IEEE 1451—a universal transducer protocol standard

The expansion of smart sensors usage is being slowed by the lack of a universal standard, especially in the wireless area. Recognizing that no single sensor bus or network is likely to dominate in the foreseeable future, the IEEE 1451 set of standards was developed to unify the diverse standards and protocols by providing a base protocol. One feature of the IEEE 1451.0 open standard is that the data and TEDS of all transducers are communicated on the network (Internet) with the same format for all sensors and actuators for both wired and wireless networks. The development of the main parts of the IEEE 1451 standards, including those relating to wireless, have recently been approved. This smart transducer standard is illustrated with several wired and wireless network examples.