"In this article, the MIT Technology Review says that "smart, networked sensors will soon be all around us, collectively processing vast amounts of previously unrecorded data to help run factories, maintain crops, and even watch for earthquakes." Here are some quotes from this -- long -- article.
Wireless sensor networks are one of the first real-world examples of “pervasive” computing, the notion that small, smart, and cheap sensing and computing devices will eventually permeate the environment. That notion has been percolating in information technology circles for more than a decade. But now, after several years of research investments by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Science Foundation, and a handful of high-tech giants like Intel, the hardware and software fundamental to pervasive computing are emerging.
Though the technology is still in its early days, the range of potential applications is mind-boggling. Scientists at Intel and the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a wireless, pager-sized “chassis” that can be customized with many kinds of sensors. The researchers are using the devices to track microclimates and pests in vineyards, monitor the nesting habits of rare sea birds, and control heating and ventilation systems. And 600 kilometers down the road at the University of California, Los Angeles, other researchers are deploying wireless sensors to gain detailed measurements of the effects of seismic waves on buildings. Still others are working on ways to let businesses monitor and control their work spaces, from local offices to assembly lines half a continent away. “The applications are everywhere,” says David Culler, a leading networked-sensing researcher at UC Berkeley." [via Smart Mobs]
I'm looking forward to the day when my plants can be watered automatically.
Not that this can't be done today - there just isn't a standard platform with a semi-ubiquitous operating system / development language that makes it easy and cheap.
After all... isn't it every developers dream to trigger a TCP/IP enabled lawnmower with a grass blade height sensor?
9:19:12 AM 
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