Sensor Technology Editorial
SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son has an interesting theory that one of the reasons for the Cambrian explosion of life was that organisms gained eyes as “sensors.” After acquiring eyes, organisms began to chase and prey on other organisms. More importantly, eyes as sensors can collect a large amount of data. As the volume of data increases, the learning cycle of the brain speeds up, further promoting subsequent biological evolution.
Today, a similar phenomenon is occurring in the world of the Internet of Things. It is predicted that by 2035, there will be over one trillion IoT devices capable of storing sensor data in the cloud. If a Cambrian explosion truly exists, then an explosion of the Internet of Things will also come.
The Role of Sensors in the IoT Industry
The Internet of Things is a vast network formed by combining various information sensing devices with the Internet. It is an upgrade of the Internet and the core of the information age. The development of the Internet of Things requires support from technologies such as intelligent perception, identification, and communication, and the key to perception is sensors and related technologies. It is no exaggeration to say that without the advancement of sensors, there would be no prosperity of the Internet of Things. As the Internet of Things develops, the sensor industry will also experience an explosion, as sensors are the key components for data collection in the Internet of Things, playing an indispensable role.
As the world enters a rapidly developing information age, the first issue to address in the process of obtaining and processing information is to acquire reliable and accurate information, and sensors are the primary means and methods for obtaining information. For example, in the era of Industry 4.0, sensors are used to monitor and control parameters during the production process, keeping equipment in normal working condition; in the smart home field, sensors are the basis for interaction between users and home appliances (lighting, TVs, refrigerators, audio systems, etc.); in autonomous driving, sensors are needed to collect and process traffic and environmental data, ensuring safe driving on the road… It can be said without exaggeration that the larger the market for the Internet of Things in the future, the greater the role sensors can play.
With the increasing demand for the Internet of Things, the domestic sensor market is showing rapid growth. According to statistics, it is expected to reach 593.7 billion yuan by 2021, with an average annual compound growth rate of about 30% in the next five years, far exceeding the global average.
The development of sensors in China can be roughly divided into three stages: structural sensors that perceive signals through structural changes; solid sensors made of semiconductors and materials; and intelligent sensors with information exchange and processing capabilities, which are also the most promising types of sensors in the era of the Internet of Things.
Intelligent sensors have characteristics such as high precision, low cost, diversified functions, and strong automation. They are sensors with information processing capabilities, a product of the integration of sensors and microprocessors. Many sensors in various IoT scenarios possess the characteristics of intelligent sensors, and in the future IoT era, intelligent sensors will be the market mainstream.
Development Requirements for Sensors in the IoT Era
Since the birth of sensors in the 1960s, their history has exceeded 150 years. In the mobile internet era, the popularity of smartphones has promoted the rapid development of sensors, but it has also determined that many types of sensors are designed specifically for smartphones. The “things” in the IoT era have significant differences in their demands for sensing and connectivity compared to smartphones, thus placing more and higher requirements on sensing technology. In summary, sensors are evolving towards high precision, miniaturization, low power consumption, and intelligence.
Intelligent Sensors
1. High Precision and Quality
If the data collected by sensors is erroneous, then it is equivalent to an error from the source, rendering all subsequent data transmission, analysis, and application meaningless. Therefore, the precision and quality of sensors are crucial baselines for ensuring the vision of the Internet of Things. Imagine if the sensors in a smart connected car fail to meet precision and quality standards; this would mean that during unexpected situations, the system cannot make the correct decision within those few milliseconds, severely threatening the safety of the driver.
2. Miniaturization
As mobile devices centered around smartphones evolve towards multifunctionality and high performance, there is a demand for more components on circuit boards while reducing their size. Therefore, sensors are gradually adopting integration technology to achieve high performance and miniaturization. Integrated temperature sensors, integrated pressure sensors, and more have already been widely used, and more integrated sensors will be developed in the future.
3. Low Power Consumption
We are accustomed to charging our phones every day and carrying power banks when going out because applications like Weibo, WeChat, videos, and games consume a lot of power. But can you imagine the poor scenario if smoke detectors and smart cameras also required daily battery changes? Unlike smartphones, many IoT devices are located in areas that people do not frequently access, so they have extreme power consumption requirements; otherwise, the operating costs would be too high.
4. Intelligence
With the explosive growth of connected devices, data is increasing exponentially, and centralized cloud services are becoming “overloaded.” More importantly, for applications such as intelligent manufacturing or smart transportation, delays in cloud analysis can lead to a dramatic drop in data value, thus giving rise to edge intelligence.
Sensors are excellent edge nodes. By integrating sensors with microprocessors using embedded technology, they become intelligent data terminal devices with environmental perception, data processing, intelligent control, and data communication capabilities. This is what is known as intelligent sensors. These sensors possess self-learning, self-diagnosis, and self-compensation capabilities, composite perception abilities, and flexible communication capabilities. In this way, the data fed back to the IoT system when sensors perceive the physical world will be more accurate and comprehensive, achieving precise perception.
Surge in Demand for Intelligent Sensors in Five Major Fields
Intelligent sensors have characteristics such as high precision, low cost, diversified functions, and strong automation. They are sensors with information processing capabilities, a product of the integration of sensors and microprocessors. Many sensors in various IoT scenarios possess the characteristics of intelligent sensors, and in the future IoT era, intelligent sensors will be the market mainstream.
Among the most promising IoT scenarios in the future, intelligent industry, smart home, smart healthcare, intelligent vehicles, and smart agriculture are likely to be the most popular IoT fields.
1. Intelligent Industrial Sensors are the Foundation for Industry 4.0
It is well known that Industry 4.0 has become part of national strategy, and intelligent manufacturing is key to national industrial transformation. The role of intelligent industrial sensors in manufacturing is becoming increasingly important. Industrial sensors are characterized by high performance indicators and precision requirements, and data collection and processing errors are not allowed. Unlike traditional industrial sensors, intelligent industrial sensors will be used in intelligent manufacturing, which imposes stricter requirements on precision, stability, and impact resistance.
In the future, the demand for intelligent industrial sensors based on Industry 4.0 will increase significantly, presenting the greatest opportunity for industrial sensor manufacturers.
2. Smart Homes Provide Growth Space for These Sensors
A major feature of smart homes is the control of home appliances. With the development of the Internet of Things, more and more sensors will be used in home appliances such as washing machines, TVs, refrigerators, lighting, air conditioning, and range hoods. Products that previously lacked sensors will become the main battlefield for sensors due to the popularity of smart homes.
Sensors will be standard in smart home products. For example, pressure sensors can monitor foam levels in washing machines; photoelectric sensors can control lighting; electromagnetic sensors can be used in dishwashers to move spray arms; and there are also flow sensors and smart gas sensors that have great utility.
3. Smart Healthcare Requires Various Intelligent Sensors
Smart healthcare utilizes IoT technology to enable interaction between patients, medical staff, and medical devices, with the core part of its work being the collection, storage, transmission, and processing of patient information. In the process of image transmission and massive data computation, various intelligent sensors with processing capabilities are needed, such as MEMS pressure sensors for measuring patient blood pressure, thermoelectric sensors for studying sleep apnea, and temperature sensors for monitoring and measuring body temperature.
As IoT technology develops, wireless medical sensors are gradually evolving towards intelligence, miniaturization, and low power consumption, and the application of sensors in smart healthcare will become increasingly widespread. According to foreign media reports, scientists have researched a new type of sensor that can diagnose eye injuries by measuring the concentration of Vitamin C in human tears to assess the severity of the injury. Recently, scientists have also developed a capsule-sized heart rate sensor that can be swallowed by patients to measure vital signs and transmit information to a receiver for remote monitoring by doctors.
With technological advancements, the types of sensors used in smart healthcare will continue to increase, but they all share the common feature of being intelligent sensors.
4. Intelligent Sensors Support Vehicle Intelligence
Although many domestic cars have implemented some basic networking functions, they are not truly smart cars. With the development of AI and IoT technologies, smart cars will become the mainstream in the future. Smart cars are comprehensive systems that integrate environmental perception, multi-level driving assistance, and other functions. A major feature is the ability to achieve networked control, and the key to control and operation lies in intelligent sensors, whose prevalence will drive the increase of intelligent sensors.
In smart cars, the most commonly used intelligent sensors in the future will be air flow sensors, odometer sensors, oil sensing sensors, brake pressure sensors, position sensors, and collision sensors.
5. The Smart Agriculture Sensor Market Has Broad Prospects
Smart agriculture is key to China’s goal of becoming a strong agricultural nation. In future agricultural production, many types of IoT sensors and related technologies will be needed. The components of agricultural IoT include smart water quality sensors, wireless sensor networks, wireless communication, etc., which together form a complete smart agriculture system, and sensors are the first step to achieving this.
The characteristics of IoT agriculture are based on information technology, collecting data through sensors and conducting quantitative analysis and intelligent decision-making during agricultural production. The agricultural production environment is very complex, and different scenarios require different sensors, such as air temperature, humidity, light intensity, and carbon dioxide concentration. The collection of these data requires the corresponding smart agricultural sensors.
Sensors play an increasingly important role in science and technology, industrial and agricultural production, and daily life. The growing demand for sensors in human society is a powerful driving force for the development of sensor technology, while modern technological advancements provide strong backing for its development.
Under the IoT strategy, the demand for domestic sensors is urgent, and leading domestic sensor companies are more favored by government support. As the key to the Internet of Things, sensors become a crucial segment of the entire industry chain and represent the core competitiveness of enterprises.
