Communications of the ACM
A World Full of Sensors
Technische Universitat Darmstadt professor Rolf Jakoby
Researchers at Technische Universitat Darmstadt and the University of Kassel are collaborating on a joint research project aimed at developing sensors that receive, analyze, and send data. The sensors will have to deal with subtle changes in their environments and flexibility, as well as constantly changing qualities of received and transmitted signals, an issue that can be solved with beam-forming technology, which is being developed at Darmstadt.
"We intend to create conditions, under which antennae will, in the future, behave like spotlights that, once they have located a sought device, will track it, while suppressing interference by stray electromagnetic radiation from other devices that might also be present in the area," says Darmstadt professor Rolf Jakoby.
The antennae will be reconfigurable, enabling them to adjust to best suit the conditions around them using built-in electronic circuitry or remote controls.
Sensor communications requires that all devices be linked across all communications protocols, which the researchers say is not possible with current devices, communications protocols, and networks. "Converting all devices to a common communications protocol is infeasible, which is why we are seeking a new protocol that would be superimposed upon everything and allow them to communicate via several protocols," Jakoby says.
From Technische Universitat Darmstadt
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