Smart Manufacturing

CHAPTER 8Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Sensors

Deb Walkup and Jeff Little

Introduction

Human history is full of attempts to better understand and monitor our environment, often involving the development of objects and technologies to observe, measure, monitor, and predict our environment. Early civilizations developed a number of ways to monitor time and the seasons; Stonehenge is an example. Taking advantage of a naturally occurring glacial scar in the landscape of the Salisbury Plain, the ancient Britons used this landmark to measure time and predict the seasons, in particular, the Winter Solstice. They built the monument we see today over a period of centuries to enhance this prediction capability. Today, while most people use the monument to note the Summer Solstice, it was actually the Winter Solstice that the ancients were concerned about, as it marks the end of shortened of days and the beginning of longer days, leading to summer and the times for planting and harvest.

Throughout history, other measurement and monitoring devices have been created to monitor data both seen and unseen. Some common examples are:

• Telescopes to see things that are far away
• Compasses to measure directions
• Thermometers to measure temperature
• Barometers to measure air pressure to monitor and predict the weather
• Microscopes to see things invisible to the naked eye

In the age of electronics, these devices, along with thousands of other kinds of sensors, have all been designed to communicate ...