Prof.

Niranjan L
Head, CoE-Embedded Systems
IoT-Internet of Things Dept. of ECE
22ETC15h IOT CMR Institute of Technology

Module 2
Topics under Module 2

IoT Sensing and Actuation: Introduction, Sensors, Sensor Characteristics, Sensorial Deviations, Sensing Types, Sensing
Considerations, Actuators, Actuator Types, Actuator Characteristics.

Textbook 1: Chapter 5 – 5.1 to 5.9

2.1: Introduction- A major chunk of IoT applications involves sensing in one form or the other. Almost
all the applications in IoT—be it a consumer IoT, an industrial IoT, or just plain hobby-based deployments
of IoT solutions—sensing forms the first step. Incidentally, actuation forms the final step in the whole
operation of IoT application deployment in a majority of scenarios. The basic science of sensing and
actuation is based on the process of transduction. Transduction is the process of energy conversion from
one form to another. A transducer is a physical means of enabling transduction. Transducers take energy
in any form (for which it is designed)—electrical, mechanical, chemical, light, sound, and others—and
convert it into another, which may be electrical, mechanical, chemical, light, sound, and others. Sensors
and actuators are deemed as transducers.

Table 1: Basic outline of the differences between transducers, sensors, and actuators
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Prof. Niranjan L, Head of CoE-Embedded Systems, Dept. of ECE, CMR Institute of Technology, Bengaluru
2.1: Sensor: Sensors are devices that can measure, or quantify, or respond to the ambient changes in
their environment or within the intended zone of their deployment. They generate responses to external
stimuli or physical phenomenon through characterization of the input functions (which are these
external stimuli) and their conversion into typically electrical signals. For example, heat is converted to
electrical signals in a temperature sensor, or atmospheric pressure is converted to electrical signals in a
barometer. sensor is only sensitive to the measured property (e.g., a temperature sensor only senses the
ambient temperature of a room). It is insensitive to any other property besides what it is designed to
detect (e.g., a temperature sensor does not bother about light or pressure while sensing the temperature).
Finally, a sensor does not influence the measured property (e.g., measuring the temperature does not
reduce or increase the temperature).

Fig. 2.1: The outline of a simple sensing operation

From figure 2.1 a temperature sensor keeps on checking an environment for changes. In the event of a
fire, the temperature of the environment goes up. The temperature sensor notices this change in the
temperature of the room and promptly communicates this information to a remote monitor via the
processor.

The various sensors can be classified based on: 1) power requirements, 2) sensor

output, and 3) property to be measured.

• Power Requirements: The way sensors operate decides the power requirements that must be
provided for an IoT implementation. Some sensors need to be provided with separate power
sources for them to function, whereas some sensors do not require any power sources. Depending
on the requirements of power, sensors can be of two types.
i. Active sensors do not require an external circuitry or mechanism to provide it with power.
It directly responds to the external stimuli from its ambient environment and converts it
into an output signal. For example, a photodiode converts light into electrical impulses.
ii. Passive: Passive sensors require an external mechanism to power them up. The sensed
properties are modulated with the sensor’s inherent characteristics to generate patterns
in the output of the sensor. For example, a thermistor’s resistance can be detected by
applying voltage difference across it or passing a current through it.
Prof. Niranjan L, Head of CoE-Embedded Systems, Dept. of ECE, CMR Institute of Technology, Bengaluru
• Output: The output of a sensor helps in deciding the additional components to be integrated with
an IoT node or system. Typically, almost all modern-day processors are digital; digital sensors can
be directly integrated to the processors.

i. Analog: Analog sensors generate an output signal or voltage, which is proportional

(linearly or non-linearly) to the quantity being measured and is continuous in time and
amplitude. Physical quantities such as temperature, speed, pressure, displacement, strain,
and others are all continuous and categorized as analog quantities.

For example, a thermometer or a thermocouple can be used for measuring the

temperature of a liquid (e.g., in household water heaters). These sensors continuously
respond to changes in the temperature of the liquid.
ii. Digital: These sensors generate the output of discrete time digital representation (time, or
amplitude, or both) of a quantity being measured, in the form of output signals or voltages.
Typically, binary output signals in the form of a logic 1 or a logic 0 for ON or OFF,
respectively are associated with digital sensors. The generated discrete (non-continuous)
values may be output as a single “bit” (serial transmission), eight of which combine to
v
produce a single “byte” output (parallel transmission) in digital sensors.

• Measured Property: The property of the environment being measured by the sensors can be
crucial in deciding the number of sensors in an IoT implementation. Some properties to be
measured do not show high spatial variations and can be quantified only based on temporal
variations in the measured property, such as ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure, and
others. Whereas some properties to be measured show high spatial as well as temporal variations
such as sound, image, and others. Depending on the properties to be measured, sensors can be of
two types.
i. Scalar: Scalar sensors produce an output proportional to the magnitude of the quantity
being measured. The output is in the form of a signal or voltage. Scalar physical quantities
are those where only the magnitude of the signal is sufficient for describing or
characterizing the phenomenon and information generation. Examples of such
measurable physical quantities include color, pressure, temperature, strain, and others. A
thermometer or thermocouple is an example of a scalar sensor that has the ability to
detect changes in ambient or object temperatures (depending on the sensor’s
configuration). Factors such as changes in sensor orientation or direction do not affect
these sensors (typically).

Prof. Niranjan L, Head of CoE-Embedded Systems, Dept. of ECE, CMR Institute of Technology, Bengaluru
ii. Vector: Vector sensors are affected by the magnitude as well as the direction and/or
orientation of the property they are measuring. Physical quantities such as velocity and
images that require additional information besides their magnitude for completely
categorizing a physical phenomenon are categorized as vector quantities.

Fig. 2.2: The functional blocks of a typical sensor node in IoT

Fig. 2.3: Some common commercially available sensors used for IoT-based sensing applications

Prof. Niranjan L, Head of CoE-Embedded Systems, Dept. of ECE, CMR Institute of Technology, Bengaluru
 2.3: Sensor Characteristics: All sensors can be defined by their ability to measure or capture a certain
phenomenon and report them as output signals to various other systems. However, even within the same sensor
type and class, sensors can be characterized by their ability to sense the phenomenon based on the following
three fundamental properties.

• Sensor Resolution: The smallest change in the measurable quantity that a sensor can detect is referred to as
the resolution of a sensor. For digital sensors, the smallest change in the digital output that the sensor is capable
of quantifying is its sensor resolution. The more the resolution of a sensor, the more accurate is the precision.
A sensor’s accuracy does not depend upon its resolution. For example, a temperature sensor A can detect up to
0:5 C changes in temperature; whereas another sensor B can detect up to 0:25C changes in temperature.
Therefore, the resolution of sensor B is higher than the resolution of sensor A. C changes in temperature;
whereas another sensor B can detect up to 0:25 C changes in temperature. Therefore, the resolution of sensor
B is higher than the resolution of sensor A.

• Sensor Accuracy: The accuracy of a sensor is the ability of that sensor to measure the environment of a system
as close to its true measure as possible. For example, a weight sensor detects the weight of a 100 kg mass as
99.98 kg. We can say that this sensor is 99:98% accurate, with an error rate of +-0:02%.

• Sensor Precision: The principle of repeatability governs the precision of a sensor. Only if, upon multiple
repetitions, the sensor is found to have the same error rate, can it be deemed as highly precise. For example,
consider if the same weight sensor described earlier reports measurements of 98.28 kg, 100.34 kg, and 101.11
kg upon three repeat measurements for a mass of actual weight of 100 kg. Here, the sensor precision is not
deemed high because of significant variations in the vtemporal measurements for the same object under the
same conditions.

2.4: Sensorial Deviations: Most of the sensing in IoT is non-critical, where minor deviations in sensorial
outputs seldom change the nature of the undertaken tasks. However, some critical applications of IoT, such as
healthcare, industrial process monitoring, and others, do require sensors with high-quality measurement
capabilities. As the quality of the measurement obtained from a sensor is dependent on a large number of
factors, there are a few primary considerations that must be incorporated during the sensing of critical systems.
In the event of a sensor’s output signal going beyond its designed maximum and minimum capacity for
measurement, the sensor output is truncated to its maximum or minimum value, which is also the sensor’s
limits. The measurement range between a sensor’s characterized minimum and maximum values is also
referred to as the fullscale range of that sensor. Under real conditions, the sensitivity of a sensor may differ from
the value specified for that sensor leading to sensitivity error. This deviation is mostly attributed to sensor
fabrication errors and its calibration. If the output of a sensor differs from the actual value to be measured by a
constant, the sensor is said to have an offset error or bias. For example, while measuring an actual temperature
of 0C, a temperature sensor outputs 1:1 C every time. In this case, the sensor is said to have an offset error or
bias of 1:1C. Similarly, some sensors have a non-linear behavior. If a sensor’s transfer function (TF) deviates
from a straight line transfer function, it is referred to as its non-linearity. The amount a sensor’s actual output
differs from the ideal TF behavior over the full range of the sensor quantifies its behavior. It is denoted as the
percentage of the sensor’s full range. Most sensors have linear behavior. If the output signal of a sensor changes
slowly and independently of the measured property, this behavior of the sensor’s output is termed as drift.
Physical changes in the sensor or its material may result in long-term drift, which can span over months or
years. Noise is a temporally varying random deviation of signals. In contrast, if a sensor’s output varies/deviates
due to deviations in the sensor’s previous input values, it is referred to as hysteresis error. The present output
of the sensor depends on the past input values provided to the sensor.
Prof. Niranjan L, Head of CoE-Embedded Systems, Dept. of ECE, CMR Institute of Technology, Bengaluru
 Typically, the phenomenon of hysteresis can be observed in analog sensors, magnetic sensors, and during
heating of metal strips. One way to check for hysteresis error is to check how the sensor’s output changes when
we first increase, then decrease the input values to the sensor over its full range. It is generally denoted as a
positive and negative percentage variation of the full-range of that sensor. Focusing on digital sensors, if the
digital output of a sensor is an approximation of the measured property, it induces quantization error. This
error can be defined as the difference between the actual analog signal and its closest digital approximation
during the sampling stage of the analog to digital conversion. Similarly, dynamic errors caused due to
mishandling of sampling frequencies can give rise to aliasing errors. Aliasing leads to different signals of varying
frequencies to be represented as a single signal in case the sampling frequency is not correctly chosen, resulting
in the input signal becoming a multiple of the sampling rate. Finally, the environment itself plays a crucial role
in inducing sensorial deviations. Some sensors may be prone to external influences, which may not be directly
linked to the property being measured by the sensor. This sensitivity of the sensor may lead to deviations in its
output values. For example, as most sensors are semiconductor-based, they are influenced by the temperature
of their environment.

2.5: Sensing Types: Sensing can be broadly divided into four different categories based on the nature of the
environment being sensed and the physical sensors being used to do so 1) scalar sensing, 2) multimedia sensing,
3) hybrid sensing, and 4) virtual sensing.

• Scalar sensing : Scalar sensing encompasses the sensing of features that can be quantified simply by measuring
changes in the amplitude of the measured values with respect v to time [3]. Quantities such as ambient temperature,
current, atmospheric pressure, rainfall, light, humidity, flux, and others are considered as scalar values as they
normally do not have a directional or spatial property assigned with them. Simply measuring the changes in their
values with passing time provides enough information about these quantities. The sensors used for measuring these
scalar quantities are referred to as scalar sensors, and the act is known as scalar sensing.

Fig. 2.4: The different sensing types commonly encountered in IoT

Prof. Niranjan L, Head of CoE-Embedded Systems, Dept. of ECE, CMR Institute of Technology, Bengaluru
• Multimedia sensing

Multimedia sensing encompasses the sensing of features that have a spatial variance property associated with
the property of temporal variance [4]. Unlike scalar sensors, multimedia sensors are used for capturing the
changes in amplitude of a quantifiable property concerning space (spatial) as well as time (temporal).
Quantities such as images, direction, flow, speed, acceleration, sound, force, mass, energy, and momentum have
both directions as well as a magnitude. Additionally, these quantities follow the vector law of addition and hence
are designated as vector quantities. They might have different values in different directions for the same
working condition at the same time. The sensors used for measuring these quantities are known as vector
sensors. A simple camera-based multimedia sensing using surveillance as an example for multimedia sensing.

• Hybrid sensing

The act of using scalar as well as multimedia sensing at the same time is referred to as hybrid sensing. Many a
time, there is a need to measure certain vector as well as scalar properties of an environment at the same time.
Under these conditions, a range of various sensors are employed (from the collection of scalar as well as
multimedia sensors) to measure the various properties of that environment at any instant of time, and
temporally map the collected information to generate new information. For example, in an agricultural field, it
is required to measure the soil conditions at regular intervals of time to determine plant health. Sensors such
as soil moisture and soil temperature are deployed underground to estimate the soil’s water retention capacity
and the moisture being held by the soil at any instant of time. However, this setup only determines whether the
plant is getting enough water or not. There may be a host of other factors besides water availability, which may
affect a plant’s health. The additional inclusion of a camera sensor with the plant may be able to determine the
actual condition of a plant by additionally determiningvthe color of leaves. The aggregate information from soil
moisture, soil temperature, and the camera sensor will be able to collectively determine a plant’s health at any
instant of time. Other common examples of hybrid sensing include smart parking systems, traffic management
systems, and others.

• Virtual sensing

Many a time, there is a need for very dense and large-scale deployment of sensor nodes spread over a large area
for monitoring of parameters. One such domain is agriculture. Here, often, the parameters being measured,
such as soil moisture, soil temperature, and water level, do not show significant spatial variations. Hence, if
sensors are deployed in the fields of farmer A, it is highly likely that the measurements from his sensors will be
able to provide almost concise measurements of his neighbor B’s fields; this is especially true of fields which
are immediately surrounding A’s fields. Exploiting this property, if the data from A’s field is digitized using an
IoT infrastructure and this system advises him regarding the appropriate watering, fertilizer, and pesticide
regimen for his crops, this advisory can also be used by B for maintaining his crops. In short, A ’s sensors are
being used for actual measurement of parameters; whereas virtual data (which does not have actual physical
sensors but uses extrapolation-based measurements) is being used for advising B. This is the virtual sensing
paradigm.

2.4: Sensing Considerations

The choice of sensors in an IoT sensor node is critical and can either make or break the feasibility of an IoT
deployment. The following major factors influence the choice of sensors in IoT-based sensing solutions: 1)
sensing range, 2) accuracy and precision, 3) energy, and 4) device size.

Prof. Niranjan L, Head of CoE-Embedded Systems, Dept. of ECE, CMR Institute of Technology, Bengaluru
• Sensing Range: The sensing range of a sensor node defines the detection fidelity of that node. Typical approaches
to optimize the sensing range in deployments include fixed k-coverage and dynamic k-coverage. A lifelong fixed k-
coverage tends to usher in redundancy as it requires a large number of sensor nodes, the sensing range of some of
which may also overlap. In contrast, dynamic k-coverage incorporates mobile sensor nodes post-detection of an
event, which, however, is a costly solution and may not be deployable in all operational areas and terrains. For
example, a proximity sensor has a typical sensing range of a couple of meters. In contrast, a camera has a sensing
range varying between tens of meters to hundreds of meters. As the complexity of the sensor and its sensing range
goes up, its cost significantly increases.

• Accuracy and Precision: The accuracy and precision of measurements provided by a sensor are critical in deciding
the operations of specific functional processes. Typically, off-the-shelf consumer sensors are low on requirements
and often very cheap. However, their performance is limited to regular application domains. For example, a standard
temperature sensor can be easily integrated with conventional components for hobby projects and day-to-day
applications, but it is not suitable for industrial processes. Regular temperature sensors have a very low-temperature
sensing range, as well as relatively low accuracy and precision. The use of these sensors in industrial applications,
where a precision of up to 3–4 decimal places is required, cannot be facilitated by these sensors. Industrial sensors
are typically very sophisticated, and as a result, very costly. However, these industrial sensors have very high accuracy
and precision score, even under harsh operating conditions.

• Energy: The energy consumed by a sensing solution is crucial to determine the lifetime of that solution and the
estimated cost of its deployment. If the sensor or the vsensor node is so energy inefficient that it requires
replenishment of its energy sources quite frequently, the effort in maintaining the solution and its cost goes up;
whereas its deployment feasibility goes down. Consider a scenario where sensor nodes are deployed on the top of
glaciers. Once deployed, access to these nodes is not possible. If the energy requirements of the sensor nodes are too
high, such a deployment will not last long, and the solution will be highly infeasible as charging or changing of the
energy sources of these sensor nodes is not an option.

• Device Size: Modern-day IoT applications have a wide penetration in all domains of life. Most of the applications of
IoT require sensing solutions which are so small that they do not hinder any of the regular activities that were
possible before the sensor node deployment was carried out. Larger the size of a sensor node, larger is the
obstruction caused by it, higher is the cost and energy requirements, and lesser is its demand for the bulk of the IoT
applications. Consider a simple human activity detector. If the detection unit is too large to be carried or too bulky to
cause hindrance to regular normal movements, the demand for this solution would be low. It is because of this that
the onset of wearables took off so strongly. The wearable sensors are highly energy-efficient, small in size, and almost
part of the wearer’s regular wardrobe.

End Of Sensors

Prof. Niranjan L, Head of CoE-Embedded Systems, Dept. of ECE, CMR Institute of Technology, Bengaluru