Sensors for the Internet of Things – a guide
Sensors are one of three main components of an Internet of Things, or IOT for short, system.
The first stage in an IOT system, are the sensors, which collect the environmental data.
Using automatic IOT Sensors , not only saves employing staff to manually take readings, but can also be safer in dangerous environments.
Choosing the right sensors
The type of sensors that you need in order to automate your business operations, not only depends on the processes you wish to monitor, but also the environment that the sensors will be operating in.
Sensors for Damp Environments
Sensors situated in damp environments, whether actually immersed in water, or just located in a damp environment, require appropriate IP.
IP is short for Ingress protection, and is an internationally used rating system for how well a device resists ingress of dust and moisture.
Failure to chose a suitable IP rated sensor can result in premature device failure, causing increased variable maintenance costs for your business. We avoid this by planning a system that is reliable, and meets your business needs.
Sensor types and applications
A sensor is defined as a Converter that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal.
Some examples of sensors that can be integrated by yesway, into your IOT system, are given below.
Airflow
Airflow is the amount of air passing through a pipe, for instance, over a period of time.
Airflow can be measured by a sensing device, which is integrated into a remote wireless node.
The data captured, is wirelessly sent back to an IOT Gateway device, which then sends it into the Internet Cloud.
Current
Current is defined as a flow of electricity which results from the ordered directional movement of electrically charged particles.
Measuring Current can be useful in Industrial Internet Of Things, IIOT environments, such as Smart Factories.
An example of an industrial machine that you may wish to monitor the current of, is the Induction Motor.
An Induction Motor is a type of electrical motor, widely used in factories, and on board ships.
The Induction Motor runs on Alternating Current (AC), and is available as both ‘Single-Phase’, or more typically ‘Three-Phase’ versions.
A Three-Phase Induction Motor has three supply wires (hence the name), which supply electricity along each of the three ‘phase’ wires.
Each Phase is 120 degrees apart, if you were to look at their Sine waves.
Measuring the Current being drawn by the Induction Motor, down each of the three phase wires, can help identify faults with the Induction Motor, or associated control systems.
Craig Miles (me), who founded our business has lots of experience in manual fault finding of Industrial Induction Motors, and even taught it to International Students.
Why not use our in-house experience to improve your factory operations, by integrating Sensors, to turn your factory into a Smart Factory.
Force
Pushing or pulling forces can be measured using wireless technology sensing.
These include forces being exerted on structures, such as bridges.
Humidity
Humidity levels can be measured, either as a standalone task, or as part of a Smart City integration.
Humidity measurement is useful, both in an external and internal environment.
Yesway have the ability to engineer a custom solution (if needed), to reliably operate within harsh, or explosive (ATEX) environments.
Thermal
Thermal heat levels can be measured, and fed to the cloud, where they can be plotted and analysed.
Magnetic
Magnetic sensors are found in applications, such as security systems, where they act as door sensors.
More sophisticated magnetic sensors, are capable of detecting varying magnetic fields.
Other Sensing Abilities
We can integrate many other types of sensing device, and wirelessly get your data onto the cloud.
Below are some more examples of sensors available.
- Motion & Position
- Optical
- Pressure Sense & Transducers
- Speed Sensors
Written and Copyright (C) Craig Miles 2018. Originally written for Yesway Ltd