Expanding Sensor Markets Open New Paths for Well-Designed Database Interfaces
As the design techniques of every type of sensor improves, more and more sensing devices are increasingly used to provide machines and humans with an awareness of the situation thus helping those of us in the development world with the opportunity to design better interfaces and reach further into remote areas.
In addition to this technological expansion, you can improve your application product by incorporating one or more databases as dynamic software bridges between newly deployed sensors and a corresponding business activity. This act alone introduces a spur to innovative interface design.
As you know, it is almost common to see Web sites where you can see a Flash movie showing how the show works and cars with active stability control systems to prevent rollovers during sharp turns, toasters that sense the color of the toast so they know when to stop.
In addition we have navigation sensors, magnetic compasses, inertial measurement units, GPS receivers and the like-coupled with other location systems such as RFID and wireless networks such as WiFi, ZigBee, or others.
We’re starting to get machines that know (in a way) where they are and, possibly more importantly, can report to us where they are and what’s going on.
Here are some examples:
(1) Tracking portable medical devices in a hospital
(2) Perimeter monitoring for various security uses
(3) Tracking cargo in containers and on trucks
(4) Mobile robots in their various military and commercial configurations
(5) Monitoring profitability of sensor data via database collection and analysis
The better sensors become the more invisible they become. As they improve there effectiveness, designers who are exposed to these smarter products and machines, see that they’re easier to use on the macro level and they are beginning to appreciate the clever miracles of engineering that make everything possible.
Database driven applications are in the process of making it feasible to bring software and small business possibilities closer to the realities of entrepreneurs as witnessed in articles available in these two topic areas:
(1) Small Business
(2) Software
Author: Tom Gruich
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