Smart sensors for IoT

One of the basic function of an IoT node is to collect, process, store and eventually send the collected data to the cloud. Therefore, sensors and the related sensor interface are key components in the IoT node. Additionally, the IoT node is constrained to very limited space (or volume) and energy. Hence, the sensors and its related interface have to be highly miniaturized and very energy efficient.

This course starts with an introduction to the broad field of the IoT with a particular emphasis on the aspects that are relevant to sensing IoT nodes. It then focuses on the design of highly energy-efficient, integrated sensor interface, starting with modelling the most important sensors found for IoT applications. The various electronic circuits most appropriate to interface these sensors are then presented with a particular focus on power consumption and noise. The interface circuits include the front-end electronics and an analog signal conditioning circuit followed usually by and analog-to-digital converter (ADC).