Sensorisering

Sensorisering is the process of equipping objects, systems or processes with sensors and related instrumentation to measure and monitor physical properties, such as temperature, pressure, vibration, motion, humidity, chemical composition or location. The collected data supports real-time monitoring, analytics, automation and informed decision making, and is often part of broader IoT and Industry 4.0 initiatives.

The concept spans many sectors. In manufacturing, sensorisering underpins smart factories, asset condition monitoring and predictive maintenance. In logistics and supply chains, sensors track temperature, humidity, positional data and transit conditions. In buildings, sensor-based systems manage HVAC, lighting and safety. In energy and utilities, sensors enable grid monitoring and fault detection. In healthcare and agriculture, they support remote monitoring, diagnostics and precision practices.

Key components include sensors themselves, data acquisition and edge devices, gateways, networks for communication, and cloud or on-premises data platforms with analytics and visualization tools. Common communication options are Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, LoRaWAN, MQTT and OPC UA, while analytics range from dashboards to machine learning.

Benefits of sensorisering include improved visibility and faster decision making, reduced downtime and maintenance costs, greater energy efficiency, enhanced safety, and better regulatory compliance. Challenges encompass data quality and governance, interoperability and standardization, cybersecurity and privacy, upfront and ongoing costs, and integration with legacy systems. Ongoing developments focus on open standards, scalable analytics, and the use of digital twins to model and optimize sensorized systems.