* A major chunk of IoT applications involves sensing in one

form or the other.

* Almost all the applications in IoT, sensing forms the first
step.
* 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.
* Sensors and actuators are deemed as transducers.
Differences between transducers, sensors, and actuators
Sensors:
* Sensorsare devices that can measure, or quantify, or
respond to the ambient changes (exernal stimuli) in
their environment or within the intended zone of their
deployment. Heat, Humidity..
* A sensor is only sensitive to the measured property.
* A sensor does not influence the measured property.

Simple sensing operation

Sensor Classification:
1) power requirements, 2) sensor output, and 3) property
to be measured.
1. Power Requirements: The way sensors operate decides
the power requirements that must be provided for an
IoT implementation.
i. Active: 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. Ex. Photodiode
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. Ex. Thermistor, RFID
2. Output: The output of a sensor helps in deciding the
additional components to be integrated with an IoT
node or system
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.
Ex. thermometer
i. 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. logic 1 or a logic 0 for ON or OFF.
3. 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 like ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure,
some properties to be measured show high spatial as well as
temporal variations like sound, image.
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. changes in sensor orientation or direction
do not affect these sensors
colour, pressure, temperature, strain
ii. Vector: Vector sensors are affected by the magnitude
as well as the direction and/or orientation of the
property they are measuring.
Ex. Electronic gyroscope
Sensor node in IoT
Sensor Characteristics:
Sensor of same type and class can be characterized by
their ability to sense the phenomenon based on the
following three fundamental properties.
i. Sensor Resolution: The smallest change in the
measurable quantity that a sensor can detect is
referred to as the resolution of a sensor. A sensor’s
accuracy does not depend upon its resolution. 0.5◦C
change in temp and 0.25◦C change in temp.
ii. 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. 100kg is
measured as 99.98kg.
iii. 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.
Sensorial Deviations:
Most of the sensing in IoT is non-critical, where minor
deviations in sensorial outputs some times 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.
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.
Under real conditions, the sensitivity of a sensor may differ
from the value specified for that sensor leading to sensitivity
error.
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. 0 C is shown as 1.1 C.
Some sensors have a non-linear behavior. The amount a sensor’s
actual output differs from the ideal transfer function behavior
over the full range of the sensor quantifies its behavior. It is
denoted as the percentage of the sensor’s full range.
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.
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.
If the digital output of a sensor is an approximation of the
measured property, it induces quantization error.
Dynamic errors caused due to mishandling of sampling
frequencies can give rise to aliasing errors.
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.
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.
i. Scalar sensing: sensing of features that can be quantified
simply by measuring changes in the amplitude of the
measured values with respect to time.
Ambient temperature, current, atmospheric pressure,
rainfall, light etc.
ii. Multimedia sensing: sensing of features that have a spatial
variance property associated with the property of temporal
variance. 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).
Images, direction, flow, speed, acceleration, sound
iii. Hybrid sensing: The act of using scalar as well as
multimedia sensing at the same time is referred to
as hybrid sensing.
Plant health monitoring by measuring soil moisture,
temperature and camera. Smart parking system, traffic
management system etc.
iv. 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.
Advising farmer B by the use of sensors deployed in
farmer A’s field.
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.
i. Sensing Range:The sensing range of a sensor node defines
the detection fidelity of that node. 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 kcoverage
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.
the sensing range of a sensor may also be used to signify
the upper and lower bounds of a sensor’s measurement
range.
Proximity sensor, camera
ii. Accuracy and Precision:The accuracy and precision
of measurements provided by a sensor are critical in
deciding the operations of specific functional
processes.
Off-the-shelf consumer sensors are low on requirements
and often very cheap. Their performance is limited to
regular application domains, but it is not suitable for
industrial processes.
Industrial sensors are typically very sophisticated, and as
a result, very costly, 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
sensor node is so energy inefficient that it requires
renewal of its energy sources quite frequently, the effort
in maintaining the solution and its cost goes up; whereas
its deployment feasibility goes down.
Sensor nodes deployed on the top of glaciers
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. The wearable sensors are highly energy-efficient,
small in size
Actuators:An actuator can be considered as a machine or
system’s component that can affect the movement or
control the said mechanism or the system.
The system activates the actuator through a control
signal, which may be digital or analog. It draws response
from the actuator, which is in the form of some form of
mechanical motion.

Simple actuation mechanism

Actuator Types:actuators can be divided into seven
classes: 1) Hydraulic, 2) pneumatic, 3)electrical,
4) thermal/magnetic, 5) mechanical, 6) soft, and
7) shape memory polymers.
i. Hydraulic actuators: A hydraulic actuator works on
the principle of compression and decompression of
fluids. The mechanical motion applied to a hydraulic
actuator is converted to either linear, rotary, or
oscillatory motion. These hydraulic actuators are also
considered as stiff systems. The actuator’s limited
acceleration restricts its usage.
ii. Pneumatic actuators: A pneumatic actuator works
on the principle of compression and decompression
of gases. These actuators use a vacuum or
compressed air at high pressure and convert it into
either linear or rotary motion. They have quick
response to starting and stopping signals.
Pneumatic brakes
iii. Electric actuators: Mostly electric motors are used
to power an electric actuator by generating
mechanical torque. This class of actuators is
considered one of the cheapest, cleanest and speedy
actuator
Solenoid valves control the flow of water in pipes
in response to electrical signals
iv. Thermal or magnetic actuators: Thermal or
magnetic energy is used for powering this class of
actuators. These actuators have a very high power
density and are typically compact, lightweight, and
economical.
Classic example of thermal actuators is shape
memory materials (SMMs) such as shape memory alloys
(SMAs) & Magnetic shape memory alloys (MSMAs).
v. Mechanical actuators: In mechanical actuation, the
rotary motion of the actuator is converted into linear
motion to execute some movement. The use of
gears, rails, pulleys, chains, and other devices are
necessary for these actuators to operate. These
actuators can be easily used in conjunction with
pneumatic, hydraulic, or electrical actuators.
vi. Soft actuators: Soft actuators (e.g., polymer-based)
consists of elastomeric polymers that are used as
embedded fixtures in flexible materials such as
cloth, paper, fiber, particles, and others. The
conversion of molecular level microscopic changes
into tangible macroscopic deformations is the
primary working principle of this class of actuators.
vii.Shape memory polymers: Shape memory polymers
(SMP) are considered as smart materials that
respond to some external stimulus by changing their
shape, and then revert to their original shape once
the affecting stimulus is removed. Features such as
high strain recovery, biocompatibility, low density,
and biodegradability characterize these materials.
Photopolymer/light-activated polymers (LAP)
Actuator Characteristics: The choice or selection of actuators
is crucial in an IoT deployment, where a control mechanism is
required after sensing and processing of the information
obtained from the sensed environment. The correct choice of
actuators is necessary for the long-term sustenance and
continuity of operations, as well as for increasing the lifetime
of the actuators themselves.
i. Weight: The physical weight of actuators limits its
application scope. heavier actuators is generally preferred
for industrial applications and applications requiring no
mobility, lightweight actuators typically find common
usage in portable systems in vehicles, drones, and home
IoT applications.
ii. Power Rating: The power rating defines the minimum and
maximum operating power an actuator can safely
withstand without damage to itself. Smaller servo motors
used in hobby projects typically have a maximum rating of
5 VDC, 500 mA, Servo motors in larger applications have a
rating of 460 VAC, 2.5 A
iii. Torque to Weight Ratio: The ratio of torque to the
weight of the moving part of an instrument/device is
referred to as its torque/weight ratio. This indicates
the sensitivity of the actuator. Higher is the weight
of the moving part; lower will be its torque to weight
ratio for a given power.
iv. Stiffness and Compliance: The resistance of a
material against deformation is known as its
stiffness. Stiff systems are considered more accurate
than compliant systems as they have a faster
response to the change in load applied to it.
Hydraulic systems are considered as stiff and non-
compliant, whereas pneumatic systems are considered as
compliant.