Sensors are sophisticated electrical devices composed of sensitive materials that detect and respond to electrical or optical signals. They are also variably known as transducers. Usually, sensors operate in a variety of manners and are designed to sense physical properties like temperature or radiation. However, they can also be used to detect motion or proximity.
The industry of sensors is flourishing due to the advancement in material science and engineering. Its application is relevant in virtually all aspects of life to test, measure and control various processes.
Due to research and development activities, sensors have found application in various industries:
1. Importance Of Sensors In Internet of Things (IoT) Solutions: Sensors are one of the most important elements in IoT solutions. For an IoT system to work, a manual or environmental signal input is always required. Sensors collect data from the surrounding environment and are connected to IoT networks after signal conversion and processing. Note that different IoT applications require different types of sensors. Common types of IoT sensors include:
- Temperature Sensors: These types of sensors have found application in air-conditioners, refrigerators and similar environmental control devices. They measure the amount of heat energy generated from an object.
Humidity Sensors: Humidity adversely affects human comfort. Also, there are various manufacturing processes that are affected by humidity in the operating environment. This makes it essential to monitor the humidity level through sensors. - Motion Sensors: These are popularly used for security purposes as well as in automatic door controls, hand dryers, energy management systems, etc
2. Use Of Sensors In Healthcare Industry: Fitness gadgets and medical devices are extensively using sensors to monitor medical condition and health statistics of individuals. Sensors are also finding their way in technology that tracks progression of a disease. Sensors are also used in devices that finds out how medicines are interacting with patient’s body.
3. Aerospace & Military Applications: Due to the surviving capability of temperature sensors in extreme conditions, it has found widespread use in aerospace and military application.
4. Use Of Sensors In Chemical Industry: Chemical identifications are achieving accuracy as sensors are being integrated into cameras. For example, sensors are used to detect valuable minerals in rocks. This is possible due to the hyper-spectral imaging that gathers information about each pixel of the image. It then determines material and objects despite the complex background.
5. Use Of Sensors In Agriculture: Sensors are used to determine crop quality, pest infestation, effect of weather on crops, sorting of produce, etc. Advancements in sensor technology has allowed agriculturists to have better output which leads to economic benefits.
Most of the innovations in IoT are based on the efficacy of sensors to collect data from different sources. For more information on how sensors and IoT devices can help your business process, contact Centex Technologies at (254) 213 – 4740.