– Global positioning system tag – communicates with GPS satellites to establish position with high accuracy, but only when the tag or animal is on land or at the water surface – Fastloc Global positioning system tag – GPS tag for aquatic animals that surface or haul out, when the tag locks onto the GPS satellite network to establish position with high accuracy – Pop-up satellite archival tag – after some period of time recording sensor data, the tag detaches itself from the animal and floats to the surface where it uses satellite connectivity to uplink the data stored on the tag – Acoustic tag – attached to the animals being tracked emit acoustic signals (typically ultrasound) which travel through water much better than RF signals. These signals are then received by buoys, which can then use satellite communications to backhaul the data to where it’s needed.
* Temperature & humidity sensors * Volumetric airflow & fluid sensors * Mold sensors * Occupancy detecting sensors * CO2 demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) sensors – work with sensors that detect a building’s occupancy and adjust ventilation accordingly * Light Sensors tied to motorized window treatments can pick up on sunlight and adjust window shading during the course of a day
Animals are fitted with sensor-equipped collars that collect information regarding their location, direction, and average speed (geolocation, acceleration, gyro sensors)
Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) beacons Typical uses: Warehouses: Automatic inventory of assets Indoor positioning: Tracking assets’ location automatically
Camera types used on agrobots: – RGB cameras – extensively used in agricultural machine vision applications for fruit/plant detection, yield prediction, segmentation tasks, disease detection, ripeness detection, weed detection and insects detection – Hyperspectral, thermal, or ultrasonic cameras – typically provide better results than conventional RGB color images – Stereoscopic cameras – provides 3D plant structure information (dimension of crops (depth information, crop height, leaf shape, leaf area etc.)) Critical factor is the camera’s resolution, which should be high enough to capture the details of the scene especially in the cases of insect and disease detection.
Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) Sensors: These are widely used in oceanography. CTD sensors measure conductivity (to infer salinity), temperature, and depth simultaneously, providing comprehensive data essential for climate change studies.
Depending on the application, different types of cameras are used for surveillance. Visual cameras are used for capturing images during daylight, while a thermal camera may be used for night vision, seeing through smoke or fog, vegetation monitoring, fire and heat detection using infrared patterns, etc. Data may be streamed directly from the UAV via a secure communications channel to a remote central location.
Digital Temperature Sensors: Placed in various parts of a rainforest, these sensors can provide detailed temperature data, helping to detect and analyze sudden temperature variations.
For habitat environment observation, monitoring sensors such as temperature, humidity, height, wind, light, and cameras are used
GPS for autonomous navigation in open-field cultivation environments Robotic data collection platform equipped with RADAR, liDAR, ultrasonic radar sensors, spectrometers, fluorometers
Infrared Thermal Imaging: Used to map urban heat islands from a distance, often from airborne platforms or satellites. Networks of Digital Temperature Sensors: Deployed across different urban areas, these sensors can provide granular temperature data, highlighting variations within a city. Weather Stations: Often used in urban settings, weather stations can provide comprehensive environmental data, including temperature, which is crucial for studying urban heat island effects.
Light sensors – allows for the greenhouse lighting to be adjusted depending on the sun’s intensity, benefits of increasing electrical efficiency and cost savings of the entire system. Sensors for Volumetric water content (VWC), Bulk electrical conductivity (ECb), Temperature – Used to monitor soil moisture content
Machine vision camera and spectral imaging – helps growers track the growing process of their entire operation, give details on plant height, 3D leaf area, projected leaf area, digital biomass, leaf inclination, leaf area index, light penetration depth, and leaf coverage
Mobile Monitoring and tracking devices equipped with GNSS and other sensors (temperature, humidity, motion, shock, vibration, pressure, light/darkness) to monitor condition of the asset
Mobile-enabled IoT sensors, Bluetooth beacons, infrared counters or sensors embedded in the pavement, turnstiles
Parking sensors (Infrared, Passive Infrared(PIR)) and Ultrasonic Vehicle Detection Sensors – Individual parking space sensors that gather and transmits information for management, payment and compliance monitoring
Pest control sensors on traps that provide accurate information on trap status, whether armed, unarmed, or armed without a catch.
Portable waste bin or portable toilets enabled with GNSS. Once data related to fill rates and temperatures of smart bins /toilets are collected, the sensors relay the exact location and other waste related information of the bins in question so waste management can send out SMSes to nearby garbage collectors to do the needed collection/emptying before harmful carbon emissions are released.
RFID Readers: E.g., Handheld Typical uses: Warehouses: Tracking assets that are packaged or inside a container Hospitals: Tracking asset locations automatically within a limited distance range
Sanitation devices connected with sensors provide ability to control water flow, paper consumption, air flow for hand drying, and aroma or cleaning chemical sprays on a timer that can be controlled by a single source
Satellites: Geostationary and polar-orbiting weather satellites are equipped with advanced sensors to monitor wind patterns at high altitudes globally. They are particularly useful for tracking large-scale weather systems and providing data for flight path planning over remote areas like oceans. Satellite sensors that track high-altitude wind speeds can range from those capturing basic wind vector data to more complex imaging systems.
Sensors that monitor a building’s air quality (i.e. carbon monoxide and other volatile carbon emission detection)
Smart meters that collect granular real-time data across the water grid, LED light sensors to monitor water levels in tanks, pH sensors, temperature sensors and turbidity sensors in pipelines and storage and distribution tanks, volume sensor
Smart Waste Bin with wireless ultrasonic fill-level sensors and other indicators such as temperature and tilt within waste container
soil moisture sensors – used to assess the water level in the soil temperature and humidity sensors – used to monitor the environment, which had a direct influence on the water level of the soil
Some of the key types of sensors used in urban air quality monitoring include: Particulate Matter (PM) Sensors: These sensors measure concentrations of particulate matter Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) Sensors: NO2 is a common urban pollutant, often produced by vehicle exhaust and industrial processes. Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Sensors: Commonly produced by industrial processes, SO2 levels are often monitored using ultraviolet fluorescence or electrochemical sensors. Ozone (O3) Sensors: Ozone at ground level is a harmful pollutant, and its concentration is typically monitored using ultraviolet (UV) photometry or electrochemical cells. Carbon Monoxide (CO) Sensors: CO is a colorless, odorless gas resulting from incomplete combustion. It’s usually monitored in urban environments using electrochemical sensors. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Sensors: VOCs are emitted from a variety of sources, including vehicle exhaust, industrial processes, and consumer products. Meteorological Sensors: These sensors measure environmental conditions like temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction, which are important for understanding and interpreting air quality data.
Tag sensors and readers for tracking people, collecting environmental data, equipment tracking, and real-time alerts. RFID transmitter devices are mounted on headlamps belts or badge cards of miners to enable tracking of workers in real-time.
The rodent sensors are placed in the high rodent-activity areas for inspection. When rodents pass through the location, infrared sensors trigger notification to all the relevant parties such as owner and pest management service about the rodent activity so that they can decide a plan of action of elimination.
Underground mining has significant safety hazards due to high-stress concentrations, weak rock masses, and limited access and air quality. Different sensors are used in mine-related activities, such as geophones in exploration and blast control, piezometers in dewatering and toxic gas detectors in working frontlines.
Wearable devices with bio-sensors automated to capture and transmit health data to healthcare providers in a different location for assessment and recommendations.
Wearable equipped with motion sensors – Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer GNSS – helps to map the route and terrain on which the activity was performed Heart rate sensors help to measure heart rates during exercise
Wearables equipped with a variety of sensors including 3 axis accelerometer, Gyroscope, Altimeter, Temperature sensor, Bioimpedance sensor, optical sensor, GNSS
Wind Sensors (Anemometers): measure wind speed and direction, key factors in sandstorm formation. By understanding wind patterns, it becomes easier to predict the movement and intensity of sandstorms.
Wireless Z-Traps are devices used to catch pests around the plants using pheromone lure. Pest count information is wirelessly passed along from up to 1 km away using a base station to the online cloud service. This information is used to study and determine where and how much pesticides will be required. Imagery sensors capture imagery data to identify the diseases in plants – RGB sensors – have three colour channels, i.e., red, green and blue, which can be used to perceive the biometric effect in the plants – fluorescence Imagery sensors – used to distinguish the photosynthetic activities in the plants – spectral sensors – capture images containing the spatial information of objects in multiple wavebands, used to analyse crops’ health and pest attack – thermal sensors – used to measure the water status in the plant by measuring the temperature Weather condition monitoring sensors, i.e., temperature, dew, humidity and wind speed, are used to monitor weather parameters to find a correlation between pest growth with weather
