WSN Update: 07/2005

Grape Networks, Inc., Announces the World's First Web Enabled Commercial Application of a Wireless Mesh Sensor Network for Vineyards

For a specific example of using wireless sensor networks for "precision agriculture", as discussed in yesterday's post, check out this article. Napa Valley's Berringer Vineyards is using wireless sensor networks to monitor light and temperature data within their vineyards. The data is made available on the web so it can be viewed from anywhere.

Full Article...

Mesh Networks are on the Radar for Chief Execs

Mesh Networks are on the list of 10 technologies that are a "must watch" for CEOs

According to Tom Sereno, a V.P. at SAIC, mesh networks are "quite revolutionary. As a result, there's quite a hurdle to convince the commercial customers to use it". The article states that most wireless sensor networks in existance today are still in the pilot phase, but this won't be the case for long. The article describes ways corporations can use the technology to reduce costs by detecting malfunctions or equipment overheading and efficiently manage commercial lighting. It also describes how mesh networked sensors helped the Corvette Race Team place first in the American Le Mans Seriers car races.

Full Article...

Precision Agriculture Using Nanotech Methods Such as 'Smart Dust' and Nanosensors

This article gives an excellent overview of how wireless sensor networks (nanosensors) can be used to drastically improve agriculture. The article begins by describing "Precision agriculture" as using technology to monitor and have closer control over your land and fields. It then goes into more detail on wireless sensors and the history of smart dust. The last half of the article is a GREAT review of Wireless Sensor network technology in general.

Full Article...

Wireless Aneurysm Sensor

Here is a perfect example of how wireless sensor technology can change the way we live. Surgeons at Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute in Miami are using a wireless sensor to monitor aneurysms in patients. The sensor is implanted into a patients aorta and detects the pressure that is building up in an aneurysm. It provides doctors with quicker and easier access to information that could drastically affect a patients health.

If you want to learn more about aneurysms in general, read the entire article. If you are only concerned with the sensor, start with the third paragraph from the end.

Full Article...

Thinking inside the box: Buildings get a brain

Stuck in a highly fragmented industry, building-automation designers are formulating new initiatives to provide interoperability, simplify management, conserve energy, provide security, and reduce costs.

This is one of the best articles I have seen covering wireless sensor technology. It is focused mostly on building automation, but it is very relevant across all industries. It gives a nice overview on the different types of sensors. It then talks about the types of existing building automation networks (ModBus, BACNet, etc.). The article then goes into what Zigbee is all about and what they are doing. Finally the article mentions some of the advanced web-base solutions companies are starting to provide to tie everything together.

Full Article...

SeeByte Board Member and Harvard Sensor Network Expert to Keynote at Wireless Sensing Solutions

2nd Annual Event in Chicago Features Leading OEMs and Systems Integrators Discussing the Promise of Wireless Sensor Networking

David Farquhar, board member of SeeByte, will deliver a keynote presentation discussing the critical element often missing from the sensing equation - collective intelligence and reasoning - which provides alternatives and can selectively organize the vast amount of data that comes from the use of multiple sensors. Matt Welsh, PhD, an assistant professor of computer science at Harvard University, will focus his keynote presentation on current research that is looking into the area of wireless sensing networks, with an emphasis on high-level languages and intelligent programming models.

Full Article...

NCSU Wins IEEE CSIDC Competition with Wireless Sensor Network Application

NCSU becomes the first American team to win the IEEE CSIDC international competition

Students from N.C. State became the first American team to win the sixth anual IEEE Computer Society International Design Competition. Their project combined GPS technology and wireless sensor networks to create an animal tracking system named NEAT, Networks for Endangered Animal Tracking.

Full Article...

RF Monolithics, Inc. Announces New Wholly Owned Subsidiary

RF Monolithics Inc., a leading supplier of RF wireless solutions, announced a new wholly owned subsidiary - RFM Technologies, Inc. - to assist in carrying out its strategic plan to develop products and solutions using wireless sensor and mesh networking technology.

Full Article...

Fresh with financing, Zensys hones in on 'intelligent home'

Mesh network technology company Zensys this week plans to announce it raised $16 million in its second round of funding

Zensys, who's proprietary products are largely competitive with Zigbee based products, will be announcing this week a second round of significant financing. It will definitely be very interesting to see how the new capital will affect the on-going battle between Zensys and Zigbee for home and building automation and control.

Full Article...

Akita Electronics, Chipcon AS and Figure 8 Wireless Announce OEM Development Modules Based on Chipcon's CC2420 RF Platform

Products bring new microprocessor options to OEM's developing ZigBee Products

Chipcon, Figure 8 Wireless (a subsidiary of Chipcon), and Akita Electronics Systems of Japan announced today a licensing agreement for Figure 8's embedded Zigbee networking software - Z-Stack. According to a Chipcon VP Birgit Opland, "This agreement opens the field for OEMs worldwide to new and better microcontroller options for use with our market leading CC2420 radios."

Full Article...

WSNUpdate Question of the Month

News has been a little scarce lately, so I thought I would try to spark up a little discussion. Look for these "discussion" posts from time to time to get a feel for where the rest of the community stands on certain issues. Feel free to add your comments by clicking on the Comments link below the post.

Question of the Month:
What will be the first significant mainstream uses of Wireless Sensor Mesh Networks?

Have a suggestion for a Question of the Month? Send them here.

WSN Update

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Grape Networks, Inc., Announces the World's First Web Enabled Commercial Application of a Wireless Mesh Sensor Network for Vineyards

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Mesh Networks are on the Radar for Chief Execs

Precision Agriculture Using Nanotech Methods Such as 'Smart Dust' and Nanosensors

Wireless Aneurysm Sensor

Friday, July 22, 2005

Thinking inside the box: Buildings get a brain

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

SeeByte Board Member and Harvard Sensor Network Expert to Keynote at Wireless Sensing Solutions

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

NCSU Wins IEEE CSIDC Competition with Wireless Sensor Network Application

RF Monolithics, Inc. Announces New Wholly Owned Subsidiary

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Fresh with financing, Zensys hones in on 'intelligent home'

Akita Electronics, Chipcon AS and Figure 8 Wireless Announce OEM Development Modules Based on Chipcon's CC2420 RF Platform

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

WSNUpdate Question of the Month

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