In recent decades, the cost of acoustic technologies has declined dramatically. Advances in networks, storage devices, and power management have made it practical to consider the remote location of sensors. Nonetheless, many challenges remain for the fabrication, deployment, and use of remote sensors.

This paper provides an overview of the issues involved in developing remote acoustic sensors. We discuss physical design and the integration of components, data storage and communication issues, signal acquisition and classification, and the relationship of these issues to power usage requirements.