Unbelievable document, just unbelievable.
http://www.zurich.ibm.com/news/10/moterunner.htmlMade in IBM Labs:
IBM Unveils Software to Expand Use of Wireless Sensor Networks and Further Smarter Systems Globally
New Software Enables Developers to More Easily Create and Use Sensor Networks
Rosemont, IL, June 9, 2010—IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a new software development kit to expand the ability of companies and governments to harness sensors and digital devices to design and build intelligent products and systems. The software, available as a free download, aims to increase the global adoption of wireless sensor networks by making them easier to program and use. The announcement was made at the 2010 Sensors Expo & Conference.
To make wireless sensor networks easier to program and exploit, IBM has created a new software development kit — called Mote Runner — which provides an open and programmer-friendly platform to connect sensor and actuator motes within a wireless sensor network (WSN). Motes — also known as wireless sensor nodes — gather sensory information, such as temperature, movement, or light, and communicate that data across a network of wireless sensors.
Separately, IBM also announced today that MEMSIC Inc, a leading microelectromechanical systems and sensor solution provider, will offer Mote Runner on IRIS, one of its most popular sensors. With the cost of transistors ($0.00001 each) plummeting as density increases, companies and governments are working to take advantage of transistor-rich wireless sensor networks and analytics to:
Increase understanding of the internal and external systems that support and impact their business.
Improve the behavior and performance of business and societal systems.
Make better, more informed decisions in real-time by applying analytics to data captured from sensors.
Learn about situations occurring in business and societal systems as quickly as they happen.
However, many wireless sensor networks used to monitor and react to physical or environmental conditions are proprietary and difficult to program, therefore limiting the ability of companies, governments and universities to take advantage of them. Mote Runner addresses these challenges.
For example, Mote Runner could help a building management company deploy sensors throughout a high rise building. The technology would:
Enable the company to develop applications for the sensors that provide the ability to monitor equipment, room temperature, water systems and more,
Allow the company to simulate where the sensors would be positioned throughout the building and test how they would communicate,
Provide the company with the ability to reprogram the sensors remotely once they have been placed throughout the building.
“Sensors play an important role in interconnected systems and are critical to helping business leaders understand both what is happening in a system, and what will happen next,” said Charles Lickel, vice president for IBM Software Research.“IBM is focused on empowering our clients to use sensors to instantly monitor constantly changing dynamics and apply analytics to understand and act upon these dynamics. Enabling clients to easily program and use sensor networks is core to creating smarter systems, and the new developer tools we are unveiling today will advance our clients’ ability to drive new intelligence into their businesses.”
Software systems are the centerpiece of smart grids, for example, integrating multiple independent products and complex systems to perform their critical functions. Smart meters, smart appliances, and smart homes, all containing embedded software, will be interconnected with numerous back-end software applications to create significant new value for consumers, businesses, and the public.
About Mote Runner
Created by IBM Research scientists, Mote Runner is a high-performance, lowfootprint run-time platform that is portable to a broad range of mote hardware and programmable in standard object-oriented programming languages, together with development and integration tooling to easily create and manage applications for wireless sensor networks.
“Sensor networks are instrumental in creating a smarter planet, therefore it is critical to make them easy to program,” comments Thorsten Kramp, IBM Research staff member and co-developer of Mote Runner. “We invented Mote Runner to enable developers to take advantage of the skills they have and apply them to programming wireless sensor networks. This should proliferate the use of sensor networks around the world.”
Mote Runner was invented to address several distinct challenges:
The use of a programming language such as Java, in combination with a highly efficient virtual machine developed from the ground up for use in sensor networks, provides application portability while shielding developers from the complexities of the underlying hardware, without sacrificing performance.
A simulation environment, a web-based management dashboard, and an integrated development environment based on Eclipse, provide a userfriendly platform for testing, debugging, and maintaining applications sensors. This enables advanced simulation prior to deploying motes in the field, eliminating most programming errors before deployment.
Since most sensor motes are deployed remotely, battery consumption is a key hurdle. Mote Runner was designed to run on very limited resources: an 8-bit processor, 8 kilobytes of RAM and 64 kilobytes of flash memory — roughly comparable to the operating requirements of a computer in the 1970s). In addition, Mote Runner can be used with energy harvesting techniques, to utilize solar power, for example, as a source of energy.
Physical access to remotely deployed sensor motes to update them with new functionality is not an option for many mote deployment usage scenarios, such as installations across large agricultural areas, in a multistory building, or in locations with unique climates such as a rain forests or glaciers. Mote Runner caters to this need by including the ability to push or pull changes wirelessly with minimal interruption to the established network.
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http://www.zurich.ibm.com/news/10/memsic.htmlIBM and MEMSIC Bring Ease of Use to Wireless Sensors
MEMSIC Adopts IBM Software to Enable Organizations to More Easily Harness Sensors and Find Patterns in Ubiquitous Data
Rosemont, IL, June 9, 2010—IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a contract with MEMSIC Inc. (NASDAQ GM: MEMS), a leading micro-electromechanical systems and sensor solution provider, to offer one of its most popular sensors with new IBM software that enables enterprises to build smarter products and systems. The announcement was made at the 2010 Sensors Expo & Conference.
As billions of interconnected chips exist in the world today, companies and governments are working to take advantage of wireless sensors and analytics to reduce cost and waste; improve efficiency and productivity; improve the ability to anticipate changes; and raise the quality of services, such as, healthcare, building maintenance and transportation.
However, today, programming and connecting wireless sensors can be challenging, therefore limiting the ability of companies, governments and universities to take advantage of wireless sensor technology.
To change this, MEMSIC will bundle its IRIS wireless sensor motes with a new software platform, invented by IBM scientists in Zurich, called Mote Runner. This advanced hardware and software combination offers organizations a proven, low-cost sensor with open, portable, and developer-friendly software.
Motes — also known as wireless sensor nodes — gather sensory information, such as temperature, movement, or light and communicate that data across a network of wireless sensors. In a separate announcement today, IBM also announced the availability of the Mote Runner development kit as a free download on its emerging technologies website.
"As a leading sensor manufacturer and wireless sensor networking infrastructure solution provider we are delighted to see ease of use brought to wireless sensor networks without compromising efficiency," said Steve Tsui, Vice President of Worldwide Sales, System Business at MEMSIC, Inc. "We share the same vision as IBM, of a world that is instrumented and connected with sensors, which is why we are pre-installing Mote Runner on our IRIS mote. This powerful combination will provide an efficient, scalable, easy to implement and cost effective solution."
About IRIS and Mote Runner
The MEMSIC IRIS is a 2.4 GHz wireless sensor mote used for enabling lowpower wireless sensor networks, such as monitoring the temperature and electricity in a high rise office building or traffic patterns on a busy intersection.
Now pre-installed with Mote Runner, IRIS users can benefit from:
The use of a programming language such as Java, in combination with a highly efficient virtual machine developed from the ground up for use in sensor networks, providing application portability and shielding developers from the complexities of the underlying hardware without sacrificing performance.
A simulation environment, a web-based management dashboard, and an integrated development environment based on Eclipse, provide a userfriendly platform for testing, debugging, and maintaining applications for MEMSIC IRIS motes running Mote Runner. This enables advanced simulation prior to deploying motes in the field, thus eliminating most programming errors before deployment.
The Mote Runner execution engine has been designed to be very efficient in terms of power* consumption while delivering a high runtime performance; thus the combined Mote Runner/IRIS mote can be ideally used with energy harvesting techniques, to utilize for example, solar power as a source of energy.
Physical access to remotely deployed sensor motes to update them with new functionality is not an option for many mote deployment usage scenarios, such as installations across large agricultural areas, in a multi-story building, or in locations with unique climates such as a rain forests or glaciers. Mote Runner caters to this by including the ability to push or pull changes wirelessly with minimal interruption to the established network.
"Mote Runner on MEMSIC IRIS motes is a wireless sensor network in a box," comments Thorsten Kramp, computer scientist and developer of Mote Runner at IBM Research - Zurich. "The combination of MEMSIC's popular IRIS mote with Mote Runner makes developing for and operating a wireless sensor network easy and straightforward."
The contract was signed in June 2010. Sets comprising Mote Runner on MEMSIC motes can be ordered via all MEMSIC distribution and sales channels starting July 2010.
Available on IBM alphaWorks
To encourage exploration, the Mote Runner software development kit is available free of charge for non-commercial use to universities and students and available as a 90-day evaluation trial for corporate users on the IBM alphaWorks website. IBM also is also providing free support on the IBM alphaWorks website.
About IBM
For more information see
www.ibm.com/smarterplanet_____________________________
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http://www.vector1media.com/dialogue/perspectives/11712-what-is-intelligent-infrastructure-and-how-do-geospatial-tools-contributeWhat is intelligent infrastructure, and how do geospatial tools contribute?
Written by Matt Ball
Friday, 26 February 2010 00:00
Intelligent infrastructure combines sensors, network connectivity and software to monitor and analyze complex systems to uncover inefficiency and inform optimal operations. The sensor component collects operational detail over time as well as providing real-time inputs on current conditions. The network connectivity ensures the flow of information between systems, other sensors, and practitioners. The software component provides oversight and analysis, integrating insight from various systems and personnel. The approach incorporates the management of multiple processes for more collaborative and multidisciplinary workflows. Intelligence is constantly improving from such a system through incremental improvements that are informed through constant monitoring and analysis.
The idea of intelligent infrastructure has been around for a long time in one form or another. Early forays into real-time monitoring of systems include industrial control systems such as SCADA. What largely sets the newer concept of intelligent infrastructure apart is an advancement in sensors, systems and networks that enable us to go beyond simply monitoring. Instead of the more passive alarms when inputs exceed accepted norms, intelligent infrastructure is a more holistic approach that aims to model and manage with a greater understanding of the interconnectivity of systems and the implications of events.
Big Blue Leads the Way
IBM is well out in front of publicizing and practicing the concept of intelligent infrastructure with their Smarter Planet campaign and their SmarterCity initiative. The company trades on their large-scale integration work and their understanding of complex systems to promote this idea of instrumented, interconnected, and then intelligent systems.
At the core of this concept is the idea of a system of systems approach. In the complex urban core, it’s a combination of transportation, healthcare, economic development, public safety, energy and utilities, and education systems. Each of these individual systems is in themselves a system of multiple inputs from multiple sensors and systems. IBM asserts that it’s largely an issue of constant data collection and open data exchanges that yield smarts for these systems. The resulting repository yields the ability to see how things are performing and a clear picture on how to redeploy resources quickly in advance of any problems or failures.
IBM takes a partnership approach toward achieving their Smarter Planet goals, working with a number of geospatial players to map assets and analyze details geographically. IBM’s Maximo Spatial Asset Management system integrates with ESRI’s ArcGIS Server to incorporate the GIS view, display map content, provide geospatial querying capability, and read data direct from multiple geodatabases. The geospatial component is clearly needed, particularly in the complex environments of an urban setting, and location often acts as the glue to integrate disparate data and systems together.
Flexible and Responsive
Given the changes of rapid urbanization and the pressures to adapt to climate change, it’s imperative that we fine tune our systems to be more flexible and responsive. The concept of intelligent infrastructure is also strategically timed for great demographic shifts that will leave many high-level jobs vacant due to retirements. These systems can bridge the knowledge gap by recording and modeling best business practice and process in advance of losing legacy operational knowledge.
Examples of industry approaches that might qualify as “intelligent infrastructure” in my mind are:
the skeletonization of water networks for better understanding of full-network issues
intelligent traffic systems and sensors on bridges to measure and monitor performance
the detailed use of spatial analysis for renewable energy siting and ongoing monitoring of in situ conditions for optimal energy generation
more efficient building heating, cooling and lighting systems for energy conservation
detailed underground models for more informed oil and gas extraction
In all the above examples, there is a considerable increase in infrastructure and mapping efforts, but the payoffs can also be huge. An energy savings of 40 percent translates into a lower energy bill, less of a dependence on foreign energy sources, and reduced emissions. Intelligent traffic can dramatically reduce drive times and congestion, while cutting down on carbon emissions. While the solutions themselves are smart, the investment is also smart because the benefits far outweigh the costs.
Unleashing Creativity
Given the cross-cutting nature of intelligent infrastructure, where operational data from multiple separate operations are combined, there’s a great deal of opportunity for creative approaches to problem solving. Instead of being constrained by traditional business silos, these new systems will unlock cross-organization information to reveal the inefficiencies that exist between different systems.
As the systems mature and much more is known about operations, solutions to problems can be tested almost as in a laboratory setting. With the sensor-based feedback, and the growing knowledge base, pilot projects can be tested and the great deal of data that is generated can be analyzed to determine any performance improvements.
Through the application of intelligent infrastructure, we can gain a much better handle on the materials and resources that our systems consume. This conservation-first approach will go a long way toward improving our efficiency for a more sustainable approach, and will greatly improve the way we manage and construct our built world.
Get Involved: The Geospatial Information & Technology Association will be exploring the geospatial dimension of intelligent infrastructure at their upcoming annual meeting in Phoenix in April. I’ll be acting as facilitator for discussions with the Industry Trends Analysis Group (ITAG) on Monday morning of the event. If this topic is of interest to you, be sure to become involved.
Additional Resources
IBM – A Smarter Planet Initiative
Intelligent Infrastructure Definition – University of Toronto, Dept. of Civil Engineering
Intelligent Infrastructure – Water Matters Blog at the Earth Institute at Columbia University
