Summary
The prospects for WSN technology are most promising. The market for wireless sensor systems should grow rapidly over the next 5-10 years. Depending on the outcome of standardization efforts and developments in affiliated markets, sales of wireless sensor systems could reach 5 to 7 billion dollars in future. The WSN market must grow rapidly to reach such levels so quickly, however. As the market takes off from its current small base, sales will multiply year-to-year. Annual growth rates will fall through a still substantial 40 or 50%.
Wireless sensor networks represent an emerging set of technologies that will have profound effects across a range of industrial, scientific and governmental applications. A wireless sensor net is made up of a group of sensor nodes. Each sensor node possesses the ability to monitor some aspect of its environment, and each is able to communicate its observations through other nodes to a destination where data from the network is gathered and processed. Recent developments in wireless technologies and the semiconductor fabrication of miniature sensors are making WSNs smaller and more cost-effective for a growing number of uses.
First chapter's glimpse at WSN technology introduced the basic concepts of the wireless sensor market. The concepts presented here will frame the discussion in later chapters on the nature of the WSN market.
Chapter 2 of this report presents case studies of wireless sensor applications. Each case study analysis includes a discussion of the location of the case study along the WSN technology dimensions introduced in this chapter.
Chapter 3 of the report provides an analysis of vendor strategies for wireless sensor markets. The strategic analysis focuses on leading firms across various segments of the WSN industry.
Scenarios for the development of the WSN market are presented in Chapter 4. The market analysis includes a deeper exploration of the WSN value chain models introduced above. Among the features that distinguish between the scenarios discussed in Chapter 4 are the outcomes of the WSN technology standardization efforts that are discussed in Chapter 5.
Finally, Chapter 6 recaps the findings of the report and suggests strategies for engaging in the WSN market.
WSN markets represent one aspect of a revolution occurring in data communication: the declining volume of people-to-people compared to machine-to-machine communication. The New York Times has quoted Intel's associate director of research, Hans Mulder, who predicts that wireless coordination between sensors and machines "will be pervasive in 20 years." This report sheds light on what the path to pervasive sensor-machine communication may look like.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 What are wireless sensor networks?
1.2 Wireless Sensor Networks are not the same as RFID
1.3 Towards a Wireless Sensor Network taxonomy
1.4 Information flow models
1.5 Security in WSNs
1.6 Power sources, power harvesting and power scavenging
1.7 Data analysis for WSNs
1.8 The Wireless Sensor Value Chain
1.9 Overview of the report
2 Sensor Network Case Studies
2.1 Manufacturing & Industrial Applications
2.1.1 Food Industry Applications
2.1.2 Manufacturing: metal foundry and fabrication
2.1.3 Manufacturing robot control
2.1.4 Manufacturing: semiconductors
2.1.5 Manufacturing: Chemical and Petroleum
2.2 Military
2.2.1 The self-healing minefield
2.2.2 Military Vehicle operations and maintenance
2.2.3 Locating snipers
2.3 Health Care & Medicine
2.3.1 CodeBlue project
2.3.2 Wireless sensor for monitoring aneurysms
2.3.3 Elder care
2.3.4 Medical research
2.4 Environmental control, utility use management
2.4.1 Building, factory physical plant
2.4.2 Submetering
2.4.3 Building hazard detection
2.5 Civil Engineering
2.6 Precision Agriculture
2.7 Materials engineering: Composites
2.8 Environment, pollution, & Homeland Security
2.8.1 Environmental monitoring for toxins
2.8.2 Monitoring transport of radioactive materials
2.8.3 The SensorNet program
2.9 Transportation and Fleet management
2.10 Chapter summary
3 Wireless Sensor Vendor Strategies & Strategic Alliance Mapping
3.1 Sensor network platforms
3.1.1 Smart Dust/Dust Networks
3.1.2 Berkeley/Crossbow MICA Motes
3.1.3 Intel Mote - the iMote
3.1.4 Millennial Net
3.1.5 Sensicast Systems
3.2 Operating systems
3.3 Semiconductors and RF system components
3.4 Middleware and application software
3.5 System Integrators
3.6 Vendor summary
3.7 Strategic alliance mapping
3.8 Summary
4 Sensor Network market scenarios
4.1 Market structure for Wireless Sensor networks
4.1.1 Value chains, value webs and profit pools in WSN markets
4.1.2 Application development in the WSN industry
4.2 Market Scenarios
4.2.1 Maximum likelihood scenario: WSN adoption in stages
4.2.2 Optimistic scenario: ideal software segment development
4.2.3 Pessimistic scenario: spectrum congestion & standards conflicts
4.3 Summary
5 Sensor network standardization efforts
5.1 Air Interface Standards
5.2 Sensor interface standards: IEEE 1451
5.3 Data networking protocols
5.4 The Sensor Network Consortium
5.5 Summary
6 Conclusion: The future of wireless sensors
6.1 Usability & cost of development: the keys to unleashing the WSN industry
6.2 The evolution of the WSN industry profit pool
6.3 Report summary & recommendations
Appendix A: ZigBee Alliance Members
Figure
Figure 1-1: A basic wireless sensor node
Figure 1-2: Comparison of RFID & Wireless Sensor Networks
Figure 2-1: Sykoinia's SenSure Portal for food industry applications
Figure 2-2: A schematic of the ABB wireless control system
Figure 2-3: Wireless interface options for liquid gas tank monitoring systems
Figure 2-4: Multipath signals confuse simple triangulation algorithms
Figure 2-5: Sensors monitor shock waves originating from sniper fire
Figure 2-6: The EndoSure sensor for abdominal aortic aneurysm patients
Figure 2-7: A submetering system for a factory
Figure 2-8: smart pebbles detect chloride threat to bridge structure
Figure 2-9: A cantilever sensor platform for detecting the presence of toxins
Figure 2-10: Schematic of radioactivity sensors embedded in highway
Figure 2-11: A WSN for trucking logistics
Figure 3-1: A conceptual map of the wireless sensor industry
Figure 3-2: The ISO 7 layer networking abstraction
Figure 3-3: A model of wireless sensor industry segments
Figure 3-4: Crossbow alliances
Figure 3-5: Dust Networks alliances
Figure 3-6: Millennial Net alliances
Figure 3-7: Ember alliances
Figure 3-8: Atmel's alliances
Figure 3-9: Chipcon alliances
Figure 4-1: Porter's original value chain diagram
Figure 4-2: A hypothetical industry profit pool
Figure 4-3: An approximated profit-pool model for the WSN industry
Figure 4-4: The effect of WSNs design tool kits on systems integration markets
Figure 4-5: Technology adoption groups
Figure 4-6: Adoption groups and the rate of adoption of a new technology
Figure 4-7: WSN market scenario chart, 2006-2011
Figure 4-8: WSN unit sales scenario chart, 2006-2011
Figure 4-9: Average WSN unit costs (including sensors), 2006-2011
Figure 4-10: WSN market, inexpensive software scenario chart, 2006-2011
Figure 4-11: WSN market, inexpensive software scenario, unit sales 2006-2011
Figure 4-12: WSN market, inexpensive software scenario, unit costs 2006-2011
Figure 4-13: WSN market, spectrum crowding scenario, total sales 2006-2011
Figure 4-14: WSN market, spectrum crowding scenario, unit sales 2006-2011
Figure 4-15: WSN market, spectrum crowding scenario, unit costs 2006-2011
Figure 5-1: The ZigBee/802.14.5 Protocol Stack
Figure 5-2: Wireless sensor node with plug & play sensor architecture
Figure 6-1: Trends in the WSN industry profit pool
Table
Table 4-1: Marketing segment timing for WSN adoption
Table 4-2: WSN market size, expected scenario
Table 4-3: WSN market size, lower software cost scenario
Table 4-4: WSN market size, spectrum crowding scenario
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