As core components of IoT systems, IoT terminal products undertake data collection, transmission, processing, and interaction. The following is a classification based on function, application scenario, and technical characteristics, along with specific product examples:
I. Classification by Function and Hardware Type
1. Sensor Terminals
Environmental Monitoring: Temperature sensors (smart greenhouses), humidity sensors (agricultural irrigation), gas sensors (industrial safety monitoring), light sensors (smart lighting systems).
Physical State Detection: Pressure sensors (industrial pipelines), accelerometers (on-board equipment), vibration sensors (mechanical fault warning).
Biomedical Sensors: Heart rate monitors (medical devices), blood glucose meters (chronic disease management).
2. Actuator Terminals
Control Devices: Smart motors (industrial robots), solenoid valves (smart irrigation systems), smart switches (home automation).
Mechanical Operation: Automated robotic arms (production lines), smart door locks (remote control).
3. Communication Device Terminals
Wireless Modules: WiFi modules (smart homes), Bluetooth modules (wearable devices), ZigBee modules (industrial IoT).
Gateway devices: Industrial gateways (data aggregation), NB-IoT gateways (low-power wide area network).
Cellular communication terminals: 4G/5G modules (in-vehicle devices, remote monitoring).
4. Integrated smart terminals
Smart home: Smart speakers (voice control centers), smart refrigerators (food management), robot vacuums (autonomous navigation).
Industrial equipment: PLC controllers (production line automation), SCADA systems (industrial data acquisition).
II. Classification by application scenario
1. Smart home
Core devices: Smart light bulbs (such as Philips Hue), smart sockets (remote power management), home security cameras (such as Nest Cam).
Integrated systems: Smart thermostats (such as Ecobee), whole-home automation hubs (such as Amazon Echo).
2. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
Production monitoring: Industrial sensors (vibration, temperature), edge computing terminals (real-time data analysis).
Equipment maintenance: Predictive maintenance terminals (such as GE Predix), RFID tags (warehouse and logistics tracking).
3. Smart City
Traffic Management: Smart traffic lights (dynamic adjustment), in-vehicle GPS terminals (fleet management).
Public Facilities: Smart streetlights (energy-saving control), environmental monitoring stations (air quality monitoring).
4. Healthcare
Telemedicine: Smart blood pressure monitors (such as Withings), remote ECG monitors.
Wearable Devices: Smart wristbands (such as Fitbit), smart pill boxes (medication reminders).
5. Agricultural IoT
Precision Agriculture: Soil moisture sensors, weather stations (microclimate monitoring), drones (crop inspection).
Automated Equipment: Smart irrigation systems, agricultural robots (harvesting and sowing).
III. Classification by Technical Characteristics
1. Transmission Method
Wired Terminals: Ethernet sensors (factory equipment monitoring), RS485 industrial controllers.
Wireless Terminals: LoRa modules (long-distance, low-power consumption), NB-IoT water meters (remote meter reading).
Hybrid Communication Terminals: Multi-protocol gateways (such as WiFi + Bluetooth).
2. Computing Power
Edge Computing Terminals: Cameras with integrated AI chips (real-time video analysis), industrial edge gateways.
Lightweight Terminals: RFID tags (passive devices), low-power sensors (data acquisition only).
3. Scalability
Single-Function Terminals: Temperature and humidity sensors (environmental monitoring only), infrared thermometers.
General-Purpose Intelligent Terminals: Multi-Interface Industrial Controllers (supporting protocols such as PLC and Modbus).
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