Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are microscopic systems made of components between 1 and 100 micrometers in size. These systems are continuing to find their way into a variety of Internet of Things (IoT) devices ranging from display systems to inkjet cartridges. As a result, the capabilities of advanced microscopic off-the-shelf IoT sensors aren’t too far behind.
A recent study published by Orbis Research determined that the seamlessness and efficiency of off-the-shelf products will be a key driver of the growth of increasingly smaller IoT devices, with the majority of embedded systems being deployed in the automotive, building automation, health-care and utility industries.
"Conventional Embedded Systems fail to deliver what the IoT is expecting from an embedded device networked in IoT and it brings great challenges to develop or transform the contemporary embedded system into an IoT-enabled smart embedded system," the report explains. "IoT demands a different set of microprocessors, drivers, peripherals, batteries and operating systems than conventional embedded system used in general purpose computing systems."
While these MEMS are expected to evolve significantly, they are anticipated to expand “connectivity, systems integration, and data ecosystem" with the even smaller nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS).Existing IoT sensors, which range from simple Raspberry Pi single board computer projects to more advanced systems for monitoring industrial conditions across the globe, can sense a number of different physical and logical changes to an environment, including acoustics, lighting, electrical or magnetic energy, force and pressure, chemicals or gas, humidity, temperature, motion, leakage and humidity, among others.
The full "Sensors and Embedded Systems in the Internet of Things (IoT): Market Analysis and Forecasts 2016 - 2021" report, which is targeted at MEMS suppliers, sensor companies, IoT companies, embedded hardware developers and wireless device manufacturers, can be purchased from Orbis Research.
To learn more about sensors, read: New Battery-less IoT Transmitter the Size of a Quarter.