Wireless sensor node variants and their application domains

Abstract

Recent advances in embedded systems and mobile technologies are paving the way for the next revolution in computing, Ubiquitous Computing, the future towards which all the current technological developments are heading. Ubiquitous computing has potential applications in several sectors such as healthcare, business processes, disaster mitigation and management, farm land irrigation, and empowering the common man to improve the quality of life. Wireless communication modules and sensors are major building blocks of ubiquitous computing paradigm. As the field of communication networks continues to evolve, a very interesting and challenging area of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) is rapidly coming of age. Wireless sensor networks are attractive means to monitor environmental conditions and to bridge the gap between the physical and the digital world. Wireless Sensor Networks are highly distributed networks of small, lightweight wireless nodes deployed in large numbers in-situ to monitor the environment or a system. The nodes cooperate and collaborate on their data, which leads to accurate sensing of events in the environment.