1. Characteristics and constraints of sensor networks

Sensors are equipment designed to measure and collect one or more types of data, which are then processed by one or more processing centers, depending on the nature and purpose of the data. These devices are subject to severe constraints in terms of energy, memory and processing capacity, and lifespan, which complicate their networking.

Sensor networks are characterized by a much larger number of devices than a conventional router network, in a magnitude ratio of around 100 to 10,000.