IoT projects can make use of sensors by connecting them directly to an endpoint, or aggregating multiple sensors with a gateway, which then sends the data to an endpoint.

As for terminology, we are using ‘Gateway Based IoT’ to refer to projects that combine batches of sensors that use short range communication with gateways to perform long range communication. We are using ‘Distributed Sensor IoT’ to refer to projects that have individual devices that combine sensors with long range communication.

Gateway based IoT advantages:

• Individual sensors can potentially save energy on shorter range communication, such as BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy)
• Can result in lower project communication costs
• Allows for easier update of the long range communication stack
• Can aggregate more energy intensive communication under a single piece of hardware, potentially allowing for this part of the stack to utilise a mains power source while sensors remain battery powered
• Suitable for densely populated sensors, especially if set up in clusters.

Distributed sensor IoT advantages:

• Standardised and independent hardware can be more modular and sparse than when relying on a gateway
• Can result in less variation in hardware, and lower project hardware costs
• Suitable for sparsely distributed sensors. If there’s a long distance between each sensor, short range communication may not be viable

Ultimately, which approach is best depends on the needs of each project. Most use cases in IoT still have plenty of space for optimisation, and with the speed that technology is updating, it’s likely to remain the case for the foreseeable future.

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