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Socoder -> Off Topic -> Sun SPOTs |
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| Wed, 06 Dec 2006, 12:40 | |
JL235
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I've just come from a talk by one of Sun Microsystem's visionaries about Sun SPOTs. Forget the Hydra, the future is sensors! Sun SPOTs are small wireless devices which run a micro Java Machine directly, with also a range of sensors. The Java machine means you can write in standard Java in any normal IDE, code to run on these devices. They can communicate and process information leading to many different ideas for implementations. They have been thought of to perform individual tasks such as for motion input devices like the one in Minority Report, but also as a swarm such as to track parcels so if one parcel isn't moving, a different temperature or open you can determine if it is even with the others and so signal possible theft and problems straight away. Other suggestions are for them to be buried underground around dikes to help measure pressure changes in soil and so detect potential problems with them collapsing. They are also being planned to be used with industrial and professional ground measuring equipment where in the example we were shown they would need 15km of wiring. They look really interesting and I'd be inclined to get one if it wasn't for the fact they are $500 for a development kit (which does include two Sun SPOTs). Hopefully both the price and the dollar will continue to fall allowing me to snap one up at a much lower price. The new Nike sensors to go in your shoes are also pretty much the same idea, and they sold 450,000 units in the first two months! The Wii (and other consoles as a result) now contains motion sensors too. It's becoming the next fad for innovative ideas. This also is not the first time we have seen the idea of sensors being integrated into daily life, only the other week I watched another report on food in Korea being fitted with sensors to tell you fridge if it's gone off or ran out. In the future we will not only be watched 24-hours a day (the UK has more CCTV cameras per person then any other country) but also monitored, in order to make life easier, more efficient and faster. Coats that warm up when you walk outside into the cold, and cool down when you walk into a warm building. Maybe to the extent of a company automating their heating based on measuring all their employees. But putting sensors everywhere seems like a such a cool idea, to be able to integrate yourself directly into technology and your surrounding not through inputting out commands but by their observations, could be really power. |
| Wed, 06 Dec 2006, 14:47 | |
power mousey
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Diablosdevil, this is fascinating. true, and to quote from Spock as well. in any case...will check up on this. I'll say this but not hype it nor be annoying: coming next year will be the XGS 2-->the Hypercube. now to get back on track....what if a few senors fail over the course of time or thru wear and tear...or even thru dirt,dust, contaminants. what will happen? will other sensors in the whole swarm or packet take over their jobs or functions?? what about feedback? how will the whole system be able to know if a sensor is performing corrrectly and optimally rather than not partially....or evn not at all. seriously interesting, tell me...maybe others more  power mousey |
| Wed, 06 Dec 2006, 15:00 | |
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power mousey
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Mister Diablo, Mister Diablo tell me and share with me more concerning these Sunspots. true...I could check it out myself. But not for the one of being lazy...I will if I have too. But, I'd rather hear from you and as well for you to share and convince me and others concerning these Sun Spots. Show me and convince me. Walk the talk that you do. interested but skeptical, power mousey |
| Wed, 06 Dec 2006, 15:06 | |
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JL235
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Part of the point of Sun SPOTs is that they work together. Possibly the most useful example of how sensors could work is that one sensor could be monitoring temperature, and then become low on power. It could then wake up another sensor to say it is low on power and that it is then going to shut down. The other sensor will then begin monitoring temperature. As far as them working about checking for correctness, I'd of thought that it would be best to put in your own checks into whatever code was running. If one sensor says it is 500 degrees then you could have it ignored. Remember this is using normal Java code not assembly something equally as complicated, so it would pretty easy to work with. You could also use them to convey information between cars, so they are working as a swarm. Cars close together could be told warnings about cars ahead, say if a car at the front enters fog then the cars behind could be told to slow down for safety, as moisture and other factors could easily be monitored. Other information could be conveyed to cars further away, such as there is fog in that area. |
| Wed, 06 Dec 2006, 15:14 | |
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power mousey
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thank you. you peeked my interest and have convinced me. now, I will check and study this further too. true. you earned your paycheck for the week. cheers, power mousey |
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