WSN Update

(ControlGlobal.com) - The results of a recent online survey found strong interest in wireless sensor networking technologies among end users and system integrators in the industrial automation marketplace. Forty-five percent of respondents are considering deploying a wireless sensor network in 2005, and nearly 70% are researching wireless sensors for industrial monitoring applications.

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MARCH 28, 2005 (COMPUTERWORLD) - On Maine's Great Duck Island, scientists studying small sea birds called Leach's storm petrels are using a network of tiny wireless sensors embedded in the birds' nests to gather information. The sensors, or "motes," are used to monitor environmental conditions around the nesting burrows. One day, they could form the basis for intelligent wireless networks capable of harvesting a wide range of information from their surroundings. Applications could be as diverse as agricultural management, earthquake monitoring and military operations.

A group of researchers at an Intel Corp.-funded lab at the University of California, Berkeley, is investigating that possibility and many others.

"We are trying to prototype a future in which there are many, many small sensor devices that are able to get a very fine physical sensing of the real world," says professor Joseph Hellerstein, director of the Intel lab at Berkeley.

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"In our approach, a large number of sensors that measure temperature, infrared radiation, smoke, humidity and other potential indicators of fire will be randomly distributed in areas at risk," says Ancinelli, a computer engineering major from St. Louis. "When a wildfire is detected, the information will be relayed to a base station, which will send it via Internet to the proper authorities."

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(BusinessWire) - The U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) will use the COASTS field experiment to develop and test low cost, state-of-the-art, unclassified air and ground wireless sensor mesh networks technologies, providing real-time sensor-to-decision maker information. COASTS expects to implement the CyberBug in a medium-scale demo that fuses and disseminates air and ground sensor information via an aerial balloon enabled with wireless networking capabilities to both a local and remote C2 center. In addition, COASTS will demonstrate U.S. ability to operate in partnership with coalition forces, as well as to identify future science and technology research requirements, and specifically to test micro and mini-UAV design and operations.

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SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 22, 2005---SYS Technologies, (AMEX:SYS), a leading provider of real time information technology solutions to industrial and U.S. government customers, announced today that it has launched a new division to address the growing SYS business base in public safety and security systems.

The acquisition of Polexis, Antin, and Xsilogy has significantly enhanced SYS' existing capabilities and contracts in these areas. The new Public Safety and Security Division will address homeland security and business security issues at the federal, state, and local level. The division will draw on technical resources in other SYS divisions to effect timely and reliable solutions to meet the command and response needs of fire and law enforcement agencies in a crises environment. The scope of this effort involves the application of existing SYS sensor technology, wireless sensor networking, the application of service oriented internet architectures, information visualization, and decision support technologies.

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Crossbow Technology, Inc. (www.xbow.com), the leading end-to-end solutions supplier in wireless sensor networks and the largest manufacturer of Smart Dust wireless sensors, announced today that it will establish a subsidiary in Japan.

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BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 22, 2005--Millennial Net, Inc., the leading developer of self-organizing, wireless sensor networking systems, announced today that its MeshScape(TM) technology is powering JELD-WEN's new Building Envelope Environmental Monitoring Service (BEEMS). BEEMS is JELD-WEN's cost-effective way to monitor environmental conditions in the building envelope, which includes the inside and outside walls, doors and windows.

MeshScape allows BEEMS to be installed in new or old construction at a minimal cost--no network cables are needed. MeshScape's wireless networking technology is optimized for low power consumption, allowing it to be easily paired with temperature and humidity sensors and installed in hard-to-reach areas where water intrusion and or collection may occur and remain undetected for days, weeks, months and even years.

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This UsingRFID.com article is mostly about RFID, but I found this quote very interesting and think it is a sign of things to come...

"At the edge of wireless and wireless sensor networks, RFID is converging with Electronic Product Code (EPC) and sensor technology to unlock new applications that go beyond identification to include everything from authentication to temperature, time expiration, pressure and condition monitoring," - Julie England - TI RFID General Manager

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(Extremetech.com) - Lusora has developed a nifty new twist on solving the "I've fallen and I can't get up" problem. The company rolled out its LISA pendant, and a series of monitors, which use the new Zigbee low-speed mesh network to provide security to elderly people who want to live at home, and their family.

The LISA system - which stands for Lusora Intelligent Sensory Architecture - includes a wearable pendant, an in-light switch video camera, sensors and receivers create a low-power home monitoring system that will help an aging population stay in their homes.

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Network World (US) - Issue #11 (16 Mar 2005)
Wireless technologies for harvesting real-time data off factory networks - and strategies for putting such information to use - were hot topics at this week's National Manufacturing Week conference.
However, some manufacturing IT professionals highlighted the risks involved in deploying wireless technology in factories, or converging plant control networks with IT systems and back-office data centers. Others voiced concerns that gleaning too much data from manufacturing processes could complicate rather than streamline a manufacturing operation.
"Manufacturers are getting closer to where demand and supply are more synchronous," says Bob Parker, an analyst with IDC. "We're seeing the emergence of RFID and sensor networks as the means for collecting the kind of data that is needed to make this synchronization happen."
Among those moving in this direction is General Motors, which has deployed RFID, 802.11 and sensor networks in several plants.

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Here is a great story from Sensors Online about using Wireless Sensor Networks inside metal cargo containers.

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March 2, 2005 (ExtremeTech.com) - At the ZigBee Alliance meeting in San Francisco this week, it was clear that this exciting new standard is about to move from backroom boards to real products that consumers and businesses can buy.

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MARCH 14, 2005 (COMPUTERWORLD) - BP PLC's wireless sensor network program began with a two-day technology immersion session for the company's top executives in May 2003. Less than two years later, these sophisticated networks are one of the oil and gas giant's cornerstone strategies for transforming business processes, from increasing supply chain visibility and inventory control to monitoring sensitive pumps and compressors on oil tankers plying the North Sea.

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Crossbow Technology, Inc. (www.xbow.com), the leading end-to-end solutions supplier in wireless sensor networks and the largest manufacturer of Smart Dust wireless sensors, announced today the release of a perimeter security solution using Crossbow's MICA(TM) Mote technology and XMesh(TM) wireless mesh networking. The turn-key platform consists of eight or more simple to deploy Mote security packages, model number MSP410, that can sense and track vehicles or people. The MSP410 security Motes are placed along a border or perimeter. By simply turning the devices on, a reliable wireless communications network is automatically formed allowing detections to be automatically communicated to the included MOTE-VIEW(TM) monitoring software. The wireless communications network uses Crossbow's XMesh(TM) technology, creating a self-healing, multi-hop mesh network. The MSP410 security Motes are powered by a pair of AA batteries and additional security Motes can be added to the network without any reconfiguration or maintenance.

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