Overview On Sensor

Networks

BY
Student@WKU
Outline
 Definitions and Background
 What Is A Sensor Network?
 Wired vs. Wireless Sensor Networks
 Typical application of sensor networks
 Challenges Of Sensor Network
 Advantages And Disadvantage of wsn
 Operation of a Sensor Network
 Traditional networks Vs. wireless sensor networks
 Definitions and Background
 Sensing:
• Is a technique used to gather information about a physical object or
process, including the occurrence of events (i.e., changes in state such
as a drop in temperature or pressure).
 Sensor:
• An object performing such a sensing task
• Converts energy of the physical worlds into electrical signal.
• Sometimes named “Transducer”  converts energy from one form to
another.
Sensors used in a self-driving
Examples of sensors include temperature sensors,
accelerometers, infrared detectors, proximity sensors, and
motion detectors.
Figure 1
Definitions and Background
 Examples on remote sensors:
• eyes: capture optical information (light)
• ears: capture acoustic information (sound)
• nose: captures olfactory information (smell)
• skin: captures tactile information (shape, texture)
 What Is A Sensor
Network?

• A sensor network comprises a group of small,

powered devices, and a wireless or wired networked
infrastructure. Sensor network nodes cooperatively
sense and control the environment.
• They enable interaction between users and the
surrounding environment.
 Where Sensor Networks

 Today sensors are everywhere. We take these for granted, but sensors are
in our phones, workplaces, vehicles, and the environment.
Wired vs. Wireless Sensor Networks

Sensor networks can be wired or wireless.

 Wired sensor networks use ethernet cables to connect sensors.
 Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) use technologies such as
Bluetooth, cellular, wifi or near field communication (NFC) to
connect sensors.
 WSNs are easier to deploy and maintain and offer better flexibility
of devices. WSNs don't need the physical network infrastructure to
be modified.
 Typical application of sensor
networks

 Military sensor networks to detect enemy movements, the presence of

hazardous material (such as poison gases or radiation,
explosions, etc.)
 IOT
 Environmental sensor networks (such as in plains or deserts or on
mountains or ocean surfaces) to detect and monitor
environmental changes.
 Medical applications like patient monitoring
 Wireless traffic sensor networks to monitor vehicle traffic on a
highway or in a congested part of a city.
 Agriculture
 Wireless surveillance sensor networks for providing
security in a shopping mall, parking garage, or other facility.
WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORK IN IOT
Challenges Of Sensor
Network

In spite of the diverse applications, sensor networks pose a number of

unique technical challenges due to the following factors:

 Ad hoc deployment

 Unattended operation

 Dynamic changes

 Sensing

 Comminication,Energy Efficiency , Installation

Advantages of Wireless Sensor
Networks?

WSNs are Effective in Harsh or Hostile Environments

SNs Offer an Easily Scaled Solution
WSNs Enable Long-distance Data Collection and Transmission

WSNs Can Anticipate Natural Disasters

WSNs Can Protect Hardware and Data Assets
It avoids a lot of wiring.

It can accommodate new devices at any time.

Its flexible to go through physical partititons.

DISADVANTAGES

 Lower speed compared to wired network.

 Still costly at large.

 More complex to configure than wired network.

 It does not make sensing quantities in building

easier.

 It does not reduce costs for installation of costs.

 Gets distracted by various elements like Blue-tooth.

Operation of a Sensor Network

Sensor networks typically include sensor nodes, actuator

nodes, gateways, and clients. Sensor nodes group inside the

sensor field and form networks of different topologies.

 The following process describes
how sensor networks operate:

A sensor node monitors the data collected by the sensor

and transmits this to other sensor nodes.

 During the transmission process, data may be handled by multiple nodes

as it reaches a gateway node.

 The data is then transferred to the management node.

 The management node is managed by the user and determines the

monitoring required and collects the monitored data.

Figure 2: Sensor network
components
 Sensor Nodes

 There are many nodes in a sensor network. These nodes are

the detection stations. There is a sensor/transducer,

microcontroller, transceiver, and power source:

 A sensor senses the physical condition, and if there is any

change, it generates electrical signals.

 The signals go to the microcontroller for processing.

 A central processor sends commands to the transceiver and

data is transmitted to a computer.

What is a Smart Sensor Node?

Sensing Unit Processing Unit

Sensors Processor
ADC Storage
Analog-to-Digital Converter

Power Unit Communication Unit

Mobility Support Unit Location Finding Unit

 Node’s Responsibilities
 Data Collection

 In-Network Analysis

 Data Fusion

 Decision Making
 Design Issues
Fault Tolerance
Mobility
Attribute-Base Addressing FUTURE OF WSN
Location Awareness  Sensors controlling
Priority Based Reporting appliances and electrical
Query Handling devices in house.

 Better lighting and heating

in office buildings.

 The pentagon building has

used sensors exclusively.
 Traditional networks Vs.
wireless sensor networks
Traditional Networks Wireless Sensor Networks

General-purpose design; serving many applications Single-purpose design; serving one specific application

Typical primary design concerns are network performance Energy is the main constraint in the design of all node and
and latencies; energy is not a primary concern network components

Networks are designed and engineered according to Deployment, network structure, and resource use are
plans often ad-hoc (without planning)

Devices and networks operate in controlled and mild Sensor networks often operate in environments with
environments harsh conditions

Maintenance and repair are common and networks are Physical access to sensor nodes is often difficult or even
typically easy to access impossible

Component failure is addressed through maintenance Component failure is expected and addressed in the
and repair design of the network

Obtaining global network knowledge is typically feasible Most decisions are made localized without the support of
and centralized management is possible a central manager