The sensor spectrum: technology, trends, and requirements

ABSTRACT

Though physical sensing instruments have long been used in astronomy, biology, and civil engineering, the recent emergence of wireless sensor networks and RFID has spurred a renaissance in sensor interest in both academia and industry. In this paper, we examine the spectrum of sensing platforms, from billion dollar satellites to tiny RF tags, and discuss the technological differences between them. We show that battery powered sensor networks, with low-power multihop radios and low-cost processors, occupy a sweet spot in this spectrum that is rife with opportunity for novel database research. We briefly summarize some of our research work in this space and present a number of examples of interesting sensor network-related problems that the database community is uniquely equipped to address.

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