Application Domain of Wireless Sensor Network: - A Paradigm in Developed and Developing Countries

Wireless sensor networks are network of small sensing devices, which collaborate with each other to gather process and communicate over wireless channel information about some physical phenomena. These self-organizing, highly robust and energy efficient networks can be excellent sentinels for monitoring underground mining, wildlife and various physical infrastructures such as bridges, pipelines, and buildings. The smart sentinels go by the name wireless sensor networks and interface the physical world with computers, thereby creating a profound flexibility for awareness and remote controlling. They are characterized by their little demand for attention from human operators, their capability of self-management; operation in adverse places and near the occurrence of the actual phenomena; great accommodation of node mobility or failure; and effective node cooperation in order to carry out a distributed sensing task. But the fact that most previous research revolved around military applications. Sensors integrated into structures, machinery, and the environment, coupled with the efficient delivery of sensed information, could provide tremendous benefits to society. Potential benefits include: fewer catastrophic failures, conservation of natural resources, improved manufacturing productivity, improved emergency response, and enhanced homeland security. This paper introduces wireless sensor networks, identifies specific application domains and investigates their scope and usefulness in real world. We also present survey of current scenario of wireless sensor networks in developed and developing countries. Application domains in developed countries are Industrial Automation and Civil Structure monitoring, in contrast application domain in developing countries are Environmental Observation and Forecasting, Disaster Prevention, Agricultural Management.