Wireless sensors: a review of technologies, products and applications

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review recent developments in wireless-sensing technologies, products and applications. Design/methodology/approach - The paper describes wireless sensor technologies, discusses the research efforts aimed at yielding battery-free devices and considers a range of products, developments and applications. Findings - The paper shows that emerging families of wireless sensors are being used in a wide range of applications in many industries. These include process control, condition and structural monitoring, energy management, automotive safety, healthcare and security. Major efforts are underway to develop battery-free devices based on energy-harvesting and other techniques. Originality/value - The paper provides a technical review of the rapidly developing field of wireless-sensing technology.