sensornetwork

Sensor network, or sensornetwork, refers to a distributed collection of spatially distributed autonomous sensors that monitor physical or environmental conditions, such as temperature, sound, vibration, or pollutants. The sensors cooperatively pass data through the network to a central location, often called a sink or base station, for processing and analysis. Sensor nodes are typically small, low-power devices with sensing, processing, and radio communication capabilities and with energy constraints. Networks can be static or mobile and may include actuators that respond to sensed conditions.

Architecturally, sensornetworks are commonly described in layers: sensing, networking, data processing, and application. A typical node includes a sensor, a microcontroller, a radio transceiver, and a power source. Nodes communicate through multi-hop wireless links; data is often collected by a gateway that interfaces with higher-level information systems. Many networks employ in-network processing to reduce data transmissions and conserve energy, such as local aggregation, data fusion, and event-driven reporting.

Operation and design considerations include energy efficiency, reliability, scalability, and robustness to node failures. Techniques such as duty cycling, sleep-wake schedules, adaptive sampling, and energy harvesting extend lifetime. Routing and MAC protocols address communication overhead, latency, and data delivery guarantees. Security and privacy are important due to potential exposure of sensitive data and the risk of compromised nodes.

Applications include environmental sensing, agriculture, smart cities, industrial monitoring, disaster response, and structural health monitoring. The field has evolved from traditional wireless sensor networks to integrated Internet of Things deployments, with emphasis on interoperability, big data analytics, and AI-assisted sensing for real-time decision making.