Sunday, January 31, 2010

Unboxed - Advances in Sensor-Based Computing Bring ‘Smart Dust’ Closer - NYTimes.com

You – and your stuff – will be assimilated…

Years ago, enthusiasts predicted the coming of “smart dust” — tiny digital sensors, strewn around the globe, gathering all sorts of information and communicating with powerful computer networks to monitor, measure and understand the physical world in new ways. But this intriguing vision seemed plucked from the realm of science fiction.

Smart dust, to be sure, remains a ways off. But technology’s virtuous cycle of smaller, faster and cheaper has reached the point that experts say sensors may soon be powerful enough to be the equivalent of tiny computers. Some ambitious sensor research projects provide a glimpse of where things are headed.

Unboxed - Advances in Sensor-Based Computing Bring ‘Smart Dust’ Closer - NYTimes.com

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