Good Things Come in Small Packages

Everyday, new technology is being developed in hopes of making the world an easier and safer place to live in. In the case of smart dust, a countless amount of advantages can be identified when discussing its many capabilities. Smart dust is a versatile technology since it uses up very little space, therefore it can be implemented virtually anywhere. As mentioned in an earlier blog, the use of smart dust is extensive; ranging from industry to hospital use, from military to airport use and for home and environmental usage as well.

In industries such as warehouses, factories and plants, smart dust will be able to monitor the conditions of the buildings and machinery. This will lead to a decrease in maintenance and inspection costs, as the buildings will be under 24 hour surveillance, seven days of the week, all year round. Smart dust will detect if there are any manufacturing defects, leakages and even detect possible threats of danger. Corporations and organizations will benefit by using smart dust for various reasons:

• System and infrastructure costs are greatly reduced
• Efficiency and functionality of operations are improved
• Increase in productivity
  

In the case of hospitals, smart dust will be able to monitor patient's rooms by tracking the movement and condition of the patient. Scientists foresee smart dust as a way of detecting illness in patients by searching through a patient's bloodstream and potentially be able to carry medication which it can dispense when needed (1). Military bases and airports would be more secure because any potential threats would be detected by the sensors. The military can utilize smart dust's capabilities to survey a battlefield and track transportation and soldier locations. In regard to airport security, smart dust would monitor all passengers going on-board a plane and analyze their stress signals while policing for dangerous items in a carry-on. smart dust can serve as a substitute for smoke detectors and alarm systems in households, stores and any other necessary location. If they detect and unusual activity, they report the data to a central computer which can notify fire or police departments. Smart dust will even be able to be planted on streets and highways, detecting anything from accidents to traffic flow while reporting them in real time.

Overall, the advantages of using Smart Dust in these scenarios are quite staggering. The benefits of using this new technology heavily outweigh the disadvantages, if any.

More advantages of smart dust can be found online at http://robotics.eecs.berkeley.edu/~pister/SmartDust/

References:

1. http://www.northjersey.com/news/84759412__Smart_dust__aims_to_revolutionize_lives.html
2. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/79572/Smart_Dust?taxonomyId=15&pageNumber=2
3. http://robotics.eecs.berkeley.edu/~pister/SmartDust/