Smart Dust(Tiny sensors)- The Little Wonder

"Smart dust" devices are tiny wireless microelectromechanical sensors (MEMS) that can detect everything from light to vibrations.

Nodes in Smart Dust are called Motes.

These "motes" contain sensors, computing circuits, bidirectional wireless communications technology and a power supply integrated on a tiny dust size-device.

For the next disruptive technology: think dust. No, not small grains of sand, soot or dirt but similarly sized particles that have a brain.

Transmits information like temperature, humidity, light ,vibrations, surface pressures, etc.

Smart sensors relay signals back to a command computer.

The motes' hardware platform uses Processor(MPR). These are battery-powered devices where MTS (sensors) and MDA (data card sensors) work directly with the Mote Processor.

Smart Dust is a network of ‘motes’, identical or similar tiny computers consisting of four miniaturized components:

Ambient sensor Wireless TransmitterCPU Power Source

Digital circuitryMEMS technologyRF-Wireless Communication

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) is the integration of mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics on a common silicon substrate.

While the electronics are fabricated using integrated circuit (IC) the micro mechanical components are fabricated using compatible “micromachining” processes.

A wireless communication system is required for sending and receiving data with data transfer rate of 1 Kbps.

The devices for communication are subjected to size and power constraints.

It must support bi-directional communication between a central transceiver and up to 1000 dust motes.

•Active•High power laser source•Transmission of modulated laser beam

•Passive•MEMS Corner Cube Reflector•Emit modulated ambient light•Extremely low power

SMART DUST

Virtual Keyboard

• Accelerometer containing Smart Dust• MEMS microphones in portable devices• Monitor speed and Volume of traffic to avoid recurring traffic jams.• Also used in modern cars for a large number of purposes including airbag deployment in collisions.

• The motes used for defense purpose of consists of magnetometer, a vibration sensor and a GPS receiver.• Spread on the battlefield by moving vehicles or soldiers with modified binoculars.• Also used to monitor critical parts of aircrafts and other war vehicles.

Circulatory Net

• Enter human bodies and check for physiological problems.• Relay information about cancerous cells.•Doctors will be able to monitor health status and curing situations of patients through smart dust.•Surgery will be more and more efficient and reliable as it will provide an extra arm for surgeons in their daily duties.• Biomedical application – Artificial Retina.

• In Environment Conservation.• Detect hazardous chemical and biological agents.• Monitoring nature of animals.• Measuring Temperature , humidity, etc.

• Relative high power consumption.• Hence can be used only for a short duration of time.• Components like active beam-steering mechanism makes the design of the dust mote more complicated.• It is difficult to fit all the components in a small Smart dust both in terms of Size and Energy.•With devices so small, batteries used present a massive addition of weight into it.

• ‘Smart dust’ is receiving huge investment around the world and it could be used to create a safer and more efficient food and agriculture system.

• Smart Dust’s development, use, and employment in the future, further research is necessary, specifically in the areas of intelligence analysis and dependence.

• Social aspects- it can help in saving a lot of loss of power in light and climatic control of building.

• Large Scale Processing & Distribution.• To bring multi-hop network topology.• Data Fusion.• Autonomous NetworkConfiguration.• Researches on reducingthe size and weight of thelatest generation motes.• Trying to make it so light that it flows on with the direction of air.

Many ongoing researchers on the Smart Dust Project are working on to make the

size of the present latest generation mote as small as possible and to make it

available at a low price.

And then soon we will see Smart Dust Smart Dust being used in various application of life

Leading the present world to aSmarter WorldSmarter World.