Embodiments include a sensor node, a method of forming the sensor node, and a vehicle with a communication system that includes sensor nodes. A sensor node includes an interconnect with an input connector, an output connector, and an opening on one or more sidewalls. The sensor node also includes a package with one or more sidewalls, a top surface, and a bottom surface, where at least one of the sidewalls of the package is disposed on the opening of interconnect. The sensor node may have a control circuit on the package, a first millimeter-wave launcher on the package, and a sensor coupled to the control circuit, where the sensor is coupled to the control circuit with an electrical cable. The sensor node may include that at least one of the sidewalls of the package is crimped by the opening and adjacent and co-planar to an inner wall of the interconnect.