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Encyclopedia of Database Systems pp 2616–2619Cite as

Sensor Networks

  • Reference work entry

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Synonyms

Wireless sensor networks; Embedded networked sensing; Sensornet

Definition

A sensor network is a collection of small battery-operated embedded devices each with a built-in processor, sensors, and wireless communication capability. It usually has one or more gateways, or embedded computers, connected to an external communications infrastructure (e.g. the Internet or the cellular network). Either the embedded devices or the gateways may be mobile. The purpose of a sensor network is to collaboratively sense the environment, and convey (a possibly condensed version of) the sensed information to one or more human users via the gateways. More advanced sensor networks may autonomously react to the sensed information and effect an action, such as activating a camera or a light switch.

Historical Background

As early as 1977, researchers appear to have discussed, in significant depth, the various issues in building a distributed wireless sensor network. These discussions were part of...

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Recommended Reading

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Ramesh Govindan

Authors
  1. Ramesh Govindan
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 266 Ferst Drive, 30332-0765, Atlanta, GA, USA

    LING LIU (Professor) (Professor)

  2. Database Research Group David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    M. TAMER ÖZSU (Professor and Director, University Research Chair) (Professor and Director, University Research Chair)

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© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Govindan, R. (2009). Sensor Networks. In: LIU, L., ÖZSU, M.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Database Systems. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-39940-9_341

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