Takeover

The future of SmartDust is looking very bright. It has a limitless potential to replace and/or improve many existing technologies. In this post ill be giving a few examples of the technologies SmartDust could soon be taking over. The picture i've chosen is an artist's rendition of what a SmartDust mote used to enter the human body might one day look like.

• Keyboards: Kris Pister, who conceptualized SmartDust, says of the matter: "a smart-dust mote stuck to each fingernail could allow finger movements in the air to be transmitted to a computer. With this technology, computers could get even smaller, and air guitar would no longer be just a fantasy of rock-star wannabes. If the computer knows where your fingers are: sculpt 3D shapes in virtual clay, play the piano, gesture in sign language and have to computer translate. Combined with a MEMS augmented-reality heads-up display, your entire computer I/O would be invisible to the people around you. Couple that with wireless access and you need never be bored in a meeting again! Surf the web while the boss rambles on and on."
• Forest fires: When SmartDust becomes affordable enough to mass produce, SmartDust sensors could be strewn about forests, and sensing changes in temperature (fires!!!), could alert each other which in turn would alert a central station. The operator at the station could then locate the first mote that sent the signal, and send firefighters to fight the fire in its relatively early stages.
• Street lights: When street lights go out, power companies usually wait for a customer to call or go out and survey street light themselves. But with SmartDust, the company can be alerted directly when a light goes out, which would result in savings for the company and better satisfaction for the populace.
• Military: SmartDust could have many applications in the military, replacing costly equipment such as cameras and spy robots. SmartDust could be strewn about an area to detect intruders and any heat-emitting weapons they may be carrying, and can be used to monitor an area after the army has left.

The possibilities are endless. Recently, there was an article in the news talking about how SmartDust may be used to explore outer space in the future. How cool is that?

References:
http://www.innovationwatch.com/choiceisyours/choiceisyours.2006.12.15.htm
http://www.uhisrc.com/FTB/Smart%20Dust/Smart%20Dust.pdf
http://arjuna.newcastle.ac.uk/research/projects/detail.php?id=218