Synopses & Reviews
This book presents an overview of wireless network sensors, there generally accepted characteristics, technologies relevant to their implementation, and examples of wireless sensor networks in use. Open topics of research interest are noted in each area.
What is a wireless network sensor?
An important opening question to ask before diving into this text is to define what might be considered a wireless sensor network. In the research literature, a wireless sensor network is generally considered a system composed of many autonomous, small, light-weight sensors distributed in an environment. The sensors may be statically placed or may be mobile. The phenomena sensed may any of a variety of environmental factors such as temperature or moisture. Must a system conform even to these relatively loose definitions to be considered a wireless sensor network? For example, might not weather stations distributed across North America be considered a sensor network even though they tend to be wired, large with comparatively large compute capacity? Or how about radio frequency tags distributed on products scattered throughout a warehouse? As we consider a wide variety of systems, the distinctions between such systems begin to blur. Therefore let us take a step back and review the generally accepted characteristics of a wireless sensor network. Certainly similar systems exist, will be mentioned throughout the book, and may not suffer from the same constraints as traditional sensor systems. However the focus of this book will remain on those sensor systems that fit these generally accepted characteristics.