Setup Arduino to be WSAN for IoT: Introduction

WSAN is stand for Wireless Sensor Actuator Node. Its an embedded device, that can be conceal inside everyday object, an intelligent part in every smart devices. 

The words wireless is used because this kind of device able to communicate and transfer its data to another devices through wireless connectivity. There are many wireless connectivity that you can try out, some of them are Bluetooth, ZigBee, and Wifi, and each of them come complete with module. Means you just buy the module, and interface it with your embedded device through RX and TX pin. 

Sensor is used as this kind of device is able to sense surrounding physical data. Any sensor can be used as long as it can interface with the embedded device. Sensor also usually come in the form factor of module, eg: If you want to sense temperature, just simply find at your local or online store, temperature sensor module, as simple as that. Be clear in mind not all sensor can be interface with the embedded device, some of them require large resource to do computing to get the value on whatever it sense. 

While actuator is used to make a response to surrounding physical environment. Either to switch on fan, lamp, door, sound, etc. Its a device that change electric energy to physical energy. Be clear in mind that the output pin of embedded device doesn't have a large power to move a fan, but rather its pin is used to trigger a state change that allow driver to start operate and thus switching ON or OFF targeted fan, lamp, door etc.

The reason why WSAN is used in IoT is because it can SENSE anything, communicate by wireless method to Internet web service, and can be used to SWITCH on off any actuator over the internet. So use your imagination, what kind of devices that you can make to simplify your life using this kind of technology.

Sense and Control over the Internet that is one of the IoT definition and to do that we need to have WSAN.

Well this is an over simplify definition, but still, its the overall idea of what is WSAN is, and on the next post we will create one using an open hardware device to simplify the design.