The National Chip Implementation Center, National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) has used the concepts of "morphing" and "sensing," together with a modular design, to develop the MorSensor Wireless Sensor Building Blocks. In this innovation, the assembly of appropriate building blocks, which include power supply, computing, communications, and sensing elements, can create an extremely sensitive sensing instrument in a very compact volume. Furthermore, swapping some of the building blocks will transform it into a sensor with completely different functions.
For instance, if we assemble a display screen building block, an alcohol sensing building block, and a power supply building block, we can obtain an alcohol sensor. If we replace the alcohol sensing building block with a camera building block, it becomes a camera. The PhoneBloks plan proposed by Google at the end of October (2013) similarly uses a building block concept to construct cell phones. For its part, the National Chip Implementation Center (CIC) had already realized this modular concept at an early date, and has applied sensing building blocks to produce several practical sensing systems, including an alcohol sensing and warning system, a color scheme recommendation system, a batting posture tracking and analysis system, and a three-dimensional spatial domain measurement system.
Is it safe to drive after eating ginger duck cooked in rice wine? The alcohol sensing app of an alcohol sensing instrument constructed from alcohol sensing, Bluetooth, computing, and battery building blocks can tell you your alcohol level. If your level is too high, it can also help you call a taxi or contact your family. This system has already attracted interest from auto companies, which are considering selling the systems with their cars in order to keep motorists from driving while intoxicated.
Have you ever wondered how to match colors when buying furniture? If you use a color sensing building block instead of the alcohol sensing building block, and add a color recommendation app, you can find out what colors go best together. Do you wonder how to hold the bat if you want to become a big slugger? All you have to do is add a posture sensing block, and you can then use a batting monitoring program to record your movements and appropriately adjust your stance. It's often not easy to determine the size of a room at first glance when buying or renting a house. You only need to attach two camera building blocks together, and the device can help you calculate length and area.
Ubiquitous sensors
Since ancient times, people have relied on their five senses to detect changes in their surroundings. But though the natural world is loaded with information, the human senses have limited capabilities. With the arrival of advanced technology, many electronic elements have been developed that can help us sense different types of information more accurately. The automatic doors in a high-rise building, the temperature display of a hot water bottle, a ceiling fire alarm, and a TV set's remote control receiver are all everyday-life applications of sensors. While sensors already play an indispensable role in life, people are typically unaware of their presence, even when using them.
Taking smartphones as an example, a smartphone usually contains several different sensors, including an accelerometer, gyroscope, microphone, camera, and proximity sensor. According to statistics, there are roughly 50-60 billion sensors in the world today, and this number is expected to grow to 200 billion by 2020. Sensors are becoming increasingly ubiquitous, and are used in a growing variety of devices, and are therefore creating a growing number of business opportunities.
Tiny sensors = big opportunities
Thanks to steadily improving technology, the cost of producing sensors is gradually decreasing, but their value is increasing through a shift from sensing alone to the combination of sensing and knowledge. For example, a posture sensing chip costs only around US$3, but a movement and posture learning system combined with training and learning algorithms may sell for as much as 100 times the price. This suggests that the integration of sensors and knowledge is an inevitable way of creating value.
Compared with existing customized and fixed sensing platforms, the CIC's building block sensing system can shorten system development time and reduce development costs, while enhancing expandability and portability, and offering the advantages of a low development threshold and wide range of potential uses. Apart from the physical building blocks, the system also adopts the "sensing + knowledge" concept. The CIC has also developed a number of algorithms as software building blocks. Apart from using the software building blocks to develop application programs on a PC, users can also use cell phone kits to develop apps, and add value to mobile devices.
Smart sensing, smart life
As far as the general public is concerned, the sensing building blocks provide users with a platform for realizing creative ideas. Users can employ various building blocks to create their own sensing systems, and the building blocks system can effectively stimulate students' creativity in general science education. In addition, in order to enhance the portability and applicability of the building blocks, the CIC has developed several different building block mounting methods allowing the blocks to be attached to various kinds of moving equipment, clothing and accessories, and the surfaces of different types of materials.
The sensing building blocks have limitless potential and can create tremendous opportunities. They can enable academic personnel to perform sensing system research and instruction, enable industry to quickly produce prototypes and perform low cost R&D, and provide the general public with the means of developing value-added, innovative mobile applications. In the future, the sensing building blocks are sure to develop in even more directions, and will be miniaturized and simplified, bringing sensing technology even closer to everyday life and boundlessly extending people's senses.
