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Concept
Sensor node
Summary
A sensor node (also known as a mote in North America), consists of an individual node from a sensor network that is capable of performing a desired action such as gathering, processing or communicating information with other connected nodes in a network.
Although wireless sensor networks have existed for decades and used for diverse applications such as earthquake measurements or warfare, the modern development of small sensor nodes dates back to the 1998 Smartdust project and the NASA. Sensor Web One of the objectives of the Smartdust project was to create autonomous sensing and communication within a cubic millimeter of space, though this project ended early on, it led to many more research projects and major research centres such as The Berkeley NEST and CENS. The researchers involved in these projects coined the term mote to refer to a sensor node. The equivalent term in the NASA Sensor Webs Project for a physical sensor node is pod, although the sensor node in a Sensor Web can be another Sensor Web itself. Physical sensor nodes have been able to increase their effectiveness and its capability in conjunction with Moore's Law.
The chip footprint contains more complex and lower powered microcontrollers. Thus, for the same node footprint, more silicon capability can be packed into it. Nowadays, motes focus on providing the longest wireless range (dozens of km), the lowest energy consumption (a few uA) and the easiest development process for the user.
The main components of a sensor node usually involve a microcontroller, transceiver, external memory, power source and one or more sensors.
Sensors are used by wireless sensor nodes to capture data from their environment. They are hardware devices that produce a measurable response to a change in a physical condition like temperature or pressure. Sensors measure physical data of the parameter to be monitored and have specific characteristics such as accuracy, sensitivity etc. The continual analog signal produced by the sensors is digitized by an analog-to-digital converter and sent to controllers for further processing.
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