Fundamentals of IoT - Summary

Fundamentals of IoT

Module Overview

  • Focus on the "Things" in IoT, prototyping boards, and programming languages.

IoT Components

  • Sensors & Actuators: Fundamental building blocks of IoT, senses environment and acts upon it.

  • Smart Objects: Physical objects with embedded technology that can sense and interact with the environment.

    • Characteristics include: sensors/actuators, processing units, memory, communication units, and power sources.

Sensors

  • Definition: Devices that measure physical quantities and convert them into signals (analog/digital).

  • Classification Criteria:

    • Energy Requirement: Active (requires power) / Passive (does not require power).

    • Placement: Invasive (inserted) / Non-invasive (external measurement).

    • Sensing Mechanism: Thermoelectric, electromechanical, optical, etc.

    • Application Industry: Medical, manufacturing, agriculture, etc.

    • Measuring Scale: Absolute or relative.

Examples of Sensors

  • Position: Potentiometers, encoders.

  • Motion: PIR sensors, accelerometers.

  • Pressure: Barometers, piezometers.

  • Temperature: Thermocouples, thermistors.

  • Humidity: Hygrometers.

  • Chemical: Gas sensors, biosensors.

Actuators

  • Definition: Devices that convert control signals into physical actions (e.g., move, control force).

  • Types: Hydraulic, pneumatic, electric, thermal, magnetic, mechanical.

Prototyping Boards

  • Categories: Microcontroller-based boards and Single-board computers (e.g., Arduino, Raspberry Pi).

  • Characteristics of Microcontroller Boards: Limited processing power, no operating systems, suitable for simple tasks.

  • Single-board Computers: Complete computing solutions, often run various operating systems.

Application Summary

  • Key understanding of the definitions and classifications of sensors and actuators.

  • Insights on smart objects contributing to IoT systems.