Introduction to Internet of Things (IOT) BETCK105H

MODULE-II
IoT SENSING AND
ACTUATION

Dr. LEVINA Assoc. Professor, Dept Of CSE KNSIT, Bangalore Page 1

Introduction to Internet of Things (IOT) BETCK105H

INTRODUCTION

A major chunk of IoT applications involves sensing in one form or the other. Almost all the
applications in IoT—be it a consumer IoT, an industrial IoT, or just plain hobby-based
deployments of IoT solutions—sensing forms the first step. Incidentally, actuation forms the
final step in the whole operation of IoT application deployment in a majority of scenarios.
The basic science of sensing and actuation is based on the process of transduction.
Transduction is the process of energy conversion from one form to another. A transducer is
a physical means of enabling transduction. Transducers take energy in any form (for which it
is designed)— electrical, mechanical, chemical, light, sound, and others—and convert it into
another, which may be electrical, mechanical, chemical, light, sound, and others. Sensors and
actuators are deemed as transducers. For example, in a public announcement (PA) system, a
microphone (input device) converts sound waves into electrical signals, which is amplified by
an amplifier system (a process). Finally, a loudspeaker (output device) outputs this into
audible sounds by converting the amplified electricalsignalsbackintosoundwaves.Table5.1
outlines the basic terminological differences between transducers, sensors, and actuators.

Table5.1Basic outline of the differences between transducers, sensors, and actuators

Parameter Transducer Sensors Actuators

s s
Definition Converts Converts various Converts electrical signals into
energy forms of energy into various forms of energy, typically
from one electrical signals. mechanical
form to energy.
another.
Domain Can be used to It is an input It is an output transducer.
represent a transducer.
sensor as
Well as an
actuator.
Function Can work as a Used for quantifying Used for converting signals into
sensor or an environmental proportional mechanical or
actuator but not stimuli into signals. Electrical outputs.
simultaneously.

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Introduction to Internet of Things (IOT) BETCK105H

Humidity sensors, Motors (convert electrical

Temperature sensors, energy to rotary motion), Force
Anemometers heads (which impose a force),
(measures flow Pumps (which convert rotary
velocity), motion of shafts into either a
Manometers pressure or a fluid velocity).
Examples Any sensor or
(measures fluid
actuator
pressure),
Accelerometers
(measures the
acceleration of a
body), Gas sensors
(measures
Concentration of
specific gas or
gases),and others

SENSORS

Sensors are devices that can measure, or quantify, or respond to the ambient changes in their
environment or within the intended zone of their deployment. They generate responses to
external stimuli or physical phenomenon through characterization of the input
functions(which are these external stimuli) and their conversion into typically electrical
signals. For example, heat is converted to electrical signals in a temperature sensor, or
atmospheric pressure is converted to electrical signals in a barometer. A sensor is only
sensitive to the measured property (e.g., a temperature sensor only senses the ambient
temperature of a room). It is insensitive to any other property besides what it is designed to
detect (e.g.,a temperature sensor does not bother about light or pressure while sensing the
temperature). Finally, a sensor does not influence the measured property (e.g., measuring the
temperature does not reduce or increase the temperature). Figure 2.1 shows the simple outline
of a sensing task. Here, a temperature sensor keeps on checking an environment for changes.
In the event of a fire, the temperature of the environment goes up. The temperature sensor
notices this change in the temperature of the room and promptly communicates this
information to a remote monitor via the processor.

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Introduction to Internet of Things (IOT) BETCK105H

Figure 2.1 The outline of a simple sensing operation

The various sensors can be classified based on:

1)power requirements,2) sensor output, and 3) property to be measured.

 Power Requirements: The way sensors operate decides the power requirements that
must be provided for an IoT implementation. Some sensors need to be provided with
separate power sources for them to function, whereas some sensors do not require any
power sources. Depending on the requirements of power, sensors can be of two types.
(i) Active: Active sensors do not require an external circuitry or mechanism to
provide it with power. It directly responds to the external stimuli from its ambient
environment and converts it into an output signal. For example, a photodiode converts
light into electrical impulses.
(ii) Passive: Passive sensors require an external mechanism to power them up. The
sensed properties are modulated with the sensor’s inherent characteristics to generate
patterns in the output of the sensor. For example, a thermistor’s resistance can be
detected by applying voltage difference across it or passing a current through it.

 Output: The output of a sensor helps in deciding the additional components to be

integrated with an IoT node or system. Typically, almost all modern-day processors
are digital; digital sensors can be directly integrated to the processors. However, the
integrationofanalogsensorstothesedigitalprocessorsorIoTnodesrequiresadditional
interfacing mechanisms such as analog to digital converters (ADC), voltage level
converters, and others.

Sensors are broadly divided into two types, depending on the type of output generated from
these sensors, as follows.
(i) Analog: Analog sensors generate an output signal or voltage, which is proportional

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Introduction to Internet of Things (IOT) BETCK105H

(linearly or non-linearly) to the quantity being measured and is continuous in time and
amplitude. Physical quantities such as temperature, speed, pressure, displacement, strain, and
others are all continuous and categorized as analog quantities. For example, a thermometer or
a thermocouple can be used for measuring the temperature of a liquid (e.g., in household
water heaters). These sensors continuously respond to changes in the temperature of the
liquid.
(ii) Digital: These sensors generate the output of discrete time digital representation (time, or
amplitude, or both) of a quantity being measured, in the form of output signals or voltages.
Typically, binary output signals in the form of a logic 1 or a logic 0 for ON or OFF,
respectivelyareassociatedwithdigitalsensors.Thegenerateddiscrete(non-continuous)values
maybeoutputasasingle“bit”(serialtransmission),eightofwhichcombinetoproduceasingle “byte”
output (parallel transmission) in digital sensors.

 Measured Property: The property of the environment being measured by the sensors
can be crucial in deciding the number of sensors in an IoT implementation. Some
properties to be measured do not show high spatial variations and can be quantified
only based on temporal variations in the measured property, such as ambient
temperature, atmospheric pressure, and others. Whereas some properties to be
measured show high spatial as well as temporal variations such as sound, image, and
others. Depending on the properties to be measured, sensors can be of two types.
(i) Scalar: Scalar sensors produce an output proportional to the magnitude of the
quantitybeingmeasured.Theoutputisintheformofasignalorvoltage.Scalarphysical
quantities are those where only the magnitude of the signal is sufficient for describing
or characterizing the phenomenon and information generation. Examples of such
measurable physical quantities include color, pressure, temperature, strain, and others.
A thermometer or thermocouple is an example of a scalar sensor that has the ability to
detect changes in ambient or object temperatures (depending on the sensor’s
configuration). Factors such as changes in sensor orientation or direction do not affect
these sensors (typically).
(ii) Vector: Vector sensors are affected by the magnitude as well as the direction
and/or orientation of the property they are measuring. Physical quantities such as
velocity and images that require additional information besides their magnitude for
completely categorizing a physical phenomenon are categorized as vector quantities.
Measuring such quantities are undertaken using vector sensors. For example, an

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Introduction to Internet of Things (IOT) BETCK105H

electronic gyroscope, which is commonly found in all modern aircraft, is used for
detecting the changes in orientation of the gyroscope with respect to the Earth’s
orientation along all three axes.

Figure2.2Thefunctionalblocks of a typical sensor node in IoT

Figure2.3Some common commercially available sensors used for IoT-based sensing

applications

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 SENSOR CHARACTERISTICS
All sensors can be defined by their ability to measure or capture a certain phenomenon and
report them as output signals to various other systems. However , even within the same
sensor type and class, sensors can be characterized by their ability to sense the phenomen on
based on the following three fundamental properties.
• SENSOR RESOLUTION: The smallest change in the measurable quantity that a sensor
can detect is referred to as the resolution of a sensor. For digital sensors, the smallest change
in the digital output that the sensor is capable of quantifying is its sensor resolution. The more
the resolution of a sensor, the more accurate is the precision. A sensor’s accuracy does not
depend upon its resolution.
For example, a temperature sensor A can detect upto0.50C changes in temperature; whereas
another sensor B can detect up to 0.250 C changes in temperature. Therefore, the resolution of
sensor B is higher than the resolution of sensor A.
• SENSOR ACCURACY: The accuracy of a sensor is the ability of that sensor to measure
the environment of a system as close to its true measure as possible.
For example, a weight sensor detects the weight of a 100kg mass as 99.98kg.We can say that
this sensor is 99.98% accurate, with an error rate of
• SENSOR PRECISION: The principle of repeatability governs the precision of a sensor.
Only if, upon multiple repetitions, the sensor is found to have the same error rate, can it be
deemed as highly precise.
For example, consider if the same weight sensor described earlier reports measurements of
98.28 kg, 100.34 kg, and 101.11 kg upon three repeat measurements for a mass of actual
weight of 100 kg. Here, the sensor precision is not deemed high because of significant
variations in the temporal measurements for the same object under the same conditions.
SENSORIAL DEVIATIONS

Most of the sensing in IoT is non-critical, where minor deviations in sensorial outputs seldom
change the nature of the under taken tasks. However, some critical applications of IoT, such
as healthcare, industrial process monitoring, and others, do require sensors with high-quality
measurement capabilities. As the quality of the measurement obtained from a sensor is
dependent on a large number of factors, there are a few primary considerations that must be
incorporated during the sensing of critical systems. In the event of a sensor’s output signal
going beyond its designed maximum and minimum capacity for measurement, the sensor
output is truncated to its maximum or minimum value, which is also the sensor’s limit. The

Dr. LEVINA Assoc. Professor, Dept Of CSE KNSIT, Bangalore

 measurement range between a sensor’s characterized minimum and maximum values is also
referred to as the full scale range of that sensor. Under real conditions, the sensitivity of a
sensor may differ from the value specified for that sensor leading to sensitivity error. This
deviation is mostly attributed to sensor fabrication errors and its calibration.
If the output of a sensor differs from the actual value to be measured by a constant, the sensor
is said to have an offset error or bias.
For example, while measuring an actual temperature of 0 0C,a temperature sensor
outputs1.10C every time. In this case, the sensor is said to have an off set error or bias of
1.10C. Similarly, some sensors have a non-linear behavior. If a sensor’s transfer function (TF)
deviates from a straight line transfer function, it is referred to as its non- linearity.
The amount a sensor’s actual output differs from the ideal TF behavior over the full
range of the sensor quantifies its behavior. It is denoted as the percentage of the sensor’s full
range. Most sensors have linear behavior. If the output signal of a sensor changes slowly and
independently of the measured property, this behavior of the sensor’s output is termed as
drift.

Physical changes in the sensor or its material may result in long-term drift, which can
span over months or years. Noise is a temporally varying random deviation of signals. In
contrast, if a sensor’s output varies/deviates due to deviations in the sensor’s previous input
values, it is referred to as hysteresis error. The present output of the sensor depends on the
past input values provided to the sensor. Typically, the phenomenon of hysteresis can be
observed in analog sensors, magnetic sensors, and during heating of metal strips. One way to
check for hysteresis error is to check how the sensor’s output changes when we first increase,
then decrease the input values to the sensor over its full range. It is generally denoted as a
positive and negative percentage variation of the full-range of that sensor.

Focusing on digital sensors, if the digital output of a sensor is an approximation of the

measured property, it induces quantization error. This error can be defined as the difference
between the actual analog signal and its closest digital approximation during the sampling
stage of the analog to digital conversion. Similarly, dynamic errors caused due to mishandling
of sampling frequencies can give rise to aliasing errors. Aliasing leads to different signals of
varying frequencies to be represented as a single signal in case the sampling frequency is not
correctly chosen, resulting in the input signal becoming a multiple of the sampling rate.
Finally, the environment itself plays a crucial role in inducing sensorial deviations. Some
sensors may be prone to external influences, which may not be directly linked to the property

Dr. LEVINA Assoc. Professor, Dept Of CSE KNSIT, Bangalore

 being measured by the sensor. This sensitivity of the sensor may lead to deviations in its
output values. For example, as most sensors are semiconductor based, they are influenced by
the temperature of their environment.
SENSING TYPES
Sensing can be broadly divided into four different categories based on the nature of the
environment being sensed and the physical sensors being used to do so (Figure 2.4):
1) Scalar Sensing, 2) Multimedia Sensing, 3) Hybrid Sensing, and 4) Virtual Sensing
Scalar Sensing
Scalar sensing encompasses the sensing of features that can be quantified simply by
measuring changes in the amplitude of the measured values with respect to time. Quantities
such as ambient temperature, current, atmospheric pressure, rainfall, light, humidity, flux, and
others are considered as scalar values as they normally do not have a directional or spatial
property assigned with them. Simply measuring the changes in their values with passing time
provides enough information about these quantities. The sensors used for measuring these
scalar quantities are referred to as scalar sensors, and the act is known as scalar sensing. A
simple scalar temperature sensing of a fire detection event is shown in Figure 2.4(a).

Figure2.4The different sensing types commonly encountered in IoT

Multimedia Sensing
Multimedia sensing encompasses the sensing of features that have a spatial variance property

Dr. LEVINA Assoc. Professor, Dept Of CSE KNSIT, Bangalore

 associated with the property of temporal variance. Unlike scalar sensors, multimedia sensors
are used for capturing the changes in amplitude of a quantifiable property concerning space
(spatial) as well as time (temporal). Quantities such as images, direction, flow, speed,
acceleration, sound, force, mass, energy, and momentum have both directions as well as a
magnitude. Additionally, these quantities follow the vector law of addition and hence are
designatedasvectorquantities.Theymighthavedifferentvaluesindifferentdirectionsforthe same
working condition at the same time. The sensors used for measuring these quantities are
known as vector sensors. A simple camera-based multimedia sensing using surveillance as an
example is shown in Figure 2.4(b).

Hybrid sensing
The act of using scalar as well as multimedia sensing at the same time is referred to as hybrid
sensing. Many a time, there is a need to measure certain vector as well as scalar properties of
an environment at the same time. Under these conditions, a range of various sensors are
employed (from the collection of scalar as well as multimedia sensors)to measure the various
properties of that environment at any instant of time, and temporally map the collected
information to generate new information. For example, in an agricultural field, it is required
to measure the soil conditions at regular intervals of time to determine plant health. Sensors
such as soil moisture and soil temperature are deployed underground to estimate the soil’s
water retention capacity and the moisture being held by the soil at any instant of time.
However, this setup only determines whether the plant is getting enough water or not. There
may be a host of other factors besides water availability, which may affect a plant’s health.
The additional inclusion of a camera sensor with the plant may be able to determine the
actual condition of a plant by additionally determining the color of leaves. The aggregate
information from soil moisture, soil temperature, and the camera sensor will be able to
collectively determine a plant’s health at any instant of time. Other common examples of
hybrid sensing include smart parking systems, traffic management systems, and others.
Figure 2.4(c) shows an example of hybrid sensing, where a camera and a temperature sensor
are collectively used to detect and confirm forest fires during wildlife monitoring.

Virtual sensing
Many a time, there is a need for very dense and large-scale deployment of sensor nodes
spread over a large area for monitoring of parameters. One such domain is agriculture. Here,
often, the parameters being measured, such as soil moisture, soil temperature, and water

Dr. LEVINA Assoc. Professor, Dept Of CSE KNSIT, Bangalore

 level, do not show significant spatial variations. Hence, if sensors are deployed in the fields
of farmer A, it is highly likely that the measurements from his sensors will be able to provide
almost concise measurements of his neighbour B’s fields; this is especially true of fields
which are immediately surrounding A’s fields. Exploiting this property, if the data from A’s
field is digitized using an IoT infrastructure and this system advises him regarding the
appropriate watering, fertilizer, and pesticide regimen for his crops, this advisory can also be
used by B for maintaining his crops. In short, A ’s sensors are being used for actual
measurement of parameters; whereas virtual data (which does not have actual physical
sensors but uses extrapolation-based measurements) is being used for advising B. This is the
virtual sensing paradigm. Figure2.4(d) shows an example of virtual sensing. Two temperature
sensors S1and S3 monitor three nearby events E1,E2,and E3(fires).The event E2 does not
have a dedicated sensor for monitoring it; however, through the superposition of readings
from sensors S1 and S3, the presence of fire in E2 is inferred.

SENSING CONSIDERATIONS
The choice of sensors in an IoT sensor node is critical and can either make or break the
feasibility of an IoT deployment. The following major factors influence the choice of sensors
in IoT-based sensing solutions: 1) sensing range, 2) accuracy and precision, 3) energy, and 4)
device size. These factors are discussed as follows:
 Sensing Range: The sensing range of a sensor node defines the detection fidelity of
that node. Typical approaches to optimize the sensing range in deployments include
fixed k-coverage and dynamic k-coverage. A lifelong fixed k-coverage tends to usher
in redundancy as it requires a large number of sensor nodes, the sensing range of
some of which may also overlap. In contrast, dynamic k-coverage incorporates mobile
sensor nodes post detection of an event, which, however, is a costly solution and may
not be deployable in all operational areas and terrains. Additionally, the sensing range
of a sensor may also be used to signify the upper and lower bounds of a sensor’s
measurement range. For example, a proximity sensor has a typical sensing range of a
couple of meters. In contrast, a camera has a sensing range varying between tens of
meters to hundreds of meters. As the complexity of the sensor and its sensing range
goes up, its cost significantly increases.
 Accuracy and Precision: The accuracy and precision of measurements provided by a
sensorarecriticalindecidingtheoperationsofspecificfunctionalprocesses.Typically, off-
the-shelf consumer sensors are low on requirements and often very cheap. However,

Dr. LEVINA Assoc. Professor, Dept Of CSE KNSIT, Bangalore

 their performance is limited to regular application domains. For example, a standard
temperature sensor can be easily integrated with conventional components for hobby
projects and day-to-day applications, but it is not suitable for industrial processes.
Regular temperature sensors have a very low-temperature sensing range, as well as
relatively low accuracy and precision. The use of these sensors in industrial
applications, where a precision of up to 3–4 decimal places is required, cannot be

Facilitated by these sensors. Industrial sensors are typically very sophisticated, and as
a result, very costly. However, these industrial sensors have very high accuracy and
precision score, even under harsh operating conditions.
 Energy: The energy consumed by a sensing solution is crucial to determine the life
time of that solution and the estimated cost of its deployment. If the sensor or the
sensor node is so energy inefficient that it requires replenishment of its energy sources
quite frequently, the effort in maintaining the solution and its cost goes up; whereas its
deployment feasibility goes down. Consider a scenario where sensor nodes are
deployed on the top of glaciers. Once deployed, access to these nodes is not possible.
If the energy requirements of the sensor nodes are too high, such a deployment will
not last long, and the solution will be highly infeasible as charging or changing of the
energy sources of these sensor nodes is not an option.
 Device Size: Modern-day IoT applications have a wide penetration in all domains of
life. Most of the applications of IoT require sensing solutions which are so small that
theydonothinderanyoftheregularactivitiesthatwerepossiblebeforethesensornode
deployment was carried out. Larger the size of a sensor node, larger is the obstruction
caused by it, higher is the cost and energy requirements, and lesser is its demand for
the bulk of the IoTapplications.Considerasimplehumanactivitydetector.Ifthedetection
unit is too large to be carried or too bulky to cause hindrance to regular normal
movements, the demand for this solution would be low. It is because of this that the
onset of wearable’s took off so strongly. The wearable sensors are highly energy-
efficient, small in size, and almost part of the wearer’s regular wardrobe.

ACTUATORS
An actuator can be considered as a machine or system’s component that can affect the
movementorcontrolthesaidmechanismorthesystem.Controlsystemsaffect changes to the
environment or property they are controlling through actuators. The system activates the actuator
through a control signal, which may be digital or analog. It elicits a response from the actuator,

Dr. LEVINA Assoc. Professor, Dept Of CSE KNSIT, Bangalore

 which is in the form of some form of mechanical motion. The control system of an actuator can be
a mechanical or electronic system, a software-based system (e.g., an autonomous car control
system), a human, or any other input. Figure 2.5 shows the outline of a simple actuation system. A
remote user sends commands to a processor. The processor instructs a motor controlled robotic
arm to perform the commanded tasks accordingly. The processor is primarily responsible for
converting the human commands into sequential machine-language command sequences, which
enables the robot to move. The robotic arm finally moves the designated boxes, which was its
assigned task.

Figure2.5 The outline of a simple actuation mechanism

ACTUATOR TYPES
Broadly, actuators can be divided into seven classes:
1) Hydraulic, 2)Pneumatic, 3)Electrical, 4)Thermal/magnetic, 5)Mechanical, 6)Soft, and
7)shape memory polymers.
Figure2.6 shows some of the commonly used actuators in IoT applications.

Hydraulic actuators
A hydraulic actuator works on the principle of compression and decompression of fluids.
These actuators facilitate mechanical tasks such as lifting loads through the use of hydraulic
power derived from fluids in cylinders or fluid motors. The mechanical motion applied to a
hydraulic actuator is converted to either linear, rotary, or oscillatory motion. The almost
incompressible property of liquids is used in hydraulic actuators for exerting significant force.
These hydraulic actuators are also considered as stiff systems. The actuator’s limited
acceleration restricts its usage.

Pneumatic actuators
A pneumatic actuator works on the principle of compression and decompression of gases.

Dr. LEVINA Assoc. Professor, Dept Of CSE KNSIT, Bangalore

 These actuators use a vacuum or compressed air at high pressure and convert it into either
linear or rotary motion. Pneumatic rack and pinion actuators are commonly used for valve
controls of water pipes. Pneumatic actuators are considered as compliant systems. The
actuators using pneumatic energy for their operation are typically characterized by the quick
response to starting and stopping signals. Small pressure changes can be used for generating
large forces through these actuators. Pneumatic brakes are an example of this type of actuator
which is so responsive that they can convert small pressure changes applied by drives to
generate the massive force required to stop or slow down a moving vehicle. Pneumatic
actuators are responsible for converting pressure into force. The power source in the
pneumatic actuator does not need to be stored in reserve for its operation.

Electric actuators
Typically, electric motors are used to power an electric actuator by generating mechanical
torque. This generated torque is translated into the motion of a motor’s shaft or for switching
(as in relays).
For example, actuating equipments such as solenoid valves control the flow of water in pipes
in response to electrical signals. This class of actuators is considered one of the cheapest,
cleanest and speedy actuator types available.

Figure2.6 Some common commercially available actuators used for IoT-based control Applications

Dr. LEVINA Assoc. Professor, Dept Of CSE KNSIT, Bangalore

 Thermal or magnetic actuators
The use of thermal or magnetic energy is used for powering this class of actuators. These
actuators have a very high power density and are typically compact, lightweight, and
economical. One classic example of thermal actuators is shape memory materials(SMMs)
such as shape memory alloys(SMAs).Theseactuatorsdonotrequireelectricityforactuation.They
arenotaffectedbyvibrationandcanworkwithliquidorgases.Magneticshapememoryalloys
(MSMAs) are a type of magnetic actuators.

Mechanical actuators
In mechanical actuation, the rotary motion of the actuator is converted into linear motion to
execute some movement. The use of gears, rails, pulleys, chains, and other devices are
necessary for these actuators to operate. These actuators can be easily used in conjunction
with pneumatic, hydraulic, or electrical actuators. They can also work in a standalone mode.
The best example of a mechanical actuator is a rack and pinion mechanism.

Soft actuators
Soft actuators (e.g., polymer-based) consists of elastomeric polymers that are used as
embedded fixtures in flexible materials such as cloth, paper, fiber, particles, and others. The
conversion of molecular level microscopic changes into tangible macroscopic deformations is
the primary working principle of this class of actuators. These actuators have a high stake in
modern-day robotics. They are designed to handle fragile objects such as agricultural fruit
harvesting, or performing precise operations like manipulating the internal organs during
robot- assisted surgeries.
Shape memory polymers
Shape memory polymers (SMP) are considered as smart materials that respond to some
external stimulus by changing their shape, and then revert to their original shape once the
affecting stimulus is removed. Features such as high strain recovery, biocompatibility, low
density, and biodegradability characterize these materials. SMP-based actuators function
similar to our muscles. Modern-day SMPs have been designed to respond to a wide range of
stimuli such as pH changes, heat differentials, light intensity, and frequency changes,
magnetic changes, and others. Photopolymer/light-activated polymers (LAP) are a particular
type of SMP, which require light as a stimulus to operate. LAP-based actuators are
characterized by their rapid response times. Using only the variation of light frequency or its

Dr. LEVINA Assoc. Professor, Dept Of CSE KNSIT, Bangalore

 intensity, LAPs can be controlled remotely without any physical contact. The development of
LAPs whose shape can be changed by the application of a specific frequency of light have
been reported. The polymer retains its shape after removal of the activating light. In order to
change the polymer back to its original shape, a light stimulus of a different frequency has to
be applied to the polymer.

ACTUATOR CHARACTERISTICS
The choice or selection of actuators is crucial in an IoT deployment, where a control
mechanism is required after sensing and processing of the information obtained from the
sensed environment. Actuators perform the physically heavier tasks in an IoT deployment;
tasks which require moving or changing the orientation of physical objects, changing the state
of objects, and other such activities. The correct choice of actuators is necessary for the long-
term sustenance and continuity of operations, as well as for increasing the lifetime of the
actuators themselves. A set of four characteristics can define all actuators:

 Weight: The physical weight of actuators limits its application scope. For example,
the use of heavier actuators is generally preferred for industrial applications and
applications requiring no mobility of the IoT deployment. In contrast, lightweight
actuators typically find common usage in portable systems in vehicles, drones, and
home IoT applications. It is to be noted that this is not always true. Heavier actuators
also have selective usage in mobile systems, for example, landing gears and engine
motors in aircraft.
 Power Rating: This helps in deciding the nature of the application with which an
actuator can be associated. The power rating defines the minimum and maximum
operating power an actuator can safely withstand without damage to itself. Generally,
it is indicated as the power-to-weight ratio for actuators. For example, smaller servo
motors used in hobby projects typically have a maximum rating of 5 VDC, 500 mA,
which is suitable for an operations-driven battery-based power source. Exceeding this
limitmightbedetrimentaltotheperformanceoftheactuatorandmaycauseburnoutof the
motor. In contrast to this, servo motors in larger applications have a rating of 460
VAC,2:5A, which requires stand alone power supply systems for operations. It is to
be noted that actuators with still higher ratings are available and vary according to
application requirements.
 Torque to Weight Ratio: The ratio of torque to the weight of the moving part of an

Dr. LEVINA Assoc. Professor, Dept Of CSE KNSIT, Bangalore

 instrument/deviceisreferredtoasitstorque/weightratio.Thisindicatesthe sensitivity of the
actuator. Higher is the weight of the moving part; lower will be its torque to weight
ratio for a given power.

 Stiffness and Compliance: The resistance of a material against deformation is known

as its stiffness, whereas compliance of a material is the opposite of stiffness. Stiffness
can be directly related to the modulus of elasticity of that material. Stiff systems are
considered more accurate than compliant systems as they have a faster response to the
change in load applied to it. For example, hydraulic systems are considered as stiff
and non-compliant, whereas pneumatic systems are considered as compliant.

Dr. LEVINA Assoc. Professor, Dept Of CSE KNSIT, Bangalore