From: Hal Finney (hal@finney.org)
Date: Sat Nov 09 2002 - 16:20:51 MST
Vernor Vinge uses a technology called localizers in several of his
stories. These are independent, self-powered nodes that have limited
sensing and measurement abilities. Their main feature is that they can
link up opportunistically with other localizer nodes to form a sensor
network, which can then feed data into a computer for human consumption.
In A Deepness in the Sky, the localizers are very advanced, dust-mode
sized, and play a big part in the many layers of deception which create
such tension.
Vinge's recent Hugo-winning short story, Fast Times at Fairmont High, is
set maybe 25 years in the future but also makes heavy use of localizers.
(This story is available for download from fictionwise.com for $2.75,
or you could also download the whole story collection which includes
Fast Times. I haven't tried this ebook service so I don't know how
well it works.) Fast Times uses relatively more primitive nodes, maybe
1/4 inch to a few inches in size, disposable, inexpensive enough to be
scattered around freely. But again their main property is that they can
link up with other nodes, do some sensing and relay their data through
the opportunistic net of localizer nodes which gets set up.
The big new tech in Fast Times is augmented reality, overlaying computer
imagery on top of audiovisual or even tactile sensations. The localizers
help in two ways. First, they form a positional reference, which helps
the computer to keep track of your position and orientation, so that the
artificial graphics stay in synch with reality. And second, they provide
additional imagery, so for example you can set walls to be transparent,
and you can then see what is on the other side of them. The images for
stuff which isn't visible from your perspective comes from the localizers.
Slashdot today discusses a technology which is an early example of
Vingean localizers,
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/11/10/008246. This posting,
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=44652&cid=4634624s
pointers to the technology involved, which are called MICA sensor motes.
According to http://www.sensorsmag.com/articles/0402/40/, the basic board
is one square inch in size. This includes a processor, radio and battery.
Then you connect another board with whatever sensors you want to use.
The whole thing runs TinyOS, an open-source operating system which is
designed for low-power-consumption systems.
They describe a remarkable experiment in which an unmanned drone aircraft
dropped 30 motes equipped with magnetic sensors (and wrapped in a thin
layer of foam to survive the drop) along a desert road. The nodes linked
up to form a network which was then capable of tracking the progress
of vehicles along the road. Later the drone flew over and the network
uploaded its stored data to the plane. The really amazing thing is
that this demo was put together using off-the-shelf hardware, and the
whole thing took only 60 days from conception, through programming,
to the actual demo.
I was amazed to see how far along the hardware and software is for
this technology. It seems very clear that with another 20-30 years of
progress we will easily be able to have the capability Vinge requires
for his localizer net.
Most of the slashdot commentary related to privacy concerns, which is
legitimate and not addressed much by Vinge. Universal localizers could
bring us closer to Brin's transparency, or to Orwellian surveillance.
In Vinge's hands they just make everything more convenient. I guess he
basically trusts society not to do anything too stupid with them.
Hal
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