7. Sensor networks, cyber-physical systems and the Internet of Things

In the previous chapters of this introduction, we considered embedded, embedded and mobile systems as individual systems, included in a cell phone, a camera, a car or an airplane. But these systems are not simply individual objects, they are interconnected. Some are intrinsically so: the primary function of a cell phone is not to take photos, but to communicate orally, via its "wireless" interconnection, which also enables photos to be sent and received. But just as the personal computer of the 1980s was transformed, with the development of the Internet, into an accessory connected to the global network, the fundamental aspect becoming the network (communication) and the content associated with the network (Web), the same phenomenon has occurred with embedded systems.

Wireless transmission technologies have enabled the deployment of sensor networks. These ad hoc...