An accelerometer is a tool that measures changes in gravitational acceleration in the unit it may be installed in. An accelerometer is an electromechanical device that will measure acceleration forces (e.g., G-Force).

Access Control as a Service (ACaaS) is a recurring fee-based system where a facility manager outsources electronic access control to a third party, where each facility does not need to maintain a dedicated server.

An access point connects users to other users within the network and also can serve as the point of interconnection between the WLAN and a fixed wire network.

In the context of remote sensing, an active sensor is a device with a transmitter that sends out a signal, light wavelength, or electrons to be bounced off a target, with data gathered by the sensor upon their reflection.

A device combined with an application to record and analyze physiological metrics such as heart rate, sleep quality, skin temperature, calories burned, and more.

An actuator is a type of motor that is responsible for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It is operated by a source of energy, typically electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure, or pneumatic pressure, and converts that energy into motion.

Adaptive architecture is a system that changes its structure, behavior, or resources according to demand. The adaptation made is usually to non-functional characteristics rather than functional ones..

Adaptive Network Topology is a proprietary (but open access) multicast wireless sensor network technology designed and marketed by ANT Wireless. It is primarily used for sports and fitness sensors.

Additive Manufacturing refers to a process by which digital 3D design data is used to build up a component in layers by depositing material. Metal, polymer, and ceramic materials can be used to manufacture parts of a geometry that often cannot be produced by any other manufacturing technology.

Addressability refers to the ability of a digital device to respond to a message sent to many similar devices individually. To be addressable, an entity must be uniquely identifiable.

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a communication protocol for converting an IP address into a physical address. ARP's computers can communicate with each other by sending an ARP request that informs them about the other computer’s MAC address.

An ad hoc network is a local area network (LAN) that is built spontaneously as devices connect. Ad hoc networks are deployable and configurable networks for industrial use.

An ad hoc query is a query that cannot be determined before the moment the query is issued. It is created to get information when the need arises, and it consists of dynamically constructed SQL, which is usually constructed by desktop-resident query tools.

Advanced cruise-assist highway systems (AHS) are systems that aim to reduce traffic accidents, enhance safety, improve transportation efficiency as well as to reduce the operational work of drivers.

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are electronic systems that help the vehicle driver while driving or during parking. When designed with a safe human-machine interface, they are intended to increase car safety and road safety.

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) operates on a public/private key system, and planning for key management is an important aspect when implementing AES encryption.

 The process of leveraging the most advanced technology available at the current time in order to maximize the output and/or product quality of a manufacturing facility.

Advanced materials outperform conventional materials with superior properties such as toughness, hardness, durability and elasticity. They can have novel properties including the ability to memorize shape or sense changes in the environment and respond.

Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) is an open-source standard for business message communication and message-oriented middleware. The defining features of the AMQP are message orientation, queuing, routing, reliability, and security.

Agile manufacturing is a term applied to an organization that has created the processes, tools, and training to enable it to respond quickly to customer needs and market changes while still controlling costs and quality. It's mostly related to lean manufacturing.

AllJoyn is a collaborative open-source software framework that allows devices to communicate with other devices around them. A simple example would be a motion sensor letting a light bulb know that no one is in the room; it is lighting so that it can shut itself off.

AltBeacon is an open and interoperable proximity beacon specification. The AltBeacon specification defines the format of the advertisement message that Bluetooth Low Energy proximity beacons broadcast.

Altimeter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The device’s general purpose is to tell its human or machine user how elevated from sea level it is.

Ambient intelligence refers to sensor-filled environments that interpret and react to human events and activity, and learning to adapt over time, the environment’s operation and services change based on that activity.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) is a character-encoding scheme. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text.

Android Wear is an open-source platform that extends the Android system to wearables. Android Wear is a version of Google's Android operating system designed for smartwatches and other wearables.

A statistical technique that determines what patterns are normal and then identifies items that do not conform to those patterns. It is applicable in intrusion detection, fraud detection, system health monitoring, event detection in sensor networks, and detecting eco-system disturbances.

A Java-based software tool for automating software build processes. Another Neat Tool (ANT) is similar to MAKE as it also has tasks and defines dependencies between tasks.

An accessory that is mounted directly on the doorstep, which prevents accidental closure of the door and the possible consequent restart of the machine or system.

Apache Kafka is an open-source message broker project developed by the Apache Software Foundation, written in Scala. The project aims to provide a unified, high-throughput, low-latency platform for real-time handling data feeds.