Evolution of IoT technology: wireless connection + smart sensors

The Internet of Things is a term for connected embedded systems that brings together two evolving technologies, wireless connectivity and smart sensors. Combined with the latest advances in low-power microcontrollers, these new “things” are connected to the Internet easily and cheaply, ushering in the second industrial revolution for humanity.

Connected embedded systems are small microcontroller-based computers that do not require an interface to access the system, and humans interact with the system using sensors or other advanced detection mechanisms. Sensors collect data and determine whether the data is valuable, forming the main part of this system, and the term "Internet of Things" means that these sensors are networked, through the use of WiFi or Ethernet networks, and can also be implemented using protocols such as ZigBee or Bluetooth without an IP address. The choice of network protocol is based on the distribution of nodes and the amount of data collected, and the data is sent through the network to the main center or computer, which then collects and analyzes the data, stores it in memory, and even makes system decisions based on the results of the analysis.

IoT sensor node block diagram, including 802.15.4 wireless, A/D converter, analog front end, battery management, Bluetooth, cloud storage, custom wireless, DC/DC converter, environmental sensor, flash memory, memory module, microcontroller, RAM memory, RFID /NFC, photoelectric sensor, power management, smart sensor, video, wireless network.

These connected embedded systems are standalone microcontroller-based computers that use sensors to collect data. The systems are networked together typically via a wireless protocol such as WiFi, Bluetooth, 802.11.4 or a custom communication system. The choice of network protocol is based on the distribution of the nodes and the amount of data collected.

Key nodes of modern IoT require some form of data security encryption, the most common being AES256. This is critical to help break security, and it should be noted that this design is only for reference design and product recommendations, and compatibility and interoperability are not currently tested.