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Sensors Gone Wild

Posted by timothy on from the ubiquity-is-everywhere dept.

tulanian writes "forbes.com has an interesting article on networked, intelligent sensors. It mentions an experiment done by DARPA where several dozen magnetic sensors were scattered along a road and passing vehicles could be identified by their magnetic signatures."

3 of 203 comments (clear)

  1. it gets worse... by Obliterous · · Score: 5, Insightful

    a very MINOR operation by the car manufacturers could give each automobile a distinct magnetic signature, similar to a magnetic VIN. I dont think I'd want them able to track My driving habits...

    1. Re:it gets worse... by wkitchen · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I dont think I'd want them able to track My driving habits...
      More important than my driving habits, I wouldn't want them tracking when/where I go. And no, I don't have anything evil I want to hide. It's just that it's none of their business what churches, political events, social events, etc. that people attend. That may not be their intent, but the potential for abuse bothers me.
  2. Some random thoughts by coryboehne · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ok, from the article:

    The net is relegated to a small screen and a keyboard. This will detect who you are and where you are.

    Is this a Good Thing? I know that it could be used for some very good things, such as instant identity verification, missing & lost persons (the list goes on... I'll spare you) But it seems really, really, really, Big Brotherish, and I'm not so prone to like that very much....

    Some new sensors are getting so small--some are invisible to the naked eye--that they will be able to run on 100 microwatts.

    Great! So not only can we be watched incessantly, we won't even be able to know IF we're being watched...

    At the 100-microwatt level they could gather energy from ambient heat and photovoltaic cells, says Stephen Senturia, a specialist in microsystems at MIT. His colleagues are working on making chips so small that they can power themselves, like watches that need only the kinetic energy generated by movements of the wearer's wrist.

    ok, most thought provoking idea in this comment coming right up...

    At what point is something sentient and self supporting enough to be considered life? I know that this is relying on a backbone of support, but really, this single feature is actually very interesting if you really think about it. It is capable of sensing it's environment, it's self supporting... has a definate life span... hmmm.. this is really somewhat one the edge of being electronic and creeping towards being alive...

    Just my crazy thoughts, but I think this is something we all need to watch carefully, both for the positive aspects of it, and also to be sure (as sure as we can be anyhow) that this is not being used as just another minon of Big Brother... Of course a small amount of Big Brotherism is really quite acceptable, and if used properly this technology could really be a sign of great things to come... I just hope it is used in a way that we would all approve of...