-Caveat Lector- Driftglass. Zombie Cow wrote: > > -Caveat Lector- > > http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/ns-bso082499.html > > Beware swarms of 'smart dust' > > CLEANLINESS freaks have a new rationale for their pathological hatred > of dust-it could soon be spying on them. > > Packed full of sensors, lasers and communications transceivers, > particles of "smart dust" are being designed to communicate with one > another. They could be used for a range of applications from weather > monitoring to spying. > > The tiny "motes" are being developed at the University of California, > Berkeley, as part of a programme to produce the smallest possible > devices that have a viable way of communicating with each other. > > Each mote is made up of a number of microelectromechanical systems, or > MEMS, wired up to form a very simple computer. At present each mote is > 5 millimetres long, but Kris Pister, one of the developers, says that > in future they could be small enough to remain suspended in air, > buoyed by the currents, sensing and communicating for hours. > > The latest version not only has a thick-film battery powering it but > also a solar cell to recharge it. "This remarkable package has the > ability to sense and communicate, and is self-powered," says Randy > Katz, a communications engineer on the project. He presented the > latest work at last week's Mobicom99 mobile computing meeting in > Seattle. > > MEMS are made using the same photolithographic techniques as > integrated circuits, so once perfected they should be easy to > mass-produce. Patterns are etched out of a silicon wafer to create > structures such as optical mirrors or tiny engines. > > Each mote in a smart-dust system will need to survive on extremely low > power, while being able to communicate kilobits of data per second. To > this end, says Katz, the team has designed motes that shut down parts > of themselves when they are not being used. > > The latest challenge has been to devise a system that enables the > motes to communicate. Katz and his colleagues decided to use optical > transceivers because of their low energy demand compared with radio > communications. According to Pister they have already shown that they > can monitor the dust 21 kilometres across San Francisco Bay. "There's > no way you're going to get that kind of range except with optical > devices," he says. > > "The base station may actually reside in a hand-held unit, much like a > pair of binoculars," says Katz. This would allow for simultaneous > viewing of the scene from afar while superimposing any measured data > on the image. He adds that this approach could be especially useful > for hazardous applications such as detecting chemical weapons or > sending the dust into space. > > The next task is to build distributed intelligence into the dust to > produce "swarm behaviour". > > ### > > Author: Duncan Graham-Rowe > > New Scientist issue 28th August 99 > > DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER > ========== > CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic > screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters > and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright > frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects > spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL > gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; > be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and > nazi's need not apply. > > Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. > ======================================================================== > Archives Available at: > http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html > > http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ > ======================================================================== > To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: > SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: > SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Om DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
