Sensors are like the eyes, ears, mouth, and nose of humans, but they are not just simple sensory organs; they can even collect more useful information. Therefore, it can be said that these sensors are the foundation of the entire Internet of Things (IoT) system, and it is precisely because of sensors that the IoT system can transmit content to the “brain”.
In the past, sensors were mainly used in industry. However, over time, they have gradually entered our lives.
Sensors are the Cornerstone of IoT Development
With the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issuing the official commercial license for 5G on June 6, the arrival of 5G seems to have pushed the IoT to a tipping point. What are the small wings of IoT? Perhaps different people have different answers, but sensors are undoubtedly one of the important options.
IoT Hierarchy
From the IoT hierarchy diagram, we can see that the IoT is mainly composed of four parts: the perception layer, network layer, support layer, and application layer. There is an old saying: the foundation of the lower layer determines the architecture of the upper layer. The importance of sensors as one of the important components of the IoT perception layer is self-evident.The massive data information in the IoT system comes from terminal devices, and the data from terminal devices can be traced back to sensors. Sensors endow everything with “sensory” functions. Just as humans rely on vision, hearing, smell, and touch to perceive the surrounding environment, objects can also perceive the surrounding environment through various sensors. Moreover, their perception is more accurate and has a wider range than that of humans. For example, humans cannot accurately perceive the specific temperature value of an object through touch, nor can they perceive thousands of high temperatures, nor can they distinguish subtle temperature changes, but sensors can. It can be said that sensors are the “language” for communication between objects in the era of “everything interconnected”.
The Role of Sensors in the IoT Industry
The IoT 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 IoT requires support from technologies such as intelligent perception, identification, and communication, and the key to perception is sensors and related technologies. It is not an exaggeration to say that without the progress of sensors, there would be no prosperity of the IoT. With the development of the IoT, the sensor industry will also usher in an explosion. Sensors are key components for data collection in the IoT and play an indispensable role.As the world enters a rapidly developing information age, the first thing to solve in the process of obtaining and processing information is to acquire reliable and accurate information, and sensors are the main means and channels for obtaining information. For example, in the era of Industry 4.0, sensors are used to monitor and control parameters in the production process to keep equipment in a normal working state; in the smart home field, sensors are the basis for interaction between users and home appliances (lighting, TV, refrigerator, audio, etc.); in autonomous driving, sensors are needed to collect and process traffic and environmental data to ensure the safe operation of vehicles on the road… It is not an exaggeration to say that the larger the market for the future IoT, the greater the role sensors will play.With the increasing demand for IoT, domestic sensors are currently showing a trend of 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% over the next five years, far exceeding the global average.
History of Sensor Development
The IoT has been around for more than twenty years since its inception, but the scale of sensor deployment has not been popularized, resulting in insufficient physical layers and data, which restricts industrial development from the source. As a fundamental infrastructure for the IoT, sensor deployment has long been proposed by the country as a trillion-sensor revolution, aimed at promoting the use of one trillion sensors in social infrastructure and public services each year, with an expectation of embedding 100 trillion sensors in various places after 2030.China began to engage in sensor manufacturing as early as the 1960s and has undergone years of development, which can generally be divided into three generations:First generation: Structural sensors that use changes in structural parameters to sense and convert signals.
Second generation: Sensors that began to develop in the 1970s are solid-state sensors, which are composed of solid components such as semiconductors, dielectrics, and magnetic materials, made using certain properties of materials.Third generation: Sensors that began to develop in the 1980s are intelligent sensors. Intelligent sensors refer to those that have certain detection, self-diagnosis, data processing, and self-adaptive capabilities for external information. They feature high precision, low cost, diversified functions, and strong automation, and are products of the combination of microcomputer technology and detection technology.
Intelligent sensors are multi-component integrated circuits with information collection, processing, exchange, and storage functions, integrating sensing chips, communication chips, microprocessors, drivers, software algorithms, etc. into a system-level product.In this era of intelligent perception in the IoT, intelligent sensors are one of the key technologies for implementing the IoT. In many IoT scenarios, sensors have intelligent sensor characteristics, and they will play a huge role in industries such as industry, agriculture, healthcare, and transportation. In the future sensor market, the proportion of intelligent sensors will become increasingly large.
Development Requirements for Sensors in the IoT Era
Since their birth in the 1960s, sensors have a history of over 150 years. The popularity of smartphones in the mobile Internet era 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 significantly different needs for sensing and connectivity compared to smartphones, thus imposing more and higher requirements on sensing technology. In summary, sensors are evolving towards high precision, miniaturization, low power consumption, and intelligence.1. High Precision and High QualityIf the data collected by sensors is erroneous, it means that there is an error from the source, making all subsequent data transmission, analysis, and application meaningless. Therefore, the precision and quality of sensors are an important baseline for ensuring the vision of the IoT. Imagine if the precision and quality of a smart connected car’s sensors do not meet standards; this means that in those few milliseconds when unexpected situations occur, the system cannot make the correct decision, thereby severely threatening the driver’s safety.2. MiniaturizationAs mobile devices centered around smartphones develop towards multifunctionality and high performance, there is a demand for more components within circuit boards, with smaller sizes. Therefore, sensors are gradually adopting integrated technology to achieve high performance and miniaturization. Integrated temperature sensors, integrated pressure sensors, etc., have already been widely used, and more integrated sensors will be developed in the future.3. Low Power ConsumptionWe are used to the daily charging routine for smartphones, as apps like Weibo, WeChat, video, and games consume a lot of power. Can you imagine how inconvenient it would be if interlinked devices like smoke alarms and smart cameras needed daily battery replacements? Unlike smartphones, many IoT devices are located in areas that people do not frequently access, so there are extreme power consumption requirements, which means that sensors must also have very low power consumption; otherwise, operational costs would be too high.4. IntelligenceWith the surge of interconnected devices, data is experiencing explosive growth, and centralized cloud systems are becoming “overburdened.” Moreover, for applications such as smart manufacturing or intelligent transportation, delays in cloud analysis can lead to a steep decline in data value. Thus, edge intelligence is beginning to rise.Sensors are excellent edge nodes, integrating sensors with microprocessors through embedded technology to create intelligent data terminal devices with environmental perception, data processing, intelligent control, and data communication functions, which is what we call intelligent sensors. These sensors have self-learning, self-diagnosis, and self-compensation capabilities, composite sensing abilities, and flexible communication capabilities. In this way, the data fed back to the IoT system by sensors when perceiving the physical world will be more accurate and comprehensive, achieving precise perception.
Demand for Intelligent Sensors in Five Major Fields Surges
Intelligent sensors are characterized by high precision, low cost, diversified functions, and strong automation. They are sensors with information processing capabilities and are products of the integration of sensors and microprocessors. In many IoT scenarios, sensors have 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, smart industry, smart home, smart healthcare, smart vehicles, and smart agriculture are the fields most likely to become popular.1. Smart Industrial Sensors are the Foundation for Achieving Industry 4.0It is well known that Industry 4.0 has become part of the national strategy, and smart manufacturing is key to national industrial transformation. The role of smart industrial sensors in manufacturing is becoming increasingly important. Industrial sensors are characterized by high performance indicators and precision requirements, with no room for errors in data collection and processing. Unlike traditional industrial sensors, smart industrial sensors will be used in smart manufacturing, which imposes more stringent requirements for precision, stability, and shock resistance.In the future, the demand for smart industrial sensors based on Industry 4.0 will significantly increase, presenting the biggest opportunity for industrial sensor manufacturers.2. Smart Homes Provide Growth Opportunities for These SensorsA major feature of smart homes is the realization of control over home appliances. With the development of the IoT, more and more sensors will be used in home appliances, such as washing machines, TVs, refrigerators, lighting, air conditioners, and range hoods. Products that previously did not have sensors will become the main battlefield for sensors due to the popularity of smart homes.Sensors will be standard for smart home products. For example, pressure sensors can be used in washing machines to monitor foam levels; photoelectric sensors can be used in light bulbs to control lighting; electromagnetic sensors used in dishwashers can control the movement of spray arms, etc. Additionally, flow sensors and smart gas sensors will also have significant applications.3. Smart Healthcare Requires Various Intelligent SensorsSmart healthcare utilizes IoT technology to enable interaction between patients, medical staff, and medical devices. The core part of its operation is the collection, storage, transmission, and processing of patient information. During image transmission and massive data computation, various intelligent sensors with processing capabilities are needed, such as MEMS pressure sensors for measuring blood pressure, thermoelectric sensors for studying sleep apnea, and temperature sensors for monitoring and measuring body temperature.With the development of IoT technology, 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 studied a new type of sensor that can be used to diagnose eye injuries based on the concentration of vitamin C in human tears to assess the severity of the injury. Recently, scientists have also developed a swallowable heart rate sensor the size of a capsule that, once swallowed, can measure vital signs and transmit information to a receiver for remote monitoring by doctors.As technology advances, the types of sensors used in smart healthcare will continue to increase, but they will share a common characteristic of possessing the features of intelligent sensors.4. Intelligent Sensors Assist in the Smartification of VehiclesAlthough many domestic vehicles have achieved some basic networking functions, they are not truly smart vehicles. With the development of AI and IoT technologies, smart vehicles will become the mainstream in the future. Smart vehicles are a comprehensive system integrating environmental perception, multi-level driving assistance, and other functions, with a significant feature being the ability to achieve networked control. The key to control and operation lies in intelligent sensors, and the popularization of smart vehicles will lead to an increase in intelligent sensors.In smart vehicles, the most commonly used intelligent sensors in the future will include air flow sensors, odometer sensors, oil sensing sensors, brake pressure sensors, position sensors, and collision sensors.5. The Smart Agriculture Sensor Market Has Broad ProspectsSmart agriculture is key to China’s goal of becoming an agricultural powerhouse, and a variety of IoT sensors and related technologies will be needed in future agricultural production. The components of agricultural IoT include intelligent water quality sensors, wireless sensor networks, and wireless communication, which together form a complete smart agriculture system. Sensors are the first step to achieving this.The characteristics of IoT agriculture are based on information technology, collecting data through sensors during agricultural production, performing quantitative analysis, and making intelligent decisions. The agricultural production environment is very complex, and different scenarios require different sensors, such as air temperature, humidity, light intensity, carbon dioxide concentration, etc. The collection of these data requires the corresponding intelligent agricultural sensors.Sensors are playing an increasingly important role in the fields of science and technology, industrial and agricultural production, and daily life. The growing demands of human society for sensors are a powerful driving force for the development of sensor technology, while modern technology’s rapid advancement provides a strong backing for its development.Under the IoT strategy, the demand for sensor localization is urgent, and domestic leaders in the sensor industry are more supported by the government; as the key to the IoT, sensors have become a competitive advantage in the entire industrial chain, representing the core competitiveness of enterprises.Editor: Li NaProofreader: Jin ChengReviewer: Zhang Qiang
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