Much of this stuff is so new that it verges on science fiction – but it’s coming. Watch for an expansion of the definition of communications. Now instead of just speaking and listening at a distance, communications also can mean sensing and taking action at a distance.
In a previous column, I defined telecommunications as enabling remote communications between humans. Back in the last century that meant being able to project your voice and ears across thousands of miles – speaking and listening at a distance, in other words.
Extending that definition to other senses yields some interesting ideas. Take sight: Videoconferencing has been a decidedly mixed success, primarily because of the cost and complexity of current systems. However, there are signs that video is on the uptake. Many IT executives I’ve spoken with in the past few months have indicated that extending videoconferencing out to branch offices is a major driver for converged infrastructures.
But video’s the unimaginative example. If you really want to stretch your brain, consider the cutting-edge research underway in the areas of sensor networks and nanotechnology.
Sensor networks are, as the name implies, networks of tiny embedded networks that gather data from remote locations and transmit it back to central sites for processing.
Applications include geology (sensor networks on volcanoes such as Mount St. Helen’s help predict potential eruptions – Mount St. Helens buffs definitely shouldn’t miss the volcanocam); the military (sensor networks on battlefields transmit real-time intelligence back to headquarters); and construction (sensor networks on buildings help provide real-time insight into building strains and stresses). For a relatively recent overview of state-of-the art sensor networking, check out the IEEE survey paper by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
For a good list of current research underway on sensor networks, check out the University of Virginia site. It’s easy to envision practical commercial applications for sensor networks, such as inventory tracking for retail and distribution, and process tracking for manufacturing.
But sensor networks represent only half the story. Picking up data and transferring it back to a centralized site for processing is interesting – but it’s basically unidirectional transmission. Now couple that with a bidirectional communications infrastructure (for example, the central location can transmit information back to the remote sensors) and the ability for sensing devices to react and respond. A key way to make this happen is using emerging nanotechnology, which enables low-power actions. Coupling sensor networks to nanotechnology-enabled devices thus provides the ability to feel and move at a distance – thus dramatically extending the definition of communication.
This combination of sensor networks and nanotechnology is sometimes referred to as an embedded network, and it’s the topic of active research today. Even more intriguingly, some of the leaders in this area are folks who performed some of the cutting-edge research creating the early Internet, such as Deborah Estrin at UCLA, particularly at the National Science Foundation-funded UCLA Distributed Embedded Systems Program.
Much of this stuff is so new that it verges on science fiction – but it’s coming. Watch for an expansion of the definition of communications. Now instead of just speaking and listening at a distance, communications also can mean sensing and taking action at a distance.
