Wirelessly Sensing Everything

Market research firm ON World is projecting a bright future for wireless sensor networks (WSNs), recession or not. The firm expects WSN R&D spending to reach $1.3 billion by 2012, from $522 million in 2007. The biggest potential markets identified are energy (smart grid, in-home energy control, and renewable energy), environmental monitoring, healthcare, industrial automation, transportation, public safety, and structural monitoring. Concerning structural monitoring, Sensors magazine notes that in the U.S., a National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) "Technology Innovation Program" (TIP) has awarded funding for nine research projects targeting infrastructure monitoring and inspection — and that four of the nine involve WSNs.