Lightweight embeddable sensor systems are revolutionizing the way that we use computers. They have many potential applications, both in the home and in the workplace, creating systems that automatically act to enhance conditions for living and working while reporting useful information to central collecting points.
This research investigates new technologies for low-power wireless sensors, including new computational devices, new operating systems, and new algorithms and protocols for exploiting the resulting capabilities. The methods being employed include advanced circuit design, discrete mathematics, algorithm design and analysis, and specialized tools for the development of new software. The research team includes both computer engineers, telecommunications engineers, and computer scientists.
Specific results from our work will include sensor platforms that can operate with very little power, allowing for extended, unattended use. Other results include sensor data recovery mechanisms based on mobile platforms, allowing for rapid data collection as cars or other mobile platforms move through fields of sensors. New software tools will also be developed that collect, combine, and present information to human users in a meaningful manner.
Results from this project are being made available to research and development engineers throughout the country. Processors, novel algorithms, software tools, and operating systems will be made available on the Internet, and will be described in scholarly journals and at conferences. An effort is being made, in particular, to make these results available to corporations interested in furthering their application and making them commercially available to the public at large.
