By IANS,
Toronto : A wireless sensor network under development will not only collect data from remote environmental locations but also help monitor them anywhere in the world.
A University of Alberta research team recently launched EcoNet, a functional model of a wireless sensor network (WSN) for environmental monitoring in the display house at the University’s Agriculture/Forestry Centre.
Using a WSN, sensors can continuously monitor factors like temperature and luminosity and store and transmit data co-operatively and wirelessly with other sensors to generate data that can then be collected and made available to users virtually anywhere on the globe.
Having the data continuously monitored by researchers substantially increases the chances of uncovering anomalies early enough to investigate them promptly and thoroughly, ScienceDaily reported.
The overall framework of WSN can also be extended for use in other closely related scenarios such as monitoring potentially dangerous situations like hazardous waste disposal, or hard-to-witness phenomena such as ice cap movements in the Arctic.
The opportunities these sensors will provide to scientists are paramount in a global environment that is changing at an ever-increasing pace.
The project is a collaboration between Olsonet Communications Corporation in Ottawa and University of Alberta.