The Top Seven Most Common Sensors for ARM SoC Based IoT Systems

By: Segiy Sergienko, 29 Nov 2018

4 minutes

Reading Time: 4 minutes

In the world of modern technologies, sensors are used for various purposes. The history of these tools started many years ago. But today, when IoT technologies are leading mankind into the age of innovations, they have started to play an even more important role. Engineers all over the world are implementing cutting-edge techniques and methods like ARM SoC to get sensors for the next generation of IoT tools.

According to IoT’s main paradigms, different industries will work as a single entity using data collected by IoT sensors. Each industry will be enhanced with extra data and contribute to self-training algorithms. Obviously, the amount of data collected by those tools is enormous. This is one of the factors that distinguish the new generation of sensors. Let’s have a look at some other primary advantages of IoT sensors:

They are smarter and more precise than the sensors of previous generations.
IoT sensors are able to communicate and interact with other components of the IoT system.
The tools and cheaper and smaller.

Sensors contribute to the overall intelligence of an IoT system. They are responsible for tracking, collecting, and transmitting information to the other elements of the system.

Estimates predict that the total revenue of the sensors market will reach nearly $56 billion by 2022. This number proves that IoT sensors have a huge potential and are able to change the world of industrial automation, as well as contributing to IoT development and world economics.

In this article, we explore the top seven most commonly used sensor types for high-quality IoT solutions development.

The Seven Most Important Sensors for Industrial IoT Systems

On its own, a sensor is useless. It is only useful as an element of a global electronic system. In the case of IoT solutions, sensors play a key role.

Industrial sensors built on the ARM SoC platform are mainly responsible for detecting any environmental changes. They are able to measure various physical phenomena and react to changes by generating an electrical signal.

Each type of sensor is only sensitive to one physical phenomenon. It doesn’t modify data during measurements. Thanks to the ARM SoC platforms, IoT enthusiasts can build the needed solutions and implement suitable sensors for their systems. The sensors react to changes in measured values. The minimum detectable change is called the resolution. Each sensor operates in a defined range between a minimum and maximum value of the measured physical phenomenon.

These are the top seven sensors for IoT solutions that we adopt in our everyday lives:

Temperature Sensors

These are the most commonly used sensors. They play an essential role in industrial IoT applications. Each temperature monitoring system requires high-quality sensors. They are especially useful for biotechnology and pharmaceutical purposes.

The most famous sensors are Melexis MLX90614, Environdata TA40 Series, Geokon 4700.

Pressure Sensors

These tools measure the pressure inside equipment or inside buildings. As a component of the IoT system, they send data about pressure changes in real time.

This type of sensor is critically important for monitoring pressure in boilers, oil drilling, and water systems. Additionally, they find applications in aerospace.

Paroscientific and Environdata produce some of the best tools that sense pressure.

Infrared Sensors

Infrared (IR) sensors are mainly used for military systems. However, they also find application in many other industries. Human presence can be detected automatically with the assistance of these simple tools. They detect infrared radiation and transmit information to the data processing center.

The electronics, chemical, and healthcare industries can profit from using IR sensors.

Such companies as Asahi Kasei Microdevices and Melexis develop some of the most commonly used infrared sensors for IoT.

Optical Sensors

Unlike optical sensors of previous generations, modern tools can sense different sorts of signals, for example:

Light
Other electromagnetic radiation
Electricity
Magnetic fields etc.

As to applications, optical sensors are used in telecoms, safety systems, elevators, healthcare, and many other industries.

Vishay’s VCNL4020X01 is one of the most popular and powerful optical sensors for IoT.

Smoke Sensors

This type of sensor has been used for HVAC purposes for a long time. They decrease the chance of fire and gas leakage considerably. But the IoT world opens new horizons for these tools.

As an element of an IoT system, smoke sensors eliminate potential danger. The tools report even the slightest occurrence of fire. A major disaster can be prevented automatically.

There are many manufacturers that develop IoT smoke sensors with a wide range of features. Depending on your needs and project requirements, the price per sensor may vary from several dollars to a few dozens of dollars.

Heiman and Nest Protect produce great sensors of this type.

Proximity Sensors

Proximity sensors may be a part of vehicles. These tools measure the distance between the sensor and the closest object. They alert the drivers of approaching objects, so an imminent collision can be prevented.

The proximity sensor can also be used as an element of an IoT system in the retail industry. If potential customers walk by a retail object on sale, they may be informed about its price or discount. The list of the applications continues with food and chemical industries, machine tools, and others.

Image Sensors

This type of sensor has great capabilities:

They can measure blood pressure
Detect the heartbeat
Analyze data about daily pressure changes etc.

Image sensors are one of the most revolutionary tools in the whole IoT world. They provide the best functionality for the healthcare industry. With their assistance, whole medical institutions, as well as particular departments, can be monitored. Crucially, image sensors can help with preventing cardiovascular diseases.

Another highly important application is connected to transportation. Thanks to image sensing, transport accidents, train collisions, and other similar events can be prevented.

Check Omron or Invisage websites to get acquainted with the most popular image sensor manufacturers.

This is not a complete list of sensors for possible applications in IoT solutions. But these tools are useful in any industry, in numerous systems and a great many solutions. The opportunity to use them efficiently depends totally on the quality of the sensor and the entire IoT system architecture.

Final Thoughts

Bringing a great IoT idea to life requires time, attention, and great effort. The age of automation is here; so now is the time to dive deeper into the ARM SoC platform specifics, pick an intelligent sensor, and implement it into your system properly.