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PROLIFERATION OF IOT DRIVES GREATER DIVERSITY IN SENSORS, MINIATURIZATI ON AND FUSION


represent the proliferation of sensors and data – and how it can be ut ilised bett er. Artificial int elligence and machine learning will also be integral to helping us make data richer and more useful – and that will make all t he difference in the world.


At Digi-Key , there are several ways we’re responding t o these trends, but I will focus on just a few. First, our DK IoT Studio is about bringing together sensors, microcontrollers and connectivity in an easy way to create complet e IoT solutions. It simplifies the design process by creating the firmware code in t he background so you can program the microcontroller, to send the sensor data to the cloud and ultimately visualise the dat a on y our mobile device.


W


By Robbie Paul, director, IoT Business Development at Digi-Key Electronics Below: Robbie Paul


ith the proliferation of IoT, the need for a greater diversity of


sensors has exploded. Digi-Key sells more than 60 million sensors each year, with over 130,000 part numbers available. Temperature sensors are by far the most popular, followed by accelerometers, driven by the popularity of activity tracking IoT devices. Environmental sensors are third, focusing on sensors measuring pressure and humidit y. IoT and aut onomous vehicles are


driving the demand for sensors, including more sophisticated image sensors. Radar and LiDAR are also moving into the mainstream to support autonomous vehicles and virtual reality applicat ions. For example, next t o the camera on the new iP ad Pro is a LiDAR scanner for AR, which - provides for greater accuracy in depth percept ion. LiDAR sensors will continue to rise in popularit y, becoming more commonplace in major applications such as phones and auto nomous vehicles . Miniaturization and sensor fusion are t wo interwoven trends that continue to dominate. Not only making sensors smaller but also integrat ing multiple sensors into one single, small foot print. For example, temperature, pressure and humidity sensors all combined together in one package and used incompact environmental sensing applications. Digitization is associated wit h t his as well. Typically, sensors have various analog output ty pes, but by moving to digit al outputs, integration is much smoother with other components like microprocessors. Whereas previously we had to convert from analog to digit al,


8 MAY 2020 | ELECTRONICS


the widespread use of digital sensors is now enabling us to eliminat e some components from sensor designs, further contributing to miniaturization. Artificial intelligence and machine


learning are starting to play greater roles in sensor deployment. One example of this is the Google Nest, which sets temperatures based on its surroundings, when people are coming and going, whether it’s a weekday or weekend, etc. The Nest device is continually gathering data, analysing it, and sending it to a cloud server to notify the user of its findings. Not only does d


he Google Nest, which sets t


are coming and going, whet weekday or weekend, et is continually gathering dat


does deep data analysis


contribute to greater convenience for the user, but they also result in significant cost savings. A great example of this is some of the commercial applications for sensors that we’ve seen in the agriculture industry. Specifically, we’re seeing a lot of farmers use moisture sensors to manage their irrigation systems. These sensors arm the farmers with rich data and automatically he irrigation system if they detect


of the commercial applicat hat we’ve seen in t


Specifically, we’re seeing a lot turn on the irrigation sy


going to rain tomorrow, and det not to activate the sensors. We’ll also see the fusion trend here - combining temperature, humidity and pressure to give a more complete environment al picture. T he bottom line is we’re using sensors today in a very rudimentary way. We take all of the data but don’t act ively use a majority of it. Predictive maintenance like t he commercial agriculture applications


the crops need moisture. As sensors continue to progress, we expect that this intelligence and connectivitintelligence and connectivity will be taken to a higher level. For example, tapping into the Weather Channel data, learning it is going to rain tomorrow, and determining


o a higher level. For example, t a more complete environment


Digi-Key Electronics www.digikey.co.uk uk.support@digikey.com


/ ELECTRONICS


Digi-Key has also introduced our DK+ initiative, Digi-Key’s continued growth as a world-class distributor to provide product s, services and solutions for all phases of the t echnology innovation ecosystem. As part of t he DK+ initiat ive, Digi-Key will continue to work with more specialty sensor manufacturers, providing even more cutt ing-edge and specialised sensors to customers.


Finally, we’re cont inuing to offer


customers some of t he most innovative sensor technologies on the market. T he Adafruit BME680 breakout board, DFRobot breakout board, and BMI090L shuttle board are a few examples of boards that can be modified and used to create robust IoT syst ems and products. IoT continues to drive sensor


technology and connectivity for a richer product. It’s exciting to see all of the innovation happening in t his space. Here at Digi-Key , we look forward t o supporting hobbyists, makers and professional engineers as it continues.


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