Chapter 2

Things in IoT
 Sensor
• A Sensor is an electronic device that is used to
measure some sort of physical parameters (e.g.
temperature, pressure, light intensity, etc). The
output of an electronic sensor is an electrical
signal that is either analog or digital.
• Each sensor has a different working principle
depending on the physical construction and the
physical parameter it’s actually measuring.
• The common thing between all sensors is they
all convert a physical parameter (such as
temperature) to an electric signal.
• But each one has a specific transfer function
(for analog) or a specific communication bus
as SPI, UART, etc (for digital).
 Classification of the sensors,
• Active Sensors are those which require an
external excitation signal or a power signal.
Ex. RADAR, GPS
• Passive Sensors, on the other hand, do not require
any external power signal and directly generates
output response. Ex. Light Dependent Resistor,
metal detecting
• The other type of classification is based on the
means of detection used in the sensor.
• Some of the means of detection are Electric,
Biological, Chemical, Radioactive etc.
• The next classification is based on conversion
phenomenon i.e., the input and the output. Some of
the common conversion phenomena are
Photoelectric, Thermoelectric, Electrochemical,
Electromagnetic, etc.
• The final classification of the sensors are Analog and
Digital Sensors.
• Analog Sensors produce an analog output i.e., a
continuous output signal (usually voltage but
sometimes other quantities like Resistance etc.) with
respect to the quantity being measured.
• Digital Sensors, in contrast to Analog Sensors work
with discrete or digital data. The data in digital
sensors, which is used for conversion and
transmission, is digital in nature.
• Different Types of Sensors
• The following is a list of different types of sensors that are
commonly used in various applications. All these sensors are used
for measuring one of the physical properties like Temperature,
Resistance, Capacitance, Conduction, Heat Transfer etc.
1. Temperature Sensor 2. Proximity Sensor
3. Accelerometer 4. IR Sensor (Infrared Sensor)
5. Pressure Sensor 6. Light Sensor
7. Ultrasonic Sensor 8. Smoke, Gas and Alcohol Sensor
9. Touch Sensor 10. Color Sensor
11. Humidity Sensor 12. Position Sensor
13. Magnetic Sensor (Hall Effect Sensor)
14.Microphone (Sound Sensor)
15. Tilt Sensor 16. Flow and Level Sensor
17. PIR Sensor 18. Touch Sensor
19. Strain and Weight Sensor etc.
• Temperature Sensor
• One of the most common and most popular
sensors is the Temperature Sensor. A
Temperature Sensor, as the name suggests,
senses the temperature i.e., it measures the
changes in the temperature.
• There are different types of Temperature
Sensors like Temperature Sensor ICs (like
LM35,DS18B20), Thermistors,
Thermocouples, RTD (Resistive Temperature
Devices), etc.
• Temperature Sensors can be analog or digital. In
an Analog Temperature Sensor, the changes in
the Temperature correspond to change in its
physical property like resistance or voltage.
• LM35 is a classic Analog Temperature Sensor.
• Coming to the Digital Temperature Sensor, the
output is a discrete digital value (usually, some
numerical data after converting analog value to
digital value). DS18B20 is a simple Digital
Temperature Sensor.
• Temperature Sensors are used everywhere like
computers, mobile phones, automobiles, air
conditioning systems, industries etc.
• Proximity Sensors
• A proximity sensor is a sensor able to detect the
presence of nearby objects without any physical
contact
• A Proximity Sensor is a non-contact type sensor that
detects the presence of an object. Proximity Sensors
can be implemented using different techniques like
Optical (like Infrared or Laser), Sound (Ultrasonic),
Magnetic (Hall Effect), Capacitive, etc.
• Some of the applications of Proximity Sensors are
Mobile Phones, Cars (Parking Sensors), industries
(object alignment), Ground Proximity in Aircrafts, etc.
Sensors in a Smart Phone
• Transducer
• A transducer is an electrical device that is used
to convert one form of energy into another form.
In general, these devices deal with different
types of energies such as mechanical, electrical
energy, light energy, chemical energy, thermal
energy, electromagnetic energy, and so on.
• For instance, consider a mic we use in daily life
in telephones, mobile phones, that converts the
sound into electrical signals and then amplifies
it into the preferred range. Then, alters the
electrical signals into audio signals at the o/p of
the loudspeaker.
• Classification of Transducers
• It is easy to classify transducers as Input
Transducers or Output Transducers, if they are
treated as simple signal converters. Input
Transducers measure non-electrical quantities
and convert them into electrical quantities.
• Output Transducers on the other hand, work in
the opposite way i.e. their input signals are
electrical and their output signals are non-
electrical or physical like force, displacement,
torque, pressure etc.
• Depending on the principle of operation,
transducers can also be classified into
mechanical, thermal, electrical, etc.
• Let us see the classification of transducers
based on the following three ways:
• Physical Effect
• Physical Quantity
• Source of Energy
• 1. Classification based on Physical Effect
• The first classification of Transducers is based on
the physical effect engaged to convert the physical
quantity to electrical quantity. An example, is the
change in resistance (physical quantity) of a copper
element in proportion to the change in temperature.
• The following physical effects are generally used:
• Variation in Resistance
• Variation in Inductance
• Variation in Capacitance
• Hall Effect
• Piezoelectric Effect
• 2. Classification based on Physical Quantity
• The second classification of Transducers is based on the
physical quantity converted. For example, a Pressure
Transducer is a transducer that converts pressure into electrical
signal.
• Following is small list of transducers classified based on the
physical quantity and corresponding examples
• Temperature Transducer – Thermocouple
• Pressure Transducer – Bourdon Gauge
• Displacement Transducer – LVDT (Linear Variable
Differential Transformer)
• Level Transducer – Torque Tube
• Flow Transducer – Flow Meter
• Force Transducer – Dynamometer
• Acceleration Transducer – accelerometer
• 3. Classification based on Source of Energy
• Transducers are also classified based on the source of energy. Under
this category, there usually two types of transducers:
• Active Transducers
• Passive Transducers
• Active Transducers
• In Active Transducers, the energy from the input is used as a control
signal in the process of transferring energy from power supply to
proportional output.

• For example, a Strain Gauge is an Active Transducer, in which the

strain is converted into resistance. But since the energy from the
strained element is very small, the energy for the output is provided
by an external power supply.
• Passive Transducers
• In Passive Transducers, the energy from the
input is directly converted into the output. For
example, a Thermocouple is a passive
transducer, where the heat energy, which is
absorbed from input, is converted into
electrical signals (voltage).
 Characteristics of Transducers
• The performance characteristics of a
Transducer are key in selecting the best
suitable transducer for a particular design. So,
it is very important to know the characteristics
of transducers for proper selection.
• Performance characteristics of transducers can
be further classified into two types:
• Static Characteristics
• Dynamic Characteristics
• 1. Static Characteristics
• The static characteristics of a transducer is a set of performance
criteria that are established through static calibration.
• Following is a list of some of the important static characteristics of
transducers.
1. Sensitivity
2. Linearity
3. Resolution
4. Precision (Accuracy)
5. Span and Range
6. Threshold
7. Drift
8. Stability
9. Responsiveness
10. Repeatability
11. Input Impedance and Output Impedance
An input transducer or a sensor takes in physical
energy and converts it into an electrical signal
• 2. Dynamic Characteristics
• The dynamic characteristics relate to dynamic inputs,
which means that they are dependent on its own
parameters as well as the nature of the input signal.
• The following are some dynamic characteristics that may
be considered in selection of a transducer.
1. Dynamic Error
2. Fidelity
3. Speed of Response
4. Bandwidth
• Overall, both static and dynamic characteristics of a
Transducer determine its performance and indicate how
effectively it can accept desired input signals and reject
unwanted inputs.
• Different Types of Transducers
• Basically, the two different types of Transducers are
Mechanical Transducers and Electrical Transducers.
• Mechanical Transducers are those which responds to
changes in physical quantities or condition with
mechanical quantity.
• If the physical quantity is converted to an electrical
quantity, then the transducers are Electrical
Transducers.
• 1. Mechanical Transducers
• Mechanical transducers are a set of primary sensing
elements that respond to changes in a physical quantity
with a mechanical output. As an example, Spring: The
spring tend to expand when force is applied to them,
thus they are used for the measurement of force.
• The output mechanical quantity can be
anything like displacement, force (torque),
pressure and strain. For any measuring
quantity, there can be both mechanical and
electrical transducers.
• For example, we have seen Bimetallic Strip,
which is a mechanical transducer and is used
to react to changes in temperature. In contrast,
a Resistance Thermometer, also reacts to
changes in temperature, but the response is a
change in resistance of the element. Hence, it
is an electrical transducer.
 2. Electrical Transducers
• Electrical transducers are those that respond to
changes in physical quantities with electrical
outputs.
e.g.. Bridge circuits
• Bridge circuits can convert the physical quantity to
be measured into the voltage

• Electrical Transducers are further divided into

Passive Electrical Transducers and Active
Electrical Transducers.
• The following table lists out a few electrical
transducers (both passive and active).
• Applications of • Photovoltaic Cells
Transducers • 3. Electrochemical • Laser Diodes
• 1. Electromagnetic • Hydrogen Sensors • Photoresistors (LDR)
• Antennas • Oxygen Sensors • Phototransistors
• Hall-Effect Sensors • pH Meters • Incandescent and
• Disk Read and Write Fluorescent Lamps
Heads • 4. Electroacoustic
• Magnetic Cartridges • Speakers (Loudspeakers,• 6. Thermoelectric
• 2. Electromechanical earphones) • Thermistors
• Accelerometers • Microphones • Thermocouples
• Pressure Sensors • Ultrasonic Transceivers • RTD (Resistance
• Galvanometers • Piezoelectric Crystals Temperature Detectors)
• LVDT • Sonar
• Load Cells • Tactile Transducers • 7. Radioacoustic
• Potentiometers • Radio Transmitters and
• MEMS • 5. Photoelectric Receivers
• Linear and Rotary• LED • G-M Tube (Geiger-
Motors Muller Tube)
• Photodiodes
• Air Flow Sensors
• Transducer Types and Its Applications
• There are a variety of transducer types like pressure
transducer, piezoelectric transducer, ultrasonic
transducer, temperature transducer, and so on.
• Ultrasonic Transducer
• The main function of the ultrasound transducer is to
convert electrical signals to ultrasound waves. This
transducer can also be called capacitive or
piezoelectric transducers.
• Application of Ultrasonic Transducer
• This transducer can be used to measure the distance
of the sound based on reflection.
• Temperature Transducer
• A temperature transducer is an electrical device that is
used to convert the temperature of a device into another
quantity like electrical energy or pressure or mechanical
energy, then the quantity will be sent to the control
device for controlling the temperature of the device.
• Application of Temperature Transducer
• A temperature transducer is used to measure the
temperature of the air such that to control the
temperature of several control systems like air-
conditioning, heating, ventilation, and so on.
• Piezoelectric Transducer
• A piezoelectric transducer is a special kind of sensor, and the
main function of this transducer is to convert mechanical
energy into electrical energy. In the same way, electrical
energy can be transformed into mechanical energy.
• Piezoelectric Transducer Applications
• This transducer is mainly used to detect the stick drummer’s
impact on electronic drum pads. And also used to detect the
movement of the muscle, which can be named
acceleromyography.
• The load of the engine can be determined by calculating
diverse absolute pressure, which can be done by using these
transducers as the MAP sensor in fuel injection systems.
• This sensor can be used as a knock sensor in automotive
engine management systems for noticing the knock of the
engine.
• Pressure Transducer
• A pressure transducer is a special kind of sensor that alters
the pressure forced into electrical signals. These transducers
are also called pressure indicators, manometers, piezometers,
transmitters, and pressure sensors.
• Application of Pressure Transducer
• The pressure transducer is used to measure the pressure of a
specific quantity like gas or liquid by changing the pressure
into electrical energy. The different kinds of these
transducers like an amplified voltage transducer, strain-gage
base pressure transducer, millivolt (mv) pressure transducer,
4-20mA pressure transducer, and pressure transducer.
 Transducer Sensor
It senses physical quantities and
It helps in converting one form of converts into signals which are read by
energy into another form. an instrument.

It converts electricity to It senses physical quantity and

electromagnetic waves. converts into analog quantity.

The antenna is one type of transducer. One type of Sensor is LED. Sensors
Microphones and loudspeakers are used in automobiles to detect touch
also of one type. and activate the siren.

It converts the measured quantity into

a standard electrical signal like -10 to It is used to measure voltage,
+10V DC capacitance, inductance, ohmic
resistance.

Examples: Strain gauge, piezoelectric

It helps in converting one form of
transducer, linear transducer, and
energy into another form.
microphone.
 Actuator
• An actuator is a machine component that is used
for moving and controlling a system or
mechanism.
• To perform its operation, An actuator needs a
control signal and a power source.
• They are widely used in valves, gates,
conveyors, automatic control systems, etc.
• A valve actuator is a pneumatic, hydraulic, or
electrically powered device that supplies force
and motion for opening and closing a valve.
• The actuators can only open and close the valve
or enable intermediate positioning.
 Classification of actuators is based on the type
of motion that it produces.
• Rotary Actuator
• The actuators that can provide a circular
motion at their output can be classified under
the category of rotary actuators. Rotary
actuators produce the rotating motion to
operate valves like ball, butterfly and plug
valves.
• Eg. pick-and-place handlers or clamps.
Rotary Actuator
• Linear Actuators
• The actuators that can provide motion in a
straight line at their output can be classified
under the category of linear actuators.
• Linear actuators converts hydraulic, pneumatic
or electric energy into linear motion to operate
valves like gate, globe, pinch, etc.
• Eg. Printer,
• Hydraulic actuators
• The hydraulic actuators are used in robots
handling heavy loads. These actuators can
produce very high force if we compared them
with other actuators. These actuators are
deployed where higher speed, accuracy, and
stability are required.
• Pneumatic actuators
• As you have seen in hydraulic actuators, they
use a hydraulic fluid in the cylinder in order to
move the piston. The pressure applied to the
fluid will move the piston. But in pneumatic
actuators, instead of hydraulic fluid,
compressed air is moving the piston.
 SENSOR ACTUATOR
It converts physical
It converts electrical signals
characteristics into electrical
into physical characteristics.
signals.
It takes input from It takes input from output
environment. conditioning unit of system.
It gives output to input
It gives output to environment.
conditioning unit of system.
Sensor generated electrical Actuator generates heat or
signals. motion.
It is placed at input port of the It is placed at output port of the
system. system.
• Smart objects
• Smart objects are any physical objects that
contain embedded technology to sense and/or
interact with their environment in a
meaningful way by being interconnected and
enabling communication among themselves or
an external agent.
• The real power of smart objects in IoT comes
from being networked together rather than
being isolated as standalone objects
• If a sensor is a standalone device that simply
measures the humidity of the soil, it is
interesting and useful, but it isn’t revolutionary
• If that same sensor is connected as part of an
intelligent network that is able to coordinate
intelligently with actuators to trigger irrigation
systems as needed based on those sensor
readings.
• Extending that even further, fertilization, pest
control, and so on—and even communicate
with an intelligent backend to calculate crop
yield potential
 Trends in Smart Objects
• Size is decreasing: Some smart objects are so
small they are not even visible to the naked
eye. This reduced size makes smart objects
easier to embed in everyday objects.
• Power consumption is decreasing: The
different hardware components of a smart
object continually consume less power.
• Processing power is increasing: Processors
are continually getting more powerful and
smaller.
• Sensor Networks
• A sensor/actuator network (SANET), as the
name suggests, is a network of sensors that
sense and measure their environment and/or
actuators that act on their environment.
• The sensors and/or actuators in a SANET are
capable of communicating and cooperating in
a productive manner.
• Effective and well coordinated communication
and cooperation is a prominent challenge.
• Smart homes are a type of SANET that display
this coordination between distributed sensors
and actuators.
• For example, smart homes can have
temperature sensors that are strategically
networked with heating, ventilation, and air-
conditioning (HVAC) actuators.
• When a sensor detects a specified temperature,
this can trigger an actuator to take action and
heat or cool the home as needed.
What is a Wireless Sensor Network?
• A Wireless Sensor Network is one kind of
wireless network that includes a large number of
circulating, self-directed, low powered devices
named sensor nodes.
• These networks certainly cover a huge number
of spatially distributed, little, battery-operated,
embedded devices that are networked to caringly
collect, process, and transfer data to the
operators, and it has controlled the capabilities
of computing & processing.
• Architecture of Wireless Sensor Network
• Sensor Network Architecture is used in
Wireless Sensor Network (WSN).
• Currently, WSN is the most standard services
employed in commercial and industrial
applications, because of its technical
development in a processor, communication,
and low-power usage of embedded computing
devices.
• It can be used in various places like schools,
hospitals, buildings, roads, etc for various
applications like disaster management,
security management, crisis management, etc.
• There are 2 types of architecture used in
WSN: Layered Network Architecture, and
Clustered Architecture.
1. Layered Network Architecture:
Layered Network Architecture makes use of a
few hundred sensor nodes and a single
powerful base station.
• It consists of 5 layers and three cross layers.
The 5 layers are:
1. Application Layer
2. Transport Layer
3. Network Layer
4. Data Link Layer
5. Physical Layer

• The cross layers consist of the following:

1. Power Management Plane
2. Mobility Management Plane
3. Task Management Plane
These three cross layers are mainly used for controlling the
network as well as to make the sensors function as one in order
to enhance the overall network efficiency.
• Application Layer
• The application layer is liable for traffic
management and offers software for numerous
applications that convert the data in a clear
form to find positive information.
• Transport Layer
• The transport layer is exactly needed when a
system is planned to contact other networks.
• These protocols use dissimilar mechanisms for
loss recognition and loss recovery.
• Network Layer
• The main function of the network layer is routing, it
has a lot of tasks based on the application, but
actually, the main tasks are in the power conserving,
partial memory, buffers, and sensor don’t have a
universal ID and have to be self-organized.
• Data Link Layer
• The data link layer is liable for multiplexing data
frame detection, data streams, medium access control
(MAC), & error control.
• Physical Layer
• This layer is responsible for the selection of
frequency, generation of a carrier frequency, signal
detection, Modulation & data encryption.
• The main benefits of using this kind of
architecture in WSN is that every node
involves simply in less-distance, low- power
transmissions to the neighboring nodes due to
which power utilization is low as compared
with other kinds of sensor network
architecture.
• This kind of network is scalable as well as
includes a high fault tolerance.
2. Clustered Network Architecture:
In Clustered Network Architecture, Sensor
Nodes autonomously clubs into groups called
clusters.
It is based on the Leach Protocol which makes
use of clusters.
Leach Protocol stands for Low Energy
Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy.
• Clustered Network Architecture is a very
useful sensor network because of the property
of Data Fusion.
• Inside each cluster, each node communicate
with the cluster head to gather the information.
• All the clusters which are share their gathered
information to the base station.
• The cluster formation and selection of cluster
head inside each cluster is an independent and
autonomous distributed process.
 Network Topologies
• Network topology refers to the manner in
which the links and nodes of a network are
arranged to relate to each other.
• Topologies are categorized as either physical
network topology, which is the physical signal
transmission medium,
OR
• Logical network topology, which refers to the
manner in which data travels through the
network between devices, independent of
physical connection of the devices.
 Types of Network Topology
• Mesh Topology
Mesh is the type of network where each node is connected
to every other node. A mesh network provides a high
amount of redundancy when it comes to network links
• A mesh topology comprises multiple IoT devices that
connect directly, dynamically, and non-hierarchically to as
many other devices as possible.
• The devices of a mesh network cooperate with one another
to efficiently route data from producers to consumers within
the network.
• Specifically, in a mesh network, messages travel from one
IoT device to another until they reach their destination
• Mesh IoT networks are used to extend the coverage of
popular short-range wireless protocols (e.g.Zigbee and
• Star Topology
• In a star topology, IoT nodes and devices are
individually connected to a central connection
point such as a switch, a router, an access point,
or an IoT gateway. It is a very popular topology,
which is used by WiFi, cellular networks, and
Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN)
technologies like LoRa.
• It is simple to add and remove devices without
disrupting the network. The biggest challenge
with this kind of network is it has a single point
of failure (i.e., the central computer); if the
central computer fails, the network fails.
• Bus Topology
• In the scope of bus topology, IoT devices are
connected through a single cable, which is
conveniently called a bus. A bus network
enables a device to transmit data to any other
device, much in the same way a public
transportation bus enables passengers to get in
and get out at any stop.

Bus Topology
Ring Topology
A ring topology resembles a closed-loop bus,
which enables devices to transmit data in a
single direction. Following the initiation of data
transmission, every node passes the data to the
next node until the data reaches its intended
destination

Ring Topology
• Peer-To-Peer Topology
• In a Peer-To-Peer Network, the “peers” are
computer systems that are connected to each
other via the Internet. Files can be shared
directly between systems on the network
without the need for a central server. In other
words, each computer on a P2P network
becomes a file server as well as a client.
• Difference between peer-to-peer network and Mesh
Network
• In a peer-to-peer network, individual devices (or nodes) can
talk directly with one another without the need for a central
server. However, it is not typically feasible for each node to be
directly connected to each other node, so instead they connect
to some subset of nodes.
• In a mesh network, each node in a peer-to-peer network also
functions as a router. This routing layer allows you to directly
address nodes to which you are not directly connected, because
intermediate nodes will pass the message along until it reaches
the target node
• A P2P network does not increase the total bandwidth available,
it just uses the bandwidth better.
• In a mesh network, users form new infrastructure by connecting
directly. A mesh network increases the system's total bandwidth
• Enable Internet of Things Technologies
• IoT primarily exploits standard protocols and
networking technologies.
• However, the major enabling technologies and
protocols of IoT are RFID, NFC, low-energy
Bluetooth, low-energy wireless, low-energy
radio protocols, and LTE-A.
• These technologies support the specific
networking functionality needed in an IoT
system.
• Internet of Things enabling technologies are
1. Wireless Sensor Network
2. Cloud Computing
3. Big Data Analytics
4. Communications Protocols
5. Embedded System
 1. Wireless Sensor Network
• A wireless sensor network comprises of distributed
device with sensor which are used to monitor the
environmental and physical conditions.
• A WSN consists of a number of end-nodes, routers
and a coordinator.
• End Nodes have several sensors attached to them in
node can also act as routers.
• Routers are responsible for routing the data packets
from end-nodes to the coordinator.
• The coordinator collects the data from all the nodes.
• Coordinator also act as a gateway that connects the
WSN to the internet.
 2. Cloud Computing
• Cloud computing is a trans-formative computing
paradigm that involves delivering applications
and services over the Internet
• Cloud computing involves provisioning of
computing, networking and storage resources on
demand and providing these resources as
metered services to the users, in a “pay as you
go” model.
• Cloud computing resources can be provisioned
on demand by the users.
3. Big Data Analytics
• Big Data analytics is the process of collecting,
organizing and analyzing large sets of data
(called Big Data) to discover patterns and other
useful information.
• Big Data analytics can help organizations to
better understand the information contained
within the data and will also help identify the
data that is most important to the business and
future business decisions.
4. Communication protocols
• Communication protocols form the backbone of IoT
systems and enable network connectivity and
coupling to applications.
• Communication protocols allow devices to
exchange data over the network.
• A group of protocols designed to work together are
known as a protocol suite.
• The list of Top 10 IoT Communication Protocols
1. WiFi 2. SigFox 3. Bluetooth
4. LoRaWAN 5.NFC(Near Field Communication)
6. Z wave 7. Zigbee 8. OPC- UA
9. Cellular 10.MQTT
5. Embedded Systems :
• It is a combination of hardware and software
used to perform special tasks.
• It includes microcontroller and microprocessor
memory, networking units (Ethernet Wi-Fi
adapters), input output units (display keyword
etc. ) and storage devices (flash memory).
• It collects the data and sends it to the internet.
• These supporting technologies are there to
ensure the data from IoT devices can be
collected, stored, and analysed.
 Some other enabling technologies are
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)
• RFID provides a simple, low energy, and
versatile option for identity and access tokens,
connection bootstrapping, and payments.
• RFID technology employs 2-way radio
transmitter-receivers to identify and track tags
associated with objects.
• Retail, manufacturing, logistics, smart
warehousing, and banking are among the
major industries using RFID Internet of Things
solutions.
• Micro -Electro- Mechanical System
• Micro Electrical Mechanical System is
popularly called as MEMS.
• MEMS are micron-size devices that can sense
or manipulate the physical world.
• MEMS are created using micro machining
processes, similar to those used to produce
integrated circuit (IC) devices.
• This allows a two- or three-dimensional
mechanical system to be created in the same
small area typical of an IC device.
• NFC (Near Field Communication)
• Similar to RFID, NFC is also a simple, low energy
solution for IoT.
• NFC consists of communication protocols for
electronic devices, typically a mobile device and a
standard device.
• With a straightforward tap-and-go mechanism, NFC
makes it simple and intuitive to connect two different
IoT devices.
• Because NFC chips must be in close proximity of
each other to initiate a transaction, NFC is a clear
sign that the user intends to take a certain action.
• The short-range of NFC also protects against
unauthorized access by hackers.
• Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
• This technology supports the low-power, long-use.
• Bluetooth Low Energy is well suited to relatively short-
range communications
• Telemetry, fitness and health, and human interface device
(HID) applications are key targets for this technology.
• BLE can also be used for real-time asset location tracking,
indoor wayfinding and customer engagement experience.
• A key advantage of using Bluetooth Low Energy is that it
enables direct interaction with a wide range of modern
smartphones without the need for any intermediary.
• All major smartphone platforms, including Android and
Apple iOS, provide powerful and accessible APIs to enable
the development of Bluetooth Low Energy applications.
• LTE-A (LTE (Long Term Evolution-) Advanced)
• LTE-A, delivers an important upgrade to LTE
technology by increasing not only its coverage but
also reducing its latency and raising its throughput.
• It gives IoT a tremendous power through expanding
its range, with its most significant applications
being vehicle, UAV, and similar communication.
• The latest version of LTE standard is LTE-A Pro.
• LTE-A Pro operates more like a blisteringly fast,
multi-story ‘superhighway’.
• When you choose an LTE-A Pro embedded module
for your IoT devices, you will see massive increases
in data speed, capacity, and efficiency.
• IEEE 802.15.4
• The Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) supports many working
groups to develop and maintain wireless and
wired communications standards.
• The 802.15.4 category is probably the largest
standard for low-data-rate WPANs(Wireless
Personal Area Network).
• It has many subcategories.
• The 802.15.4 category was developed for low-
data-rate monitor and control applications and
extended-life low-power-consumption uses.
• The 802.15.4 standard defines the physical
layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC)
layer of the Open Systems Interconnection
(OSI) model of network operation.
• The PHY defines frequency, power,
modulation, and other wireless conditions of
the link.
• The MAC defines the format of the data
handling.
• The remaining layers define other measures
for handing the data and related protocol
enhancements including the final application.
• Most networking systems, both wired and
wireless, use the OSI communications model.
• Most systems also use at least the first four
layers, but many do not use all seven layers.
• The 802.15.4 standard uses only the first two
layers plus the logical link control (LLC) and
service specific convergence sub-layer (SSCS)
additions to communicate with all upper layers
as defined by additional standards.
• The 802.15.4 standard defines the star and
peer-to-peer common network topologies.
• ZigBee
• Zigbee is a wireless technology developed as an
open global standard to address the unique needs
of low-cost, low-power wireless IoT networks.
• The Zigbee standard operates on the IEEE
802.15.4 physical radio specification and
operates in unlicensed bands including 2.4 GHz,
900 MHz and 868 MHz.
• ZigBee is a standard that addresses the need of
very low-cost implementation of Low power
devices with Low data rate for short-range
wireless communications.
• Types of ZigBee Devices:
• Zigbee Coordinator Device – It communicates with
routers. This device is used for connecting the devices.
• Zigbee Router – It is used for passing the data between
devices.
• Zigbee End Device – It is the device that is going to be
controlled
• General Characteristics of Zigbee Standard:
• Low Power Consumption
• Low Data Rate (20- 250 kbps)
• Short-Range (75-100 meters)
• Network Join Time (~ 30 msec)
• Support Small and Large Networks (up to 65000
devices (Theory); 240 devices (Practically))
• Zigbee Network Topologies:
• Star Topology (ZigBee Smart Energy)
• Mesh Topology (Self Healing Process)
• Tree Topology
• Zigbee Applications:
• Home Automation
• Medical Data Collection
• Industrial Control Systems