Wireless Sensor Network
1. Introduction
Recent technological improvements have made the deployment of small, inexpensive, low-power, distributed devices, which are capable of local processing and wireless communication, a reality. Such nodes are called as sensor nodes. Each sensor node is capable of only a limited amount of processing. But when coordinated with the information from a large number of other nodes, they have the ability to measure a given physical environment in great detail. Thus, a sensor network can be described as a collection of sensor nodes which co-ordinate to perform some specific action. Unlike traditional networks, sensor networks depend on dense deployment and co-ordination to carry out their tasks.
Previously, sensor networks consisted of small number of sensor nodes that were wired to a central processing station. However, nowadays, the focus is more on wireless, distributed, sensing nodes. But, why distributed, wireless sensing? When the exact location of a particular phenomenon is unknown, distributed sensing allows for closer placement to the phenomenon than a single sensor would permit. Also, in many cases, multiple sensor nodes are required to overcome environmental obstacles like obstructions, line of sight constraints etc. In most cases, the environment to be monitored does not have an existing infrastructure for either energy or communication. It becomes imperative for sensor nodes to survive on small, finite sources of energy and communicate through a wireless communication channel.
Another requirement for sensor networks would be distributed processing capability. This is necessary since communication is a major consumer of energy. A centralized system would mean that some of the sensors would need to communicate over long distances that lead to even more energy depletion. Hence, it would be a good idea to process locally as much information as possible in order to minimize the total number of bits transmitted.
1.1 Definition of Sensor
Smart
Recent technological improvements have made the deployment of small, inexpensive, low-power, distributed devices, which are capable of local processing and wireless communication, a reality. Such nodes are called as sensor nodes. Each sensor node is capable of only a limited amount of processing. But when coordinated with the information from a large number of other nodes, they have the ability to measure a given physical environment in great detail. Thus, a sensor network can be described as a collection of sensor nodes which co-ordinate to perform some specific action. Unlike traditional networks, sensor networks depend on dense deployment and co-ordination to carry out their tasks.
Previously, sensor networks consisted of small number of sensor nodes that were wired to a central processing station. However, nowadays, the focus is more on wireless, distributed, sensing nodes. But, why distributed, wireless sensing? When the exact location of a particular phenomenon is unknown, distributed sensing allows for closer placement to the phenomenon than a single sensor would permit. Also, in many cases, multiple sensor nodes are required to overcome environmental obstacles like obstructions, line of sight constraints etc. In most cases, the environment to be monitored does not have an existing infrastructure for either energy or communication. It becomes imperative for sensor nodes to survive on small, finite sources of energy and communicate through a wireless communication channel.
Another requirement for sensor networks would be distributed processing capability. This is necessary since communication is a major consumer of energy. A centralized system would mean that some of the sensors would need to communicate over long distances that lead to even more energy depletion. Hence, it would be a good idea to process locally as much information as possible in order to minimize the total number of bits transmitted.
1.1 Definition of Sensor
Smart