR.
• Hence, it becomes a Light Sensor.

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Light Sensor
Sensors
• We live in a world of Sensors.
• Different types of Sensors are being used in our homes, offices, cars etc.
• They make our lives easier by turning on the lights by detecting our
presence, adjusting the room temperature, detect smoke or fire, open
garage doors as soon as our car is near the door and many other tasks.
• All these and many other automation tasks are possible because of
Sensors.

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A real world example
• Almost all civilian and military aircrafts have the feature of Automatic
Flight Control system or sometimes called as Autopilot.
• It consists of several sensors for various tasks like speed control, height,
position, doors, obstacle, fuel, and many more.
• A processor takes data from all these sensors and processes them by
comparing them with pre-designed values.
• The processor then provides control signal to different parts like
engines, flaps, etc. that help in a smooth flight.
• The combination of Sensors and Processors makes it possible to run the
plane in Autopilot Mode.
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 What is a sensor?
• Generally speaking, a sensor is a device that is able to detect changes in
an environment.
• By itself, a sensor is useless, but when we use it in an electronic system,
it plays a key role.
• A sensor is able to measure a physical phenomenon (like temperature,
pressure, and so on) and transform it into an electric signal.
• These three features should be at the base of a good sensor:
□ It should be sensitive to the phenomenon that it measures
□ It should not be sensitive to other physical phenomena
□ It should not modify the measured phenomenon during the
measurement process
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Classification of sensors
• There are several classifications of sensors made by different authors
and experts.
• Sensors can be classified based on power or energy supply requirement
of the sensors i.e. Active and passive sensors.
• Sensors can be classified based on the type of output generated i.e.
Analog and Digital sensors.
• The next classification is based on conversion phenomenon i.e. the input
and the output.
• The other type of classification is based on the means of detection used
in the sensor.
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Active vs Passive sensor
• In the first classification of the sensors, they are divided in to Active and
Passive.
• Active Sensors are those which require an additional excitation signal or
a power signal.
• Passive Sensors, on the other hand, do not require any external power
signal and directly generates output response.

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Active vs Passive sensor (Example)
• When you take picture with the camera flash turned on, what’s exactly
happening here?
• The camera sends its own source of light to the target and reflects back
to the camera lens.
• This is the light that your camera captures.

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Active vs Passive sensor (Example)
• Cameras are active sensors when the photographer uses flash.
• It illuminates its target and measures the reflecting energy back to the
camera.
• Cameras are passive sensors when the photographer does not use the
flash.
• Because the camera is not sending the source of light.

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Active vs Passive sensor (Example)
• Active sensors always needs it's own energy source, (like a battery) to
work e.g. ultrasonic sensors.
• In ultrasonic sensors power is needed to generate and transmit the ultra
sound waves.
• While a passive sensor uses external factors to work.
• Like an infrared camera or PIR sensor uses external heat energy to
capture images.

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Analog vs Digital Sensors
• Analog Sensors produce a continuous output signal which is generally
proportional to the quantity being measured.
• Physical quantities such as Temperature, Speed, Pressure, Displacement
etc. are all analog quantities as they tend to be continuous in nature.
• For example, the temperature of a liquid can be measured using a
thermometer which continuously responds to temperature changes as
the liquid is heated up or cooled down.

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Analog vs Digital Sensors
• Digital Sensors produce a discrete digital output signals that are a digital
representation of the quantity being measured.
• Digital sensors produce a Binary output signal in the form of a logic “1”
or a logic “0”, (“ON” or “OFF”).
• This means then that a digital signal only produces discrete values.

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Sensors and IOT

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Sensors in IOT
• Industries and organizations have been using various kinds of sensors for
a long time but the invention of the Internet of Things has taken the
evolutions of sensors to a completely different level.
• IoT platforms function and deliver various kind of intelligence and data
using a variety of sensors.
• They serve to collect data, pushing it and sharing it with a whole
network of connected devices.
• All this collected data makes it possible for devices to autonomously
function, and the whole ecosystem is becoming “smarter” every day.

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Sensors in IOT
• By combining a set of sensors and a communication network, devices
share information with one another and are improving their
effectiveness and functionality.
• Take Tesla vehicles as an example.
• All of the sensors on a car record their perception of the surroundings,
uploading the information into a massive database.
• The data is then processed and all the important new pieces of
information are sent to all other vehicles.
• This is an ongoing process, through which a whole fleet of Tesla vehicles
is becoming smarter every day.
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Types of sensors
• Let’s take a look at some of the key sensors, extensively being used in
the IoT world.
• All these sensors are used for measuring one of the physical properties
like Temperature, Resistance, Capacitance, Conduction, Heat Transfer
etc.
• Temperature Sensor
• Proximity Sensor
• Accelerometer
• IR Sensor (Infrared Sensor)
• Pressure Sensor
• Light Sensor 18
Temperature Sensor
• One of the most common and most popular sensor is the Temperature
Sensor.
• A Temperature Sensor, as the name suggests, senses the temperature
i.e. it measures the changes in the temperature.
• In a Temperature Sensor, the changes in the Temperature correspond to
change in its physical property like resistance or voltage.
• There are different types of Temperature Sensors like Temperature
Sensor ICs (like LM35), Thermistors, Thermocouples, RTD (Resistive
Temperature Devices), etc.

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Temperature Sensor
• These sensors have been deployed for a long time in a variety of devices.
• However, with the emergence of IoT, they have found more room to be
present in an even greater number of devices.
• Only a couple of years ago, their uses mostly included A/C control,
refrigerators and similar devices used for environmental control.
• However, with the advent of the IoT world, they have found their role in
manufacturing processes, agriculture and health industry.
• In the manufacturing process, many machines require specific environment
temperature, as well as device temperature.
• With this kind of measurement, the manufacturing process can always remain
optimal.
• On the other hand, in agriculture, the temperature of soil is crucial for crop
growth. This helps with the production of plants, maximizing the output.
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Temperature Sensor

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Proximity Sensor
• A device that detects the presence or absence of a nearby object and converts
it into signal which can be easily read by user or a simple electronic instrument
without getting in contact with them.
• Proximity sensors can be used in the retail industry, as they can detect motion
of the customer.
• A user is immediately notified of discounts and special offers of nearby
products.
• Another big and quite an old use-case is vehicles.
• You are reversing your car and are alarmed about an obstacle while taking
reverse, that’s the work of proximity sensor.
• They are also used for parking availability in places such as malls, stadiums or
airports.
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Proximity Sensor

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Pressure Sensor
• A pressure sensor is a device that senses pressure and converts it into an
electric signal.
• Here, the amount depends upon the level of pressure applied.
• There are plenty of devices that rely on pressure.
• These sensors make it possible to create IoT systems that monitor
systems and devices that are pressure propelled.
• With any deviation from standard pressure range, the device notifies the
system administrator about any problems that should be fixed.

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Pressure Sensor (Example)
• Touch Screen Devices: The computer devices and smart phones that
have touch screen displays come with pressure sensors.
• Whenever slight pressure is applied on the touch screen through a finger
or the stylus, the sensor determines where it has been applied and
accordingly generates an electric signal that informs the processor.
• Usually, these sensors are located at the corners of the screen.
• So when the pressure is applied, usually two or more such sensors act to
give precise location information.
• Bio Medical Instrumentation: In instruments like digital blood pressure
monitors and ventilators, pressure sensors are needed to optimize them
according to patient’s health and his requirements.
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Water quality Sensor
• Water quality sensors are used to detect the water quality primarily in
water distribution systems.
• These sensors play an important role as they monitor the quality of
water for different purposes.
• They are used in a variety of industries.
• Following is a list of the most common kind of water sensors in use.
• Chlorine Sensor, Total organic carbon Sensor, Turbidity Sensor,
Conductivity Sensor, pH Sensor and Oxygen-Reduction Potential Sensor.

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Water quality Sensor

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 Infrared Sensor
• IR Sensors or Infrared Sensor are light based sensor that are used in various
applications like Proximity and Object Detection.
• IR Sensors are used as proximity sensors in almost all mobile phones.
• There are two types of Infrared or IR Sensors: Transmissive Type and
Reflective Type.
• In Transmissive IR Sensor, the IR Transmitter and the IR Detector are
positioned
facing each other so that when an object passes between them, the sensor detects
the object.
• The other type of IR Sensor is a Reflective Type IR Sensor.
• In this, the transmitter and the detector are positioned adjacent to each other facing
the object.
• When an object comes in front of the sensor, the sensor detects the object.
• Different applications where IR Sensor is implemented are Mobile Phones, Robots,
Industrial assembly, automobiles etc. 28
Infrared Sensor

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Ultrasonic Sensor
• An Ultrasonic Sensor is a non-contact type device that can be used to
measure distance as well as velocity of an object.
• An Ultrasonic Sensor works based on the properties of the sound waves
with frequency greater than that of the human audible range.
• Using the time of flight of the sound wave, an Ultrasonic Sensor can
measure the distance of the object.
• The Doppler Shift property of the sound wave is used to measure the
velocity of an object.

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Ultrasonic Sensor

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Humidity Sensor
• Humidity and temperature sensors are used to measure the moisture
and temperature of the surrounding air.
• Different types of sensors are designed based on the application with
analog and digital output.
• Example LM35 and DHT11, DHT22.
• The automation application widely used the DHT11 sensor because of
output in digital form.

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Smoke Sensor
• They have been in use for a long time but their integration with the IOT
industrial automation solutions has created some interesting use-cases.
• These sensors find widespread use in applications where a chance of fire
and gas leakage is on a higher side.
• When smoke sensors are integrated with an industrial IoT solution, even
the slightest leakage of gas or minor occurrence of fire can be reported
to the concerned team and major disaster can be averted.

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 What does the IOT expect of its sensors?
• Sensors have traditionally been functionally simple devices that convert
physical variables into electrical signals or changes in electrical
properties.
• While this functionality is an essential starting point, sensors need to
add the following properties to perform as IoT components:

1. Low cost, so they can be economically deployed in large numbers.

2. Physically small, to easily “disappear” into any environment.
3. Wireless, as a wired connection is typically not possible.
4. Self-identification and self-validation.

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 What does the IOT expect of its sensors?
5. Very low power, so it can survive for years without a battery change, or
manage with energy harvesting.
6. Robust, to minimize or eliminate maintenance.
7. Self-diagnostic and self-healing.
8. Self-calibrating, or accepts calibration commands via wireless link.
9. Data pre-processing, to reduce load on gateways, PLCs, and cloud
resources.
• Information from multiple sensors can be combined and correlated.
• For example, temperature sensor and vibration sensor data can be used to
detect the onset of mechanical failure.
• In some cases, the two sensor functions are available in one device; in others,
the functions are combined in software to create a ‘soft’ sensor.
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The solution: Smart sensors
• We’ve reviewed the IoT’s expectations of a smart sensor, but how has
the industry responded? The answer is Smart Sensor.
• Smart sensors are built as IoT components that convert the real-world
variable that they’re measuring into a digital data stream for
transmission to a gateway.
• The application algorithms are performed by a built-in microprocessor
unit (MPU).
• These can run filtering, compensation, and any other process-specific
signal conditioning tasks.

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Thank you

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