Where RFID, Sensing, and RTLS Meet

In his monthly Extreme Data column (which takes a break this issue), Tom Kevan has described how service oriented architecture (SOA) software enhances the value of sensor data by making them easily available to large numbers of users.

Plenty of engineering work is inspired by nature, and some of it—biosensor development, for instance—actually incorporates biological components. In one example, the cities of New York and San Francisco have installed Intelligent Automation Corp.'s IAC 1090 Intelligent Aquatic BioMonitoring System, which uses fish to continuously monitor public water supplies for contamination and potential terrorism incidents. As the fish swim, breathe, and cough (yes, fish cough!) noncontact sensors monitor parameters such as ventilation and cough rates. Should the fish detect toxic conditions, the IAC 1090 takes a series of water samples and notifies staff. According to IAC, "Chemical concentrations can be measured with an instrument, but only biosensors (fish) can be used to measure toxicity that is potentially harmful to humans." (www.sensorsmag.com/1006/SCbio1)

It's clear that developers see RFID-and-sensor networks as a key growth area. A sampling of recent developments in tags (sidebar) and infrastructure prove it.

Technologies Help Prepare and Respond; LBS Incorporates Sensors; Apple and Nike Instrument Workouts; Sensors Expo Demos Linearization, Wireless Progress

Innovators recognized for product and service achievements

Several recent announcements have described sensors for faster, less costly, and less intrusive disease detection as well as other types of health care. In the former category, the new superDimension/Bronchus System (SDBS) works like a GPS, letting physicians navigate toward suspicious masses throughout the lungs in real time. The technology enables a minimally invasive procedure for more accurate and earlier diagnosis of lung masses. Standard bronchoscopy cannot reach the periphery of the lungs where most masses are located, but SDBS can. (www.superdimension.com)