Sensor Science | The Past and Present of Sensors: From “Perception Tools” to the Nervous System of the Intelligent World

If machinery extended human physical strength and computers extended human intelligence, then sensors distributed throughout the world are extending human perceptual capabilities in unprecedented ways.

From household remote controls and smartphones to industrial boilers, power grid systems, and medical equipment, sensors exist in almost every modern technological system. They are not conspicuous, yet they determine whether a system can “see clearly, understand accurately, and respond precisely.” It can be said that without sensors, there would be no true automation, informatization, or intelligence.

This article systematically reviews the development history, current status, and future trends of sensors from both technological evolution and industrial development perspectives, helping readers understand this fundamental yet critical technological field.

What Is a Sensor: An Underestimated Fundamental Technology

“Sensor” is not a new term of the Internet era, but an engineering term with a long history and a clear definition.

In English, sensors are commonly referred to as Sensors or Transducers.

In classical technical definitions, a sensor is:

A device or apparatus that can perceive a measured quantity and convert it into a usable signal according to certain rules.

From an engineering perspective, a sensor typically consists of two parts:

Sensitive element: responsible for sensing physical or chemical quantities such as temperature, pressure, displacement, flow, light, sound, and chemical composition
Transducing element: converts the sensed changes into electrical signals or other processable signals

This process is essentially an act of “information translation”:

Converting continuous physical quantities in the natural world into data that electronic systems can recognize, process, and utilize.

Why Sensors Are So Important

In modern technological systems, sensors play the role of the “system entry point.”

The prerequisites for automatic control, data analysis, and artificial intelligence are real, stable, and sustainable data inputs. Sensors are precisely the source of all data.

In this sense, sensors are more like the “nerve endings” of the digital world:

Without them, systems cannot perceive their environment
If they are unstable, systems lose the basis for judgment
If accuracy is insufficient, control and decision-making will be biased

This is why, in industrial fields, sensors are often treated with greater caution than algorithms.

Early Development of Sensor Technology

The Sensor Era Began with Thermostats

In 1883, the first practical thermostat was officially introduced to the market. This device could maintain temperature stability within a certain accuracy range and is widely regarded as a representative of early engineered sensor applications.

Although simple in structure, it already embodied the basic logic of modern sensors:

Perception → Judgment → Regulation

Mid-20th Century: Rapid Diversification of Sensor Types

In the late 1940s, infrared sensors emerged. Subsequently, various sensing technologies such as pressure, flow, displacement, ultrasonic, and optical sensors gradually matured.

By the end of the 20th century, the number of identifiable sensor types worldwide had exceeded tens of thousands, covering industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and scientific research.

MEMS Technology: A Major Turning Point in Sensor Development

What Are MEMS Sensors

MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) are new types of sensors manufactured using microelectronic and micromechanical processing technologies.

Compared with traditional sensors, MEMS sensors have clear advantages:

Small size and light weight
Low power consumption and controllable cost
Suitable for mass production
Easy integration with digital systems

Industrial Impact of MEMS Technology

In the late 1980s, MEMS sensors began to enter commercial applications and rapidly became popular in automotive electronics and consumer electronics.

Applications such as automotive airbags, smartphone accelerometers, gyroscopes, and water temperature monitoring greatly promoted the maturity of MEMS technology and laid the foundation for the subsequent development of intelligent sensors.

From “Sensing” to “Intelligent Sensing”

With the improvement of communication and computing capabilities, sensors are no longer merely components that “passively output data.”

In the Internet of Things and intelligent systems, sensors have begun to incorporate more capabilities:

Digital signal processing
Automatic parameter calibration
Self-diagnostics of operating status
Multi-sensor information fusion

Such products are commonly referred to as intelligent sensors.

In applications such as wearable devices, environmental monitoring, and smart cities, intelligent sensors have become core components of systems.

Reality and Challenges of the Sensor Industry

Rapid Popularization of Consumer-Grade Sensors

In the consumer electronics sector, sensors have become highly ubiquitous.

Smartphones, smart homes, and wearable devices often integrate multiple sensors for position, posture, physiological, and environmental perception.

In terms of application maturity, consumer-grade sensors have formed a relatively complete industrial chain.

Higher Barriers for Industrial Sensors

Compared with consumer products, industrial sensors face significantly greater challenges:

High requirements for long-term stability
Strict requirements for measurement accuracy and repeatability
Complex operating environments (high temperature, high pressure, corrosion, electromagnetic interference)
Long service life and extreme sensitivity to reliability

For these reasons, industrial sensor development cycles are long, technical barriers are high, and industry concentration is also higher.

Industrial Structure and Development Bottlenecks

From the perspective of the overall industrial chain, sensors involve:

Materials
Chip design
Manufacturing and packaging
Testing
Software and system integration

Weakness in any link can restrict overall development.

In the field of high-end industrial sensors, long-term dependence on imported products still exists.

New Opportunities Brought by the IoT Era

With the development of the Internet of Things, 5G, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence technologies, sensor application scenarios are continuously expanding:

Smart cities
Industrial Internet
Energy management
Environmental and safety monitoring

In these systems, sensors are no longer isolated components but key nodes in complete data chains.

For sensors, the expansion of application scenarios in turn drives technological iteration and industrial upgrading.

Sensor Development Insights from the Nexisense Perspective

From an engineering practice perspective, sensor development is not about blindly pursuing “greater complexity,” but about continuous optimization around several core objectives:

Measure more accurately
Operate longer
Connect more reliably
Manage more conveniently

In the field of industrial sensors and transmitters, Nexisense has always taken stability, engineering adaptability, and long-term reliability as its core design principles—values that represent the most authentic and important aspects of industrial-grade sensing technology.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Will sensors be replaced by AI?
No. AI relies on data, and sensors are the source of data. Without sensors, AI would lose its real-world input.

What is the future development direction of sensors?
Higher reliability, stronger environmental adaptability, and deeper system integration capabilities.

Conclusion

Sensors are not a new technology, but they have always been at the forefront of technological systems.

From early thermostats to MEMS technology and then to intelligent sensing and IoT applications, sensor development has always been closely aligned with industrial demands.

As the wave of intelligence continues to advance, sensors are no longer merely “components,” but the foundation that enables the entire digital world to perceive reality.

Understanding the past and present of sensors helps us view the pace of technological evolution more clearly and make more rational decisions in complex engineering and industrial choices.