Hi... My advice... it depends on what sort of "sensor" you're talking about. There are two sorts of detecting technologies... "sensors" and "scanners." A sensor is passive. Think of this like an infrared camera for detecting radiant heat. Or a radio antenna. Or a thermometer. A scanner puts out energy and then uses a sensor to analyze the "bounced" energy. This is like a radar system, or a sonar system, or an IR "night vision" camera with integrated IR source. Basically... "sensor" = "passive" and "scanner" = "active." A scanner "reaches out and touches" the object being analyzed, while a sensor just "looks" at it. Now, think of your "sensor platform" that way. What is it? Is it a big pallet with many small devices? Is it a single large device? It's all sort of open to interpretation... but you should think about what your device is trying to accomplish.