UNDERSTANDING
TECHNOLOGY
Not-So-Remote Anymore: The Evolution of
Localized Precision Sensing
Chris Andrews
Since the earliest days of strategizing and
information gathering, scientists and decision-makers have
relied upon field observations to support map making. The
introduction of aircraft and satellites enabled
cartographers to reliably observe visual details of a
region from afar. However, precise local observation of an
area was not possible until three major technological
developments converged. First, the increased accuracy and
variety of detection equipment allowed the collection of
more and better data. Second, complex satellite and
communications networks developed, which facilitated the
transmission of large volumes of information. Finally, the
miniaturization of hardware allowed complex detectors and
communications equipment to fit on small microchips.
Together, these new technologies made the world smaller.
Field observation equipment that can be linked to a
network is now easy to obtain for many communication
ranges and types of observations. Various detectors, from
infrared detectors to pH sensors, can be connected to a
personal computer (PC) or a network. Wireless Bluetooth
adaptors integrated with global positioning systems (GPS)
and satellite modems allow laptop and handheld computers
to communicate positional data to a remote data collection
facility over a network. Emerging software technologies
even allow the remote control and reprogramming of
scientific equipment. These tools facilitate the
collection of precise data about local environments more
thoroughly than ever before.
John Graybeal, Information Applications Group
Leader at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI),
explained how MBARI uses new technologies to help push
forward scientific research. MBARI’s Monterey Ocean
Observing System (MOOS) integrates innovative hardware and
software technologies to collect data about marine
environments that would have been impossible to gather
just a few years ago. MOOS incorporates surface
observatories, moorings, and autonomous vehicles in a
network that is used to record small and large scale time
series data, such as: temperature, conductivity, and
salinity. Field collectors transmit data, including GPS
position, over radio or satellite connections to MBARI
where the data are processed and made available to the
scientific community over the Internet. MBARI scientists
and engineers have deployed a variety of sensors on
observatories and moorings. Moorings connect transmitters
and solar cells on the surface to sensors that may sit
hundreds of meters below on the seafloor collecting
information about organic carbon and ocean currents. Other
platforms sit near the surface and may be configured to
collect information while tethered in place or while
drifting freely. MBARI’s autonomous vehicles traverse
predefined routes and gather information in three
dimensions. The institute has even developed and deployed
equipment that will automatically determine the presence
and general abundance of particular types of marine
microorganisms using DNA analysis. Through the use of
modern communications equipment, all of this data may be
sent back to a collection center, mapped, and analyzed in
near real-time.
Moving forward, we will see even more granular
attempts at collecting detailed local data for scientific,
social, and military purposes. As data collection becomes
more reliable, it also becomes more comprehensive, and
thus, more descriptive. GIS and statistical software
fields will need to adapt in order to display and to help
derive meaning from accumulating terabytes of multivariate
data. Ultimately, the detailed microcosm of sensors and
data that we build should help us to understand and
preserve the macrocosm in which we live.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank John Graybeal and
Kim Fulton-Bennet of MBARI for information, critiques, and
the accompanying image. More information about MBARI’s
research programs may be found at http://www.mbari.org.
About the Author:
Chris Andrews has been an advocate for
standardizing and expanding GIS technology for the past 8
years, programming and listening to customers in a variety
of environments from private industry to the Kennedy Space
Center. Chris is currently employed as a GIS Solution
Architect at Idea Integration in Denver, CO, and may be
contacted at [email protected].
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