Abstract
Nowadays, the users of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are becoming more and more demanding in terms of choice and diversity of applications. As a consequence, as the diversity of applications is increasing, there is a need to propose a structure for the set of characterization parameters that allows sketching up a taxonomy for WSN application. This taxonomy is accomplished via an application-oriented approach, identifying the services offered by each application. In this survey we fill this gap in the WSN literature by describing the characterization parameters, organized into five diferente categories. Our taxonomy for application classification is centred on the different sets of parameters that have high impact on a given future WSN application. Typical attributes and values from related research works are considered as a reference but, in this survey, we propose inter- and intra-connections among the considered application groups. Based on these connections, new application groups have been proposed for the applications that share common characterization parameters along with a holistic overview of WSN applications taxonomy and the discussion of the three generations of WSNs towards communication between things and the Internet of Things. Moreover, detailed parameters from different projects and authors in the field of WSNs are joint together for comparison purposes.
Authors: Luís M. Borges and Fernando J. Velez