<div class="raw-html-embed"><div id="elevenlabs-audionative-widget" data-height="90" data-width="100%" data-frameborder="no" data-scrolling="no" data-publicuserid="6c21a9b7ad57703231dc05932a21048d408feec7404ccb881f833127d05d8391" data-playerurl="https://elevenlabs.io/player/index.html" data-small="True" data-textcolor="rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0)" data-backgroundcolor="rgba(245, 245, 245, 1.0)" data-projectid="mKr3NQGZ48sPHvstSH36">Loading the <a href="https://elevenlabs.io/text-to-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elevenlabs Text to Speech</a> AudioNative Player...</div><script src="https://elevenlabs.io/player/audioNativeHelper.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Another day, another tired old, “go green” marketing campaign - now they’re all over the place. All sorts of companies have started chiming in - not just the ones that are traditionally seen as eco-friendly. There’s a seemingly interminable catalogue of sustainability driven campaigns today - all sorts of products being positioned as the “green” alternative; Every commodity out there claiming to save the planet.&nbsp;It’s not coming out of nowhere. There’s a massive demand for more sustainable products and services from today’s consumer, who seems to be more <a href="https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-IN/">clued up</a> than ever about environmental issues and wants to make a difference with their purchases.&nbsp;There is a clear directive from the world’s consumer base that companies that prioritise holistic well-being over myopic self-interest will be rewarded richly. Now more than ever, <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/rise-of-eco-conscious-consumer.html">consumers</a> are choosing to go green, making a huge statement with how they spend their money.&nbsp; This message has been received loud and clear by the businesses of the world and they’re tripping over one another trying to get on the sustainability bandwagon.&nbsp;The market has a good idea about a company or brand’s hierarchy of values - we might not exactly know the inner machinations of what makes a company tick - but we sure can call out a bandwagon jumper just fine - the ones who are built around a core value that calls for more environmental consciousness are easy to identify.&nbsp;But on the other hand, environmental concerns are pressing and urgent - there is an ever growing realisation that we need urgent action to reverse some of the <a href="https://consciousplanet.org/en/save-soil/soil">catastrophic</a> trends of ecological degradation that we see around us today. We’re literally burning the planet down - destroying the very source of our lives. So maybe this is a good time to start caring about sustainability - or even performatively caring about sustainability?This is a good time for all earth dwellers to take a moment to ask ourselves what sustainability means to us. It’s time we reconcile our desire for a healthier planet with the drives that are leading us to burn the planet down.&nbsp;<blockquote>However selfish man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it except the pleasure of seeing it. - Adam Smith</blockquote>There is this idea that all economic activity is driven by the profit motive - at least in a liberal economic model.This is broadly true - when free from external agencies that seek to force their hands, human beings largely tend to work towards their own well-being and prosperity rather than against.&nbsp;But, the idea that all transactions, in a market, happen among rational and self-seeking players with a myopic vision of profit is not true. People are complex organisms and have divergent drives, motivations and incentive structures.&nbsp;Human beings belong to multiple structures that exist at multiple levels of organisation - i.e. first and foremost, we are individuals. As individuals, we belong to family units, the welfare of which we sometimes put over our own. Similarly, when we zoom out, we belong to various other collective units, which command varying levels of loyalty, responsibility and belonging.&nbsp;This is not just some abstraction - in our day to day lives, we make several decisions that balance our commitment to wellbeing and value across various levels of this hierarchy of belonging.&nbsp;We are often faced with situations where we prioritise well-being on the level of the collective over that of the individual. The converse is true as well, obviously. That’s where accountability comes in. We’re much less likely to make decisions that benefit us as individuals at the cost of our community’s well being when there is a certain level of accountability within said community.&nbsp;Today, we’re able to exchange value at multiple levels and maintain accountability on a really large scale. Thanks to technology and social media, we are able to see how value exchanges affect not just the producer and the direct consumer but literally everything else on the planet.&nbsp;This is where the idea of sustainability becomes relevant from a macroeconomic standpoint.&nbsp;So, how do we see sustainability? What’s sustainability, as defined and understood by us?&nbsp;Creating and offering a multi-layered stack of value. That’s how we see sustainability. Very simple. Not catering to one problem of an individual or an entity while contributing to other problems at other levels of collectivity that they occupy.&nbsp;What do we mean by this?We are quickly realising that a product or a service that offers value to one party but at the cost of our collective wellbeing is just not doing a great job of leveraging all the available resources we have.&nbsp;Today, more than ever before, we have an oceanic pool of knowledge, operational tools, know-how and talent to draw from. National borders don’t matter. College degrees don’t matter - there are way more sophisticated and bespoke methods available to vet for quality. Consumers have a ton of power and choice in terms of the products and services they choose to associate with.&nbsp;Similarly, businesses also have more choice than ever about the kind of solutions, talent, processes and structures they can employ.&nbsp;So, the businesses that we’ll see doing well in these times are those that execute on the promise of value-creation at every level of organisation - the individual, the micro-collective (i.e company, demographic group etc), macro-collective(s) - i.e humans as whole, life as a whole etc and then, one level up from this - the habitat that all of these other levels share - which is planet earth.&nbsp;So, a sustainable business is one that takes upon itself the task of adding value - not just to one level of the hierarchy - but to as many levels as possible.&nbsp;With <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/rise-of-eco-conscious-consumer.html">consumers</a> getting more and more informed and highly eco-conscious, companies and products that operate on a less inclusive model will simply not make it.&nbsp;<h2>Sustainability in the IoT Sector</h2>Let’s take the example of the IoT sector.&nbsp;If we continue pushing out products that find a way to reduce labour, cut costs, drive up operational efficiency etc. but do so by requiring thousands of battery changes every year - that’s a bad idea.&nbsp;Dumping hundreds of thousands of batteries into our oceans and <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/our-huge-soil-problem-how-iot-help.html">soil</a> (which are precious resources that affect the wellbeing of every single one of us directly), we are literally adding negative value to the world.&nbsp;No business can expect to live for long adding negative value - maybe it can go on for a while as the information gap closes - but this isn’t going to last very long.&nbsp;Like we said earlier, the idea is pretty straightforward - all of us hold a hierarchy of identities based on the hierarchy of social collectives that we belong to, at various levels. At one level, we’re individuals with guaranteed rights, powers of discretion and individual choice. But, this individuality is dependent to varying degrees on the family setup we belong to.Likewise, we belong to various other levels of collectivity - like cities, countries etc - at the highest level, all living organisms belong to the collective that is “life on earth”. This is not an exercise in abstraction - this is not some imposed framework that ought to be adopted to view the world through - this is a reality.&nbsp;Things that happen to the ecosystem at large, happen to us. Things that affect the air, soil, water and general livability of this planetary ecosystem, affect us too as an extension. That this needs to be said goes to show how much we’ve become atomised in today’s world.&nbsp;We are facing some pretty <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/solving-challenges-batteryless-iot.html">grave</a> threats as a planetary collective and <a href="https://consciousplanet.org/en/save-soil">urgent action</a> is what’s going to get us out of trouble - this means, businesses that offer value to the various levels of collectivity that we inhabit will be <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/rise-of-eco-conscious-consumer.html">chosen</a> over those that serve just one level.&nbsp;This is the way to see sustainability.&nbsp;Sustainability isn’t some credo that we use to parade how virtuous we are. It is merely an <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/solving-challenges-batteryless-iot.html">attempt</a> to integrate a more holistic understanding of adding value into our products and services.&nbsp;<h2>An Evolution of the Profit Motive</h2>The profit motive gets a bad rap - but it really works! To a large extent, the buzzing industrial world around us which allows us luxuries like frappuccinos and reading articles online, is a direct result of a liberal economic order.&nbsp;We’ve built a society that is built around the profit motive rather than being predicated on individuals overcoming their self-interest. This has brought us economic growth and prosperity. Sure there are millions who are still struggling to make ends meet - but the fact remains that this economic model has lifted hundreds of millions, if not billions, out of poverty.&nbsp;Now back to the idea we started with - how do we look at companies parading their attempts to be more ecologically sensible, as some sort of virtue pageantry?It really is irksome to see businesses using the "sustainability angle" as a sort of selling tactic to push more of their wares onto us.&nbsp;Why? Not just because it's inauthentic - although that's not great either. It's more because it reflects an inaccurate understanding of what sustainability means - an understanding built on outdated and obsolete models.This would be a good place to ask ourselves what sustainability means to us.. So, at its core, why sustainability? Why should we be sustainable?That "should-ness" around sustainability is what we have a problem with. That's where we think a reframe is in order.We as individuals make choices all the time that look like "I should / I ought to" choices when seen from a child's perspective. To a child, anything that isn’t play - or immediately fun, is just something he/she does only because their parents give them no other choice.&nbsp;But, as adults, most of us simply understand the complexities involved in reconciling our divergent drives - i.e short term gratification vs long term goals; expediency vs well being. We might experience the occasional bit of friction, sure. But, we all get how careful planning, delayed gratification and mutual civility pay off in the long run.As families, we're the same way - we make choices that ensure the highest amount of wellbeing (given practical constraints) for the most number of people in the family over the longest possible time. In doing so, we choose to align our everyday choices with long-term wellbeing over short-term expediency.At the levels of individual and family, this is just seen as being sensible - no "should-ness" there that leads to virtue signalling - not that being sensible isn't a virtue to be celebrated though - but there isn’t so much moralistic posturing around it, is what we mean.&nbsp;What we're saying is this - choosing to not destroy the foundational aspects of our life - i.e. water, soil, air is just the sensible thing to do. There doesn't need to be a dramatised narrative or moral grandstanding around it. It's simply what living beings do when confronted with choices that they are smart enough to comprehend - they make choices that correspond with their own sustained well-being.This is how we see sustainability. Simply acting in our own best interests. Doing what will enable us all to reap the most value in the long-term. Pure common sense.Creating batteryless IoT products so we can stem the catastrophic flow of billions of batteries into our oceans and landfills doesn't make us virtuous - these are simply the kind of things that need to be done if we plan on continuing to live here as a global collective (as a species).Finding new ways to source our materials so we don't cause ecological destruction, human suffering and contamination is again - just what we'd do if we were acting sensibly in our own self interest.To us as a company, this is what batteryless IoT stands for - Sense. It's just the more sensible way to do connected technology. It's the only way we can build on the huge promise of IoT technology without it contributing to our already growing list of environmental problems.Sustainability here isn't a cause - It's just finding deeper alignment with our own desire for wellbeing - a distillation, an evolution if you will, of the profit motive. The need to create value - the need to ensure better outcomes for ourselves.

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Sustainability is hot right now. It’s become a really hip thing to be associated with if you’re a company. Everyone and their grandmas is now talking about going green. There’s a good measure of fatigue and cynicism today about the sustainability narrative being co-opted by the corporate world - the consumer is jaded and tired with corporations trying to win their favour by selling sustainability-flavoured candy. 
So, what is it that they’re getting wrong? Where is this cynicism coming from? Are they not getting something? This is what we’re about to explore. Going further from there, in this post, we thought we’d ask ourselves how we understand sustainability and how we see it as a company. 

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Reframing Sustainability - An Evolution of The Profit Motive

Senior Content Manager

Abishek Swaminathen

<div class="raw-html-embed"><div id="elevenlabs-audionative-widget" data-height="90" data-width="100%" data-frameborder="no" data-scrolling="no" data-publicuserid="6c21a9b7ad57703231dc05932a21048d408feec7404ccb881f833127d05d8391" data-playerurl="https://elevenlabs.io/player/index.html" data-small="True" data-textcolor="rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0)" data-backgroundcolor="rgba(245, 245, 245, 1.0)" data-projectid="qLDWBqdgb8GOF3Y5Zm4P">Loading the <a href="https://elevenlabs.io/text-to-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elevenlabs Text to Speech</a> AudioNative Player...</div><script src="https://elevenlabs.io/player/audioNativeHelper.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Sensors are all around us, in today’s connected world. Acting as conduits that connect the physical and digital worlds, IoT sensors have come a long way since their inception. With the number of connected devices in the world only set to go up in the coming years, IoT sensors are only going to increase in relevance - In 2020, it was estimated that there were 15.1 billion connected IoT devices in active use worldwide. This number has been growing at a staggering rate - by the year 2030, it is expected that there will be well over <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1183457/iot-connected-devices-worldwide/">29 billion</a> active IoT devices!Now, take a moment to wrap your mind around that number. That’s about 4 IoT devices for each person on planet earth! IoT devices are equipped with an entire range of sensors - to cater to various functionalities. What this means is that, as we speak, there are over a trillion IoT sensors buzzing away around us in the world right now! A Trillion!What are these sensors doing?They’re collecting data - plain and simple. Various kinds of IoT sensors, are specialised to collect different types of data from their surrounding environment. This data is absolutely <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/batteryless-sensors-reshaping-the-world.html">reshaping</a> the world around us and the way we <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/revolutionising-retail-batteryless-iot-impact.html">interact</a> with it - <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/are-smart-iot-farms-the-future-agriculture.html">farmers</a> are relying on pH sensors, moisture sensors, <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/precision-agriculture-using-less-to-grow-more.html">NPK sensors </a>etc to optimise their fertiliser and water input to achieve high yields and prevent pests and plant diseases; Smart factories are using sensors to monitor the health of their machinery and avoid unexpected losses, boosting their margins and overall productivity; Motion sensors, level detection sensors, light sensors, sound sensors etc are being used as parts of comprehensive sensor suites to transform our urban spaces into smart cities.&nbsp;It’s not just industry and public conveniences either - like we saw in the beginning of this article, smart appliances, as part of a broader smart home, employ various kinds of IoT sensors to automate various household tasks and customise them to user preferences - refrigerators that order groceries for you on amazon when your stocks run low; pressure sensors that warn you well before your taps start leaking; air quality sensors that work with your air conditioning unit to make sure the air in your room is just right - the level of convenience, seamlessness and comfort enabled by wireless sensors is simply absurd!<h2>Sensors Evolution - A Timeline Through The Decades</h2>The modern day wireless sensor is a result of decades of iterative development, driven by increasing demands of a tech world that was growing and evolving at breakneck speed. In the late 20th century, sensors were very rudimentary devices that could detect basic parameters such as light or temperature - they were usually deployed in industrial plants or in early versions of computers.&nbsp;As our information processing capabilities started growing, the scope of these sensors exploded in a massive way, leading to the advent of highly sophisticated sensors that could detect a wide range of environmental parameters like motion, humidity, pressure etc. This was primarily driven by the market’s exploding demand for intelligent and efficient sensing systems that could adapt to changing conditions in real-time, performing a role of optimisation in various kinds of industrial and consumer-facing settings.&nbsp;Let’s take a brief look at the history of the modern wireless sensor:Sensors may sound like they don’t belong in history - they seem a pretty recent invention. However, if we define a sensor as a device that scans its surroundings, sensing changes in a particular variable or parameter, then we’d have to go way back to the 17th century, to rudimentary thermometers, which were essentially primitive temperature sensors. The 1800s saw some advancements in devices that could detect changes in pressure and light levels - i.e early pressure sensors and light sensors.&nbsp;The concept of connecting everyday devices to one another and to the internet, in order to drive higher levels of functionality and intelligence can be traced back to the 1990s. Kevin Ashton coined the term “Internet of Things” all the way back in 1999. Since then, wireless sensors have made rapid strides - becoming smaller, less power-hungry and more sophisticated.&nbsp;With the turn of the 20th century, sensor innovation started taking off like never before, driven by a massive technological boom - The modern day IoT sensor owes its existence to some key 20th century developments.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/onio/image/upload/v1710416752/first_transistor_819d73fa1a.jpg" alt="first_transistor.jpeg"></figure>Transistors (1947) - It is a well known fact that wars accelerate the evolution of technology. In the period immediately after the second world war, the transistor absolutely revolutionised the world of electronics - making it possible for them to be shipped with compact and affordable components. Before transistors, electronics used vacuum tubes - which were heavy and bulky. Moreover, they were also extremely power hungry. Transistors were substantially smaller in size compared to vacuum tubes and did not require nearly as much power. Transistors allowed highly complex circuits to be integrated onto a single chip.&nbsp; This was a notable milestone in the history of the modern day sensor.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/onio/image/upload/v1710417064/the_first_mcu_e6d9bdc5b9.jpg" alt="the first mcu.jpg"></figure>Microcontrollers (1970s) - Microcontrollers were developed in the 1970s and represented a massive leap forward in sensing technology. Microcontrollers are essentially tiny computers that are entirely based on a chip. Microcontrollers allowed the data from multiple sensors to be integrated within a single device. Moreover, microcontrollers that were built into sensors enabled on-board data processing, completely bypassing the need for a separate backend operation or at any rate, reducing its load. This reduced the total data-load that had to be transmitted, which in turn, reduced bandwidth requirements and enabled some applications to start featuring real-time decision making. Microcontrollers, perhaps most importantly, enabled sensor programmability - this meant that sensor functionality could be customised to match the requirements of specific use-cases. This was a huge boost to the versatility of functionality of sensors.RFID (1980s) - Radio-frequency identification or RFID technology, brought a whole new dimension of capabilities to wireless sensing. RFID, for the first time, allowed objects to be identified and tracked without them being directly in the line of sight.Wi-Fi (1997) - The advent of Wi-Fi in the 1990s meant that high-speed wireless internet became a real possibility for the first time. This meant that sensors could now transmit large amounts of data seamlessly.Wi-Fi enabled sensors to be integrated into networks much more easily, playing a significant role in the colossal development of IoT technology today.Bluetooth (1998) - This was another big landmark in the development of modern day sensors as well. Bluetooth technology allowed sensors the massive luxury of reliable short-distance wireless communication. This meant that sensors located in close proximity could “speak-to” one another without the hassle and expense of using Wi-fi.Then, there were a couple of key developments following the turn of the century that led to the powerful, diminutive and highly versatile IoT sensors that we know today.&nbsp;MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) - The development of MEMS in the early 2000s remains a very significant step in the evolution of modern day IoT sensors. MEMS allowed IoT sensors to be rendered in miniature form, making it possible for sensors to be deployed in the numerous applications that we see them in today. Use-cases like smartphones and fitness trackers are possible for sensors today simply because of MEMS. They made sensors versatile, compact and inexpensive.LPWAN Technologies - The advent of LoRaWAN and NB-IoT in the 2010s has been huge for the emergence of modern standards in sensor technology. They allow sensors to be deployed in far-flung, remote corners of the world where internet and power access are questionable, at best. LPWAN technologies enabled the expansion of IoT into the big, wide world - opening up an unimaginably diverse range of use-cases in the process.<h2>Demand Driven Innovation</h2>In the early years, IoT technology was based on connecting everyday objects to computer systems or large computer networks - this is how these early smart objects were controlled and monitored.&nbsp;This was revolutionary at the time, with sensors being used to blur the lines between the physical and digital worlds. However, there were some pretty hefty limitations as well - these sensors were taken straight out of industrial settings and were often quite bulky and expensive. They were also massively power hungry, demanding wired connections or frequent battery changes. This made it impossible for them to be deployed in remote use-cases. There was a growing need for more energy-efficient sensors.&nbsp;Moreover, sensors in the past were largely restricted to single data types - i.e a given sensor was limited to being able to gather only one type of data - like temperature, pressure etc. This meant that early IoT solutions were straitjacketed and could not really spread their wings in terms of ingenuity or scale - this limited the range of problems that they could be used to solve.&nbsp;Processing power was also an issue with early sensors - they lacked the sheer muscle that was needed to process the data they collected; this meant that early IoT devices had to rely on the cloud for processing and analysis, adding to latency and overhead in the process.&nbsp;The market was clamouring for a new breed of IoT sensors that could solve these issues. With IoT technology being adopted across various sectors at an increasingly rapid pace, there was a tremendous incentive for innovation in the sensor space. The market exerted a number of pressures that fueled the development of next-gen sensor technologies -&nbsp; these were:Cost Effectiveness - The scale at which IoT technology was growing was so massive that there was a huge demand for ultra-low-cost sensors that could be deployed in large numbers without much thought.Size - Sensors needed to drop some serious heft and become diminutive in order for them to be seamlessly integrated into various wearables, implants and smart devices.Low-Power - Battery replacements were a serious limiting factor in the early years of IoT. <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/energy-harvesting-trumps-batteries.html">The battery problem</a> severely curtailed the growth of IoT technology for a long time. In addition to the repeating costs, there was the <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/environmental-cost-of-batteries.html">huge</a> environmental impact of batteries to consider. There was a growing demand for energy efficient sensors.Smart and Autonomous - With use-cases becoming more diverse and expansive, there was a huge need for sensors that were capable of doing a fair share of the information processing and filtering themselves - relying as little as possible on mainstream computing devices. This would save a ton on data transfer and make systems more latency free and responsive, enabling real-time solutions.Multimodality - IoT solutions kept getting more complex and as a result, they demanded wireless sensors that were able to measure multiple parameters at the same time - offering a more rich and variegated picture of their environments.&nbsp;<h2>Newer, Faster and Better Sensors</h2>These pressures led to the development of modern day IoT sensors.&nbsp;Today’s wireless sensors are small and versatile - sometimes even as small as a <a href="https://samueli.ucla.edu/grain-of-sand-size-sensors-to-monitor-conditions-in-deep-unconventional-oil-reservoirs/">grain of sand</a>. This enables them to be deployed in a variety of use-cases across a wide range of form factors and environments.&nbsp;Secondly,modern day sensors tend to be quite miserly with their power consumption, often being able to operate for months or years on end with no battery replacements. Better yet, we have seen the advent of <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/what-is-energy-harvesting.html">energy harvesting</a> powered sensors that don’t need any external power source whatsoever (we’ll see more about them in the following section).&nbsp;Thirdly, wireless sensors are getting smarter and more multi-talented - allowing for multiple parameters to be monitored at the same time using a single device. They are also starting to feature some pretty serious on-board processing power, which enables local decision making.&nbsp;Fourthly, mass production and innovation have led to sensor prices falling precipitously in the last decade or so. This means that they are now way more affordable in large numbers, allowing for ambitious and powerful IoT solutions that can take massive problems head on.&nbsp;Perhaps most importantly, today’s IoT sensors are versatile and flexible - boasting of incredible levels of adaptability and interoperability. Open standards and flexible software interfaces mean that the powerful sensors of today are able to be seamlessly integrated into various kinds of IoT systems, across a stunning range of industries and applications. In fact, it might be <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/awesome-real-world-iot-applications.html">fair</a> to say that there isn’t a single major industry on the planet which hasn’t been transformed by IoT technology in the past few years.<h2>Batteryless Magic - Self-Powered Sensors</h2>Thanks to advances in energy harvesting technologies, today we are able to produce sensors that are 100% self-powered and battery-free.&nbsp;Sounds pretty crazy doesn’t it?It’s <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/ambient-energy-and-io-t-a-perfect-match-for-a-greener-tomorrow.html">true</a> though. <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/batteryless-sensors-reshaping-the-world.html">Batteryless</a> IoT is very much a reality today. These sensors are able to draw power from their surroundings - be it in the form of radio waves, vibrational energy, heat, light or a number of other sources.&nbsp;They are able to harness the energy required for their operation from the surroundings and completely eliminate the need for any external power source. This gives them a number of pretty compelling advantages over their battery powered predecessors.&nbsp;Firstly, there is the money saved on battery replacements and periodic maintenance. Self-powered sensors are way cheaper to run over their lifetimes than battery-powered sensors. That number gets huge especially when large scale deployments are considered.Secondly, there’s the environmental benefit of preventing hundreds of millions (if not billions) of batteries from ending up in landfills and oceans. This one’s a no brainer.&nbsp;Thirdly, self-powered sensors offer an incredible amount of flexibility in terms of where they can be deployed. The sky is truly the limit with batteryless sensors - they are totally untethered and can be taken wherever the imagination goes. They can be deployed in bio-implants, machinery, hilltops etc, with no second thought.&nbsp;Energy efficient sensors are one thing - but when sensors are self-powered and energy efficient, they can really bring an unbelievable amount of value to the table.&nbsp;<h2>Incredible Possibilities</h2>The future of IoT sensors is going to be filled with exciting new developments - firstly, they will continue to become smaller, smarter and more invisibly integrated into the fabric of our everyday lives. They will start to wedge themselves in practically every part of our surrounding environments and feed endless streams of pertinent data to the devices around us, making them more intuitive and snag-free.&nbsp;Moreover, the emergence of batteryless sensor technology is incredibly promising from a sustainability point of view, especially amidst this climate of rising ecological uncertainty and climate related distress.&nbsp;The story of wireless sensors is far from finished though. As we move into the future, we are going to see new materials, sensing mechanisms and data analysis modalities. There is a good chance we’ll get to see some pretty futuristic stuff like self-healing sensors and completely embedded sensors.&nbsp;The sensors of tomorrow, as they grow in sophistication and power, will transform entire industries and unlock a data-driven future where we could get to see incredible levels of efficiency, sustainability, productivity and human well-being.&nbsp;Now, that’s something to look forward to!

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It’s 7.00 AM on a sunday. You begin to stir in bed. You’re not ready to wake up just yet. You pull the blanket back up over your head and roll over. But your moving about in bed has set off a chain reaction - your blinds gradually come open, letting the warm sun into your room, just as slow, lilting tunes start playing through your sound system and your coffee maker starts pouring your favourite brew. All this happens automatically just as you start waking up.

This is not a scenario out of a sci-fi novel. This is the reality we live in today, thanks to IoT technology. IoT sensors enable the internet to penetrate into the nooks and crannies of our existence and allow for a level of optimisation and convenience that’s otherworldly and futuristic. In this post, we’ll take a deep dive into the dynamic world of IoT sensors and trace out the history and evolution of these indispensable little wonders of the modern era - wireless sensors. 

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Sensing The Future - The History and Evolution of IoT Sensors

<div class="raw-html-embed"><div id="elevenlabs-audionative-widget" data-height="90" data-width="100%" data-frameborder="no" data-scrolling="no" data-publicuserid="6c21a9b7ad57703231dc05932a21048d408feec7404ccb881f833127d05d8391" data-playerurl="https://elevenlabs.io/player/index.html" data-small="True" data-textcolor="rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0)" data-backgroundcolor="rgba(245, 245, 245, 1.0)" data-projectid="NoTujVLrcpeP8mNuDbsp">Loading the <a href="https://elevenlabs.io/text-to-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elevenlabs Text to Speech</a> AudioNative Player...</div><script src="https://elevenlabs.io/player/audioNativeHelper.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>We are living in the age of artificial intelligence. AI’s star is truly on the ascendancy. Artificial Intelligence is now so thoroughly permeated into our everyday lives that we don’t even notice it most of the time. From driverless cars zooming through our streets, to virtual assistants curating bespoke shopping experiences, artificial intelligence has really penetrated deep into the structures that underlie our everyday lives.&nbsp;The possibilities that AI opens up are immense - truth be told, nobody knows how far we can take this technology - it’s still very much in its adolescence. Computational intelligence was once something limited to the pages of science fiction but today, we are standing at the precipice of a whole new paradigm.AI’s transformative power has already started changing the way we interact with technology - ChatGPT is a great example of how AI is starting to feel indispensable to the everyday tech-user - much like Google, a couple of decades ago.&nbsp;So, what makes AI so powerful?At the core of AI’s power is its ability to analyse unimaginably huge datasets, recognise patterns, learn from them and subsequently make decisions with little to no intervention. This is the underlying principle that allows AI to disrupt such a diverse range of fields - be it healthcare, where AI-driven algorithms make high-quality diagnoses that put seasoned physicians to shame; or finance - where AI-based models identify market trends ahead of time and inform prudent investment strategies; or nature protection, where AI-powered systems monitor large ecosystems in real-time, enabling proactive responses to impending threats, both manmade and natural.&nbsp;Artificial Intelligence is able to go through tons more data, more quickly than any human or set of humans could ever hope to. This is what makes it so efficient and powerful.&nbsp;It would be fair to say that a big part of AI’s might is due to our data collection capabilities. AI is nothing without large amounts of data.&nbsp;<h2>Name of The Game Is Data Collection</h2>AI is only as good as the data that it has at its disposal - all AI systems are essentially pattern-recognition and matching systems that work with a high degree of sophistication. They learn to match patterns by being trained on massive amounts of data - which they use to identify correlations and create decision-making heuristics.&nbsp;The quality of the data has a direct impact on the efficacy of the AI system. This is important to understand because there is a common trap that people and companies fall into when they think of AI as some kind of a magic bullet - a mythical solution that can plug holes in any system or fix any problem. That’s hardly the case.&nbsp;AI is better understood as a fast and efficient way of organising and retrieving large amounts of information. Granted, that’s a bit of an oversimplification, at least with respect to some of the more advanced AI systems going around today. But, it’s not too far off the mark.&nbsp;The idea we’re getting at here is this - organisations often place too much focus on the AI model itself, and not enough on the data it works with. Collecting, cleaning, labelling and maintaining a high quality data set is hugely important - probably more so than how fancy the AI algorithm is. A hugely capable AI engine that runs on poor data is just no good. The converse - a reasonably simple AI system that works on a huge amount of high quality, well organised data can be a hugely powerful tool.&nbsp;AI systems that are based on biased or inaccurate data will inevitably inherit those biases and inaccuracies. This can lead to disastrous outcomes and skewed decision making - imagine that happening in a healthcare setting for instance - it could mean the difference between life and death.&nbsp;AI systems gather data in a number of ways - direct data collection methods like web scraping, sensors, surveys, user interactions etc; they could leverage pre-existing data sets or simulate artificial data sets. However, all of these data harvesting methods are digital-only except for sensors.&nbsp;Wireless sensors are the only way for AI systems to gather data from the physical world, as it were. Wireless sensors act as eyes and ears for AI systems, on the ground, feeding them data in real-time.Wireless sensors allow AI systems access to a practically endless feed of raw data - enabling them to make decisions that are highly accurate and relevant to the ground realities pervading a given situation. Today, thanks to the advent of <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/what-is-energy-harvesting.html">energy harvesting</a> technologies, we are seeing the emergence of self-powered, battery-free sensors that can be deployed pretty much anywhere, irrespective of location or accessibility. Add to this the vast internet coverage made possible by 5G and we have a recipe for some majorly disruptive transformation.&nbsp;This is especially the case in remote use-cases where self-powered IoT sensors make sure AI systems are supplied with a relentless stream of accurate, real-time data. In use-cases such as <a href="https://www.onio.com/article/precision-agriculture-using-less-to-grow-more.html">precision agriculture</a>, this is invaluable to the accuracy and precision of an AI system’s decisions.<h2>The Symbiosis Between IoT Sensors and AI</h2>The meteoric rise of AI over the last few years has coincided with IoT’s similar trajectory. Both these technologies stand as the cutting edge of information technology, dramatically transforming nearly every aspect of human life today.&nbsp;IoT, in essence, refers to a system of interconnected nodes that are able to communicate with one another independently - these nodes today have become so small and powerful that we are able to deploy hundreds if not thousands of them in locations as remote as <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10200785#:~:text=The%20technology%20is%20used%20to,speak%20IoT%20platform%20for%20analysis.">coal mines</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319157821000483">forests</a>.&nbsp;IoT systems, through their wireless sensors, are able to collect a continuous stream of data from their surrounding environments - this can be any kind of data - temperature, heat, moisture levels, light, sound - well you name it! This makes them a perfect companion for the analytical prowess that AI systems bring to the table.&nbsp;The data that IoT sensors collect is raw - when this raw data is fed into AI systems, it allows them to create predictions and insights or even intervene in meaningful ways. For instance, the heart rate data from a fitness tracker, temperature data from a farm or traffic flow data from a smart city, when funnelled into AI systems, could act as precious fodder that helps us glean a hugely diverse range of actionable insights. This allows AI to extend its reach into the physical world, making it a much more powerful and versatile tool in our technological arsenal.&nbsp;This is a symbiotic relationship at its best - without the analytical might of artificial intelligence, the huge amounts of data that wireless sensors gather is next to useless. Similarly, without rich troves of high quality data, the most sophisticated AI system has nothing to work with - they need each other and enable each other in the most fundamental of ways.&nbsp;Imagine self-powered sensors powered by energy harvesting embedded in buildings, bridges, factories, farms or traffic lights, silently gathering endless streams of data, without any manpower or battery replacements. This could pave the way for a truly smart ecosystem where data flows seamlessly across platforms, applications and modalities, making life easier in the process.&nbsp;Data from wireless sensors can be used by AI in multiple ways - real-time monitoring where wireless sensors keep a live relay of data running continuously, enabling the AI system to analyse the incoming streams in real-time, make decisions on the go and adapt while running. This could be best imagined as part of an AI-based patient monitoring system or traffic-flow monitoring system, where delays simply can’t be afforded.&nbsp;Then, we have a predictive analytics kind of use-case, where AI models trained on historical data can make data-driven predictions pertaining to impending events - for example, think of a system designed to predict and prevent equipment failures; or an AI-powered weather forecasting system.&nbsp;Thirdly, we have pattern recognition. This is where AI identifies covert patterns in highly complex sensor data, unearthing insights that would have otherwise been nearly impossible to spot. Think early disease detection, consumer behaviour analysis etc.&nbsp;Lastly, sensors can be implemented in automation and control systems that use the data input to actuate interventions autonomously, without any human interference e.g. driverless cars, smart home technologies, robotics etc.&nbsp;The possibilities are endless for innovation and disruption when AI and IoT sensors join hands.&nbsp;<h2>Use Cases for Batteryless Sensor-based AI</h2>Let’s take a look at some examples of how battery-free sensors could be used along with AI in real-life scenarios. This is by no means an exhaustive list - just a few relatable use-cases.&nbsp;<h3>1. Autonomous Vehicles</h3>Self-driving cars and other forms of autonomous, unmanned transport such as drones require a continuous stream of data - this is made possible by wireless sensors (LIDAR, cameras, radar etc). This continuous data stream is crucial for them to navigate environments safely in real-time, avoiding obstacles and potential threats.&nbsp;These vehicles often come with integrated sensors that are able to harness and process large amounts of data on the go, constantly keeping the vehicle’s AI system updated on its surroundings.&nbsp;<h3>2. Healthcare</h3>This is by far the most exciting use case for batteryless sensors and AI. Energy harvesting sensors enable continuous monitoring devices that can track various biological and biochemical parameters in a patient, remotely.&nbsp;For example, imagine a heart rate sensor that tracks a patient’s heart rate data continuously and relaying it to the back end where an AI system monitors the data and slices it to identify patterns. When the AI detects an aberration, it alerts medical personnel immediately, potentially saving the patient’s life.&nbsp;This is just one example of what could be done using IoT sensors and AI in the field of healthcare. The possibilities are endless. Personalised healthcare could get a big boost with this kind of a setup.&nbsp;Sensors and AI can also enable people to enjoy more sovereignty over their health and well being by making a huge array of data-driven metrics available to them. This could enable a more holistic approach to healthcare where the individual has enough information at their disposal to make better health choices over a period of time.&nbsp;<h3>3. Smart Agriculture</h3>This is an application that’s growing in popularity at a tremendous rate. Today, smart farms deploy hundreds of batteryless sensors that monitor various parameters such as temperature, soil pH, moisture, mineral level etc.&nbsp;These wireless sensors provide AI systems with data which they use to optimise irrigation, planting, pest control, fertiliser use etc. Access to rich data streams enables farmers to make sure their yields stay high in spite of threats like erratic weather patterns and pests.&nbsp;<h3>4. Industrial IoT (IIoT)</h3>Self-powered IoT sensors are being used along with AI in industrial settings to monitor the conditions of heavy equipment and machinery. They also help keep track of operational efficiency and impending maintenance needs - i.e predictive maintenance.&nbsp;<h3>5. Smart Buildings</h3>Batteryless sensors are deployed in smart buildings for a variety of purposes - they collect data on various parameters such as energy usage, occupancy and environmental conditions within a building.&nbsp;AI uses this data to economise energy expenditure and offer more comfort and convenience to the occupants of the building. This kind of a setup is what we’re going to see in a lot of homes in the coming years with smart home technologies becoming increasingly popular.&nbsp;<h2>Batteryless Sensors Right For AI’s Future</h2>Energy harvesting powered sensors are practically a necessity for the future of AI. As AI continues its trend of explosive growth and expansion, we are seeing a dramatic increase in demand for remote sensing capabilities that battery-powered sensors and other data-collection modalities simply aren’t able to meet.&nbsp;Batteryless sensors have a few aces up their sleeve in this regard. First off, there is the sustainability aspect - self-powered sensors harvest energy from their environment. So, they don’t need any batteries. This makes a huge difference, at scale, to the problems of mining for rare minerals and toxic battery waste. The absence of a battery also means that these energy harvesting powered sensors require less maintenance and cost less to run than their battery powered counterparts. They also last longer.&nbsp;Moreover, batteryless sensors totally eliminate some big hazards associated with batteries such as leaks and explosions - this is a very important point to consider when we take into account the fact that most of these sensors are going to be deployed in far flung areas, far from human supervision - or at least that’s the idea.&nbsp;The absence of a battery makes these self-powered sensors very compact and diminutive, making it easy for them to be embedded into various kinds of systems.&nbsp;Last but perhaps most importantly in the context of AI systems, battery-free sensors are able to offer continuous operation - this is a huge plus point in difficult environments. They are able to harvest as much energy as they need, store it in capacitors and keep up with the demands of the system without ever running out of juice.&nbsp;<h2>Garbage in, garbage out</h2>Garbage in, garbage out goes the adage - it sums up the relationship between AI and data perfectly. Without high-quality data sourced from a diverse range of sources - data that’s representative of various kinds of permutations and combinations - AI systems are effectively crippled.&nbsp;This is why self-powered sensors represent a huge leap forward for the future of AI. They enable reliable, long-term data collection that’s continuous, seamless, cost-effective, reliable and perhaps most importantly, environmentally sustainable.&nbsp;The integration of self-powered sensors and AI is not just a matter of iterative development - it’s much more radical than that - it’s a proper paradigm shift. Powered by batteryless sensors, AI can truly spread its wings and go places that were unimaginable even a few years ago. Thanks to reliable batteryless sensors, today, we are able to harness the might of AI in very remote use-cases where access to power can be a huge problem.&nbsp;The future of AI looks bright - it looks all set to deliver on its huge promise of reshaping the world, thanks to the silent, continuous humming of batteryless sensors in the background!

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We have well and truly entered the era of AI - whether it’s through self-driving cars, language processing chatbots or state-of-the-art diagnostic tools, AI is well and truly changing the texture and feel of the world around us. AI’s dramatic rise is only set to continue in the coming years - <a href="https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/data-and-analytics/publications/artificial-intelligence-study.html">PwC predicts</a> that AI will contribute a staggering $15.7 trillion to the global economy by the year 2030! But AI needs data to function - the quality of an AI’s predictions and decision-making is only as good as its data set. In this article, we explore how self-powered sensors allow AI systems to dig their tendrils into the physical world, making them an indispensable part of our future’s AI solutions.

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No Data, No AI – The Game Changing Role of Self-Powered Sensors

This transition that the internet has undergone - from being a pretty nifty tool for information exchange and communication to something that’s indispensable in running our everyday lives is something many of us have lived through and witnessed first hand. &nbsp;Today, the internet, as we know it, is undergoing yet another transformation - It is moving beyond the confines of traditional computing devices such as computers and mobile phones and penetrating into the wider array of everyday objects around us - this, essentially, is the internet of things at work.&nbsp;But be that as it may, it is a unanimously accepted fact that while the Internet of things has blown up tremendously in the last few years, it is yet to reach the dizzying heights that it was <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/internet/popular-internet-of-things-forecast-of-50-billion-devices-by-2020-is-outdated">predicted </a>to reach.&nbsp;Why is this?Like anything else, there are a number of reasons as to why IoT failed to live up to the initial hype that it generated. But more than anything else, the principal reason for this lackadaisical showing was the <a href="/article/what-is-the-internet-of-things-onio-explains.html">battery problem.</a>&nbsp;If the internet had to become truly limitless, then it was not going to be powered by batteries - that much was clear.&nbsp;But, if not batteries, what then?<h3>Wireless sensing become self-powered</h3>In retrospect, it sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? If batteries are the problem, then why not get rid of them altogether?Well, yes, but you have to remember that for decades, we actually looked at batteries as the holy grail of all things wireless. For wireless sensing to have started looking past the battery - in a major way no less - took quite some doing.&nbsp;But here’s the thingWe HAVE well and truly entered an era where IoT designs are no longer tethered to batteries - we have entered the era of the self-powered sensor.&nbsp;And we promise we are not being hyperbolic when we say that self-powered sensing is the biggest thing to happen to the internet of things and maybe even the future of technology, to be fair.&nbsp;And that’s not all - self-powered sensors don’t just enable a more robust and pliable IoT, but they actually allow IoT to go where it’s never been before - or actually, could go before!In the sections below, we’ll take a closer look at what self-powered sensors are, how they work and why they matter.&nbsp;<h3>What is self-powered sensing?</h3>Sensor networks form the building blocks of any IoT setup. Be it smart cities, smart factories or even automated surveillance systems in apartment buildings, they consist of sensor networks that work together to collect, relay and process data, in order to perform certain predefined tasks and optimise them.&nbsp;It should come as no surprise to anybody that wireless sensors need to have a power unit that supplies energy to them.&nbsp;This is where the trouble begins for battery-based solutions - imagine a sensor network consisting of say 100 sensors - In any real use-case, these sensors will most likely be placed in various locations across a facility. Moreover, a lot of these locations are also likely to be hard-to-reach spots. It makes sense to use sensors in the first place, only because they can be positioned in pretty remote places and collect data.Now, considering these variables of high mobility, wide geographical distribution and wireless operation, sustainable operation of wireless sensors using batteries becomes a major question mark. In fact, it becomes a near impossibility if you factor in sustainability and economy.&nbsp;Voila! Enter self-powered sensors&nbsp;Cutting right down to the chase, self-powered sensors, as the name suggests, are sensors that are able to generate the energy that they need to function by themselves - i.e they do not need to be powered by an external source of power such as batteries.&nbsp;It is really that simple.&nbsp;<blockquote>“Ok, so the next question becomes,if they don’t need batteries, where do these self-powered sensors get their juice from?”</blockquote>Great question! Well, they just suck it out of <a href="/article/harvesting-energy-from-thin-air.html">thin air </a>really!&nbsp;More on that later, But for now, let’s take a brief look at the interesting and eventful history of self-powered sensors.The idea for self-powered sensors that harvest energy from their surroundings (i.e ambient energy) and use it to transmit signals was first proposed by a scientist called Wang all the way back in 2006! He was the first to propose the radical idea of cutting the sensor off from batteries altogether and making them autonomously powered units that could communicate with a larger network.&nbsp;Since then, advances in <a href="/article/niche-energy-harvesting-technologies.html">energy harvesting </a>technologies have enabled self-powered sensors to go from strength to strength in the IoT world, with <a href="/article/energy-harvesting-human-body.html">newer </a>and <a href="/article/energy-harvestin-from-raindrops.html">newer </a>modalities emerging every day. &nbsp;Sensors have come quite a long way since their inception. Speaking strictly technically, the earliest sensors that fit any accepted definition of what a sensor is, were devices called sundials that were invented in Ancient China around 700 BC. In 400 BC, this led to the development of a device called a “sinan” which was instrumental in the furthering of maritime activities back then. Cut to the 21st century and sensing today is about <a href="/article/energy-harvestin-from-raindrops.html">MEMS </a>- or in other words, nano-sized particles which can collect and transmit data. The advent of self-powered sensors based on energy harvesting technology is probably the biggest enabler of this drastic improvement in our sensing capabilities.&nbsp;After all, it doesn’t take a very smart person to figure out that you can’t fit batteries into dust-sized sensor particles.&nbsp;Today, self-powered sensors are being used in all sorts of cool, futuristic applications such as smart cities, GPS systems, driverless cars, VR systems, entertainment devices etc. As we move further on this journey, they are only going to be playing a bigger and bigger role in shaping the world around us.&nbsp;<blockquote>“Ok, all that sounds good but what’s the big deal with these self-powered sensors? Like, what makes them so great? How do they make things easier?”</blockquote>We need to take a look at where IoT is headed to understand that.&nbsp;<h3>Forests, Mountains and Oceans</h3>As IoT started venturing out into uncharted terrain, it became more and more clear that the battery would be a cross it just couldn’t bear. With advancements in IoT, smart cities and smart manufacturing, sensors as a fundamental unit of signal processing started becoming a ubiquitous necessity.&nbsp;This trend is only going to continue at a blistering pace as we head into the future.&nbsp;Sensors are being placed in all sorts of locations and many of them are super-remote and inaccessible - as we mentioned earlier in the post, in a lot of cases, that is kind of the point of using sensors in the first place. These locations could include long-distance transmission lines, oil and gas pipelines, international optical cables, jungles, seas, hilltops etc. just to name a few.&nbsp;And that’s just one kind of remote.With health technology booming like never before under the wing of IoT, sensors are increasingly being deployed in the inner recesses of the human body.&nbsp;So, with sensors being deployed in large quantities and that too in very hard-to-access spots, it is massive if they can power themselves.&nbsp;We’ve spoken about it in many of our posts before - maintaining and replacing the batteries in an operation comprising thousands or say even hundreds of node devices is a logistical nightmare. Actually, in a lot of cases, it’s more like a logistical impossibility. Also, that kind of a solution wouldn’t make any kind of economic sense.&nbsp;Think about it - you’ve got sensors placed inside bridges, inside tunnels, under high-speed rail lines etc - now, how in the world would it make sense for these sensors to be powered by batteries, which even in the best of scenarios, need to be replaced at some point?And trust us when we say this is by no means a comprehensive and exhaustive list of all the inaccessible places that IoT sensors can find themselves in - forests, mountain-tops, in the oceans - these are not far-fetched imaginary use-cases - we are truly witnessing an era of hyper-connectedness where sensors play an important role in nearly all aspects of human life.&nbsp;<h3>Advantages of self-powered sensors</h3><h4>1. Lower cost for businesses</h4>Batteries cost money. Scheduling regular maintenance costs money. Arranging for used batteries to be disposed of safely costs money. With self-powered sensors, all of these costs are practically eliminated in one fell swoop.From a business perspective, this is huge. After all, any business is only going to adopt a new technology only if it’s going to translate into savings. With battery-based IoT solutions, businesses were, understandably, quite hesitant to cough up the initial investment required to set up these systems. However, with energy harvesting based designs, it is very likely that they would be more bullish and optimistic.&nbsp;Self-powered sensors make for a lower initial investment, a lower bill of materials (up to 90% reduction in some cases) and a significantly reduced maintenance cost over the period of ownership. Now, if you are a business owner, what’s not to like?<h4>2. Better for the environment</h4>It should come as no surprise to anyone that nearly every move we make as an industrialised civilisation comes at a cost to the planet. Thankfully, more and more people have started to wake up and take notice of the rate of ecological damage that is underway.&nbsp;Batteries, ironically, were touted as the “environmentally friendly” energy option just a few years ago. And for the most part, this is understandable - compared to fossil fuels, they are a more sustainable way of obtaining power.&nbsp;But as we’ve<a href="/article/environmental-cost-of-batteries.html"> explained in detail before</a>, batteries do come with a pretty ecological and humanitarian bill themselves. The more we find out about the atrocious difficulties posed to entire communities in order to mine lithium and cobalt, not to mention the ghastly impact it has on local water supply and biodiversity, the harder it gets to just turn a blind eye.&nbsp;And it’s not just the mining for these minerals that makes batteries ecologically questionable - it’s also the disposal. Batteries need to be discarded very carefully, which in a lot of cases, they are not. Even if, hypothetically, all of the required precautions are taken all of the time, we simply can’t be throwing away hundreds of billions of batteries. It’s simply not an option.&nbsp;In all fairness, this has got to be the biggest point in favour of self-powered sensors.&nbsp;<h4>3. Leaner, meaner and more flexible</h4>Self-powered sensors are smaller and lighter than their battery-based counterparts. The decreased heft and bulk translates to more freedom if you are tasked with designing the device around the sensor.&nbsp;Imagine you are meant to design a piece of smart clothing - say, a smart sneaker, that tracks the number of miles you’ve run and helps you out with tips to improve your running - now, isn’t it obvious that a smaller chip with fewer moving parts would give you more freedom on how the shoe that surrounds it can turn out?This is a massive advantage, especially from the point of view of manufacturers.&nbsp;<h4>4. Self-powered sensors can literally go anywhere</h4>The whole point of IoT is to unhook the internet from desks and handheld devices and literally take it everywhere. An IoT that is bound by limits on location and terrain isn’t much fun.&nbsp;With self-powered sensors, IoT is well and truly unshackled. Freed. Unchained.&nbsp;Self-powered sensors can literally be deployed anywhere. Let that sink in - ANYWHERE!Because they are theoretically meant to require ZERO maintenance, they can essentially be chucked deep into the ocean or even sent to outer space, if you like. More realistically, think about bionic implants or nano-sized diagnostic devices that are designed to be deployed inside the human body - well, with self-powered sensors, they are eminently possible.&nbsp;This is another major advantage that self-powered sensors bring to the table - they truly enable the internet of things to break its chains and scream towards the seemingly endless possibilities that it was always meant to empower.&nbsp;<h3>In a nutshell</h3>At ONiO, we have zero doubts about the fact that the future of IoT rests on energy harvesting based sensors. Self-powered sensors are simply the only way we can bring our crazy IoT visions into reality.With the human population growing at an unheard-of rate, radical solutions are the only way we are going to cope with our mounting energy needs and the impending energy crisis. Solutions like self-powered sensors emerged out of a genuine need - a stifling, cramping necessity - to innovate. It simply remained our only option.&nbsp;If that sounds grim, it shouldn’t. Because, the very fact that we are able to produce self-powered sensors that can draw energy from the air around them sounds pretty inspiring. It’s a testament to just what’s capable when people put their minds to it.&nbsp;

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The <a href="/article/what-is-the-internet-of-things-onio-explains.html">Internet of Things</a> was touted to be the biggest thing to happen to tech since, well, the internet. Has it lived up to the hype in real life? The answer has to be yes - The internet of things has radically changed the way we go about our lives. The internet is no longer just about e-mails, web browsing and buying flight tickets - far from it. Today, the internet can’t be left out of practically any kind of activity that goes on in the world.

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What are self-powered sensors and why are they transforming IoT?

ONiO is an IoT company specializing in crafting self-powered microcontrollers that run on nanowatts harvested from their surroundings.

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ONiO is a fabless IoT company specialising in batteryless microcontrollers that run on energy harvesting. We are deeply committed to crafting viable clean-energy solutions for IoT devices, breaking them free from the battery. ONiO.zero can use virtually any RF, thermal, solar, piezo signal as a power source. 

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Senior Embedded Engineer  Trondheim ONiO is an exciting IoT company specializing in batteryless microcontrollers that run on ambient energy. We are about to launch our first product, ONiO.zero, and have made massive strides in just a few short years - from having an idea to being on the cusp of launching a wireless MCU that can power itself for years without batteries!  Our vision was a world where the raw power of modern semiconductor technology can be harnessed toward a healthier future. Hey, we get it - that might sound a bit too cheesy in a world where just about everyone is out to change the world. But true to our vision, we have built a specimen of the very cutting-edge of modern internet technology that is oriented towards health and sustained well-being. It is a wireless semiconductor that can find application in pretty much any IoT-based application - precision farming, real-time health monitoring, wearables, smart clothing, well, you name it...We are incredibly excited about the potential of the marvelous chip and are eager to expand our exceptional engineering team. Currently, our team comprises 15 members with diverse educational backgrounds and nationalities. However, we require additional talented individuals to help us achieve our goal of creating something truly extraordinary. If you are interested in working with the best of the best and contributing to this groundbreaking project, please continue reading! We are seeking an experienced embedded engineer with end-to-end proficiency, capable of working on all aspects of product development, including prototyping, firmware development, core technology implementation, embedded production testing, software development, and customer solution development. Proficiency in utilizing Dev tools throughout the process is also a must.ResponsibilitiesDesigning, coding, testing, and documenting a wide variety of embedded software, including reference wireless applications, middleware components and IP protocols, bootloaders and DFUDebug, test, and profile embedded softwareDevelopment of internal SDK and toolingProvide support to ONiO's Technical SupportRequirementsB. Sc. or higher in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or similarMinimum 3 years of professional experienceKnowledge of software design patterns and practicesC/C++ micro-controller programming experienceExperience in debugging embedded software and systemsExperience in distributed version control (Git or similar)Experience in continuous integration and releaseExperience in Internet protocols or network stacks for IoT is an advantageExcellent written and verbal communication skills in EnglishBenefitsWe like to think it is our technology that will make you consider working for us, but there are other positives aspects of working for ONiO as well:&nbsp;Competitive salary and insurance, health &amp; pension benefits.Opportunities for professional growth and developmentDynamic, fast-paced, diverse, and collaborative work environmentThe chance to work on cutting-edge technology and innovative projectsWorklife balance and family-friendlyBonus ProgramOptions ProgramWe don't believe that talent appears in square shapes or lists, so if your previous background or experience doesn't tick every box in the description or requirements, we still encourage you to apply for the role!

ONiO require additional talented individuals to help us achieve our goal of creating something truly extraordinary. If you are interested in working with the best of the best and contributing to this groundbreaking project, please continue reading! We are seeking an experienced embedded engineer with end-to-end proficiency, capable of working on all aspects of product development, including prototyping, firmware development, core technology implementation, embedded production testing, software development, and customer solution development. Proficiency in utilizing Dev tools throughout the process is also a must.

Senior Embedded Engineer

Software Developer Oslo Trondheim ONiO is an exciting IoT company specializing in batteryless microcontrollers that run on ambient energy. We are about to launch our first product, ONiO.zero, and have made massive strides in just a few short years - from having an idea to being on the cusp of launching a wireless MCU that can power itself for years without batteries!   Our vision was a world where the raw power of modern semiconductor technology could be harnessed toward a healthier future. Hey, we get it - that might sound a bit too cheesy in a world where just about everyone is out to change the world. But true to our vision, we have built a specimen of the very cutting-edge modern internet technology that is oriented towards health and sustained well-being. It is a super-capable wireless semiconductor chip that can find application in pretty much any IoT-based application - precision farming, real-time health monitoring, wearables, smart clothing, well, you name it...We're drenched in enthusiasm about all of the fantastic things that this marvel chip may enable, and we want to bring in new talent to help us make magic happen! By joining our team, you will be working with the best in the industry and have the opportunity to make a significant impact on the growth and success of our company. This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of a dynamic Software Engineering team!ResponsibilitiesExperience in designing, building and maintaining efficient, reusable, and reliable codeProficient in programming languages such as Python, C#, Angular JS, JavaScript and following good Object-Oriented Programming PrinciplesExperience in performing code reviews and application buildsCollaboration with UI design team to implement modern and user-friendly interfacesKnowledge of SDK Platforms and experience working on client projects and turnkeys.RequirementsDegree in Computer Science or related fieldYou have 3 or more years of experience in the field.Experience with developing web applications.Experience with message queue implementations, integrating to AWS/Azure servicesYou are an individual contributor as well as a team playerExcellent English communication skillsBenefitsWe like to think it is our technology that will make you consider working for us, but there are other positives aspects of working for ONiO as well:Competitive salary and insurance, health &amp; pension benefits.Opportunities for professional growth and developmentDynamic, fast-paced, diverse, and collaborative work environmentThe chance to work on cutting-edge technology and innovative projectsWorklife balance and family-friendlyBonus ProgramOptions ProgramWe don't believe that talent appears in square shapes or lists, so if your previous background or experience doesn't tick every box in the description or requirements, we still encourage you to apply for the role!Location: Oslo or Trondheim

ONiO is an exciting company that develops novel self-powered battery-free technology targeting the IoT market. Our core technology - ONiO.zero is an ultra-low-power wireless microcontroller that operates exclusively on energy drawn from its surroundings. We are looking for a Software Developer to strengthen our team.

 

Software Developer

ONiO is thrilled to announce we've been granted an award by the <a href="https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/">Research Council of Norway</a> for a pioneering endeavor: developing batteryless sensor systems tailored for Precision Agriculture. These innovative sensors are set to revolutionize monitoring by focusing on key soil characteristics crucial for farmers - specifically, soil moisture, temperature, and nutrient content. Our goal? A transformative leap forward in deploying expansive sensor networks that smartly bolster agricultural practices. The plan is to engineer hardware that’s both affordable and simple to install - imagine sleek, low-profile units that can be effortlessly placed and left to do their job, gathering and transmitting data over their lengthy lifespan without the need for any wires, batteries, or maintenance whatsoever.The project is expected to pave the way for way more sustainable agriculture operations&nbsp; - influencing water and nutrient management, slashing the reliance on various inputs (like water, fertilizers, chemicals, and energy) and, by extension, significantly diminishing the environmental impact, all while boosting crop yields.Leading this venture is ONiO, in collaboration with <a href="https://sensonomic.com/">Sensonomic</a> and <a href="https://web.trondelagfylke.no/mare-landbruksskole">Maere Agricultural School</a>. Our role at ONiO is to spearhead the development and execution of all hardware aspects for these novel systems, leveraging our proprietary self-powered electronics technology. Sensonomic, with their expertise in crafting algorithms and software solutions for farmers, will play a crucial role in converting raw data into practical advice for enhancing farm productivity. Meanwhile, Maere Agricultural School is set to offer its facilities as a testing ground, aiding the consortium in deploying these systems under authentic agricultural conditions, from greenhouse environments to open-field settings.This project is receiving a generous boost from the Research Council of Norway, with a grant allocation of 11.9 million NOK under the <a href="https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/call-for-proposals/2023/innovation-project/">Innovation Project for the Industrial Sector program</a>, supporting our vision of smarter, more sustainable agriculture.

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Green fields ahead: ONiO Awarded Research Council Grant for developing batteryless sensor systems for Precision Agriculture

Remote Control Energy sources Right as rain, safe as houses A Zero-compromise user experience Ultra-low power requirement All the frills and thrills - IR diode support Future proof flexibility Pulse density modulation interface (PDM) Capacitive touch Button key scanner Accelerometer Reference Design Want to talk? Watch Video Introduction Visit the ONiO.zero page Energy Harvesting Reliability User Interfaces Contact us for more information Watch Video The remote as we know it is a dinosaur - ancient technology! Today, with energy harvesting, the pain of charging and replacing batteries is history! Our surroundings are rife with potentially usable energy that we can harness and store. Energy from WiFI AP, mobile phones and other dedicated terrestrial RF energy sources supplies enough power for the remote to operate. At the heart of our smart remote solution is ONiO.zero - a batteryless wonderchip that runs on ambient energy! The best part, fewer batteries are thrown away in landfills. What's more - super-tiny photovoltaic cells could be used in tandem to make sure you never run out - Given typical light conditions, you could power your remote for eternity - no replacements, no nothing! RF fields between 650MHz and 2.4GHz.Any source between 350mV and 4V that produce 5-10μA). E.g. PV/Solar, thermal and motion.  ONiO.zero implements a low power PDM interface for interfacing low power microphones. The supported sampling speeds are 300kHz to 12MHz with support for fractional bitrate. The capacitive touch engine does not require any internal oscillator to run and is fully self-clocked. This means that it’s extremely low power and can asynchronously wake the rest of the system up. True wake on touch! Supports 8 rows and 8 columns making for a total of 64 buttons. Runs on an ultra low-power oscillator. Any keypress wakes up the CPU. FIFO (First in First out) of last 8 key presses. A low power SPI and two-wire interface are implemented for efficient interfacing with an accelerometer. The data from the accelerometer can be classified by ONiO.zero into gestures. Drained batteries and interruptions are best left in the past! With just a little ingenuity, we can design batteryless solutions that, well, just make more sense! Energy has to be present when the remote is in use. By utilising both RF and PV cell harvesting the remote will constantly be charging - even when its stuck between your sofa cushions. We took a novel new approach to low-power. We designed for nano-watt operation - not milli- or microwatts from day one. This has resulted in a framework that allows applications using a battery today - remove them tomorrow. We have to acknowledge that most remote controls today still utilise infrared communication. That's why we added a dedicated hardware module for carrier generation and modulation of IR diodes. A modern remote control is meant to be user-friendly and flexible. ONiO.zero supports multiple user interfaces - so you’re never caught off guard - whatever your device or need, we’ve got you covered.

A real smart remote solution runs on ONiO.zero - a batteryless wonderchip that feeds on ambient energy! Best part, no more annoying broken battery lids!

ONiO - Smart Remote

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Green fields ahead: ONiO Awarded Research Council Grant for developing batteryless sensor systems for Precision Agriculture

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ONiO - Smart Remote

Products

Reference Designs

Watch: The Power of Zero

A greener future:

103 results for 'smart'

Popular Searches

Top Hits

Articles /

Reframing Sustainability - An Evolution of The Profit Motive

Sensing The Future - The History and Evolution of IoT Sensors

No Data, No AI – The Game Changing Role of Self-Powered Sensors

What are self-powered sensors and why are they transforming IoT?

News /

Green fields ahead: ONiO Awarded Research Council Grant for developing batteryless sensor systems for Precision Agriculture

General /

Products /

ONiO - Smart Remote

Watch:
The Power of Zero