Sensors and Sensor Network Applications

This decade has been characterized by a tremendous interest in sensors and sensor networks. The renewed interest was the outcome of the advances that wireless cellular networks have scored such as massive MIMO cooperative communications, the Internet of Things (IoT) where it is predicted that billions of devices would be connected to the internet to communicate in some fashion, and Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology which has facilitated the development of smart sensors. All these and more suggest that sensors will be at the front and center of most technologies in the future. This paper presents a review on sensors, their applications as well as their manufacturers whenever relevant. The work presented can be used to inform any further developments in the area of sensors as research gears up to meet the challenges of the emerging technologies.