• Moore's Law: formulated by Gordon Moore of Intel in the early 70's - the processing power of a microchip doubles every 18 months; corollary, computers become faster and the price of a given level of computing power halves every 18 months.
• Gilder's Law: proposed by George Gilder, prolific author and prophet of the new technology age - the total bandwidth of communication systems triples every twelve months. New developments seem to confirm that bandwidth availability will continue to expand at a rate that supports Gilder's Law.
• Metcalfe's Law: attributed to Robert Metcalfe, originator of Ethernet and founder of 3COM: the value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of nodes; so, as a network grows, the value of being connected to it grows exponentially, while the cost per user remains the same or even reduces.

In the past, with telephone modems, bandwidth seemed limited. But, already DSL and cable modems have extended everyday Internet communications to 500 kbps, and the upper limits for optical media broadband communications is clearly following Gilders Law. For mobile applications, third-generation (3G) cell-phone technology is just now being introduced which will allow wireless data interchange at baud-rates at least equivalent to DSL.

As more and more "nodes" become connected – products, equipment, people, organizations – Metcalfe's Law comes into play. The effectiveness and value of the Internet continues to increase exponentially.

Device Connectivity

Imagine any product you know being Internet-enabled – an automobile, a house, a washing machine, an office thermostat – these all have the potential to be networked. Skeptics think that this kind of "gadgetry" has few practical applications for the user of the product (do I really need to talk to my washing-machine?) But, it's not the consumers that initially have the most to gain from device networking — it's the businesses that support them.

Manufacturers will use their connected products to develop customer service relationships that ultimately recreate the nature of revenue growth and customer management in an information economy. Product companies will use device-networking technology to reduce, or even eliminate (for their customers) the hassles of product ownership. This allows the manufacturer to reduce costs, achieve revenue growth, and pursue new opportunity areas. Device networking is not only possible, but also essential.

Automation applications everywhere

There are hundreds of temperature measurements (coolers, freezers, etc.) in a typical supermarket. Although monitoring and control will provide major cost savings (assuring that the food is not spoiled because coolers have failed, or that energy is not wasted through over-refrigeration) the cost to physically wire the sensors to a central monitoring and control system has hitherto been prohibitive. Low cost wire-less sensors and controls allow quick and easy installation, plus movement of sensors and control points for optimal monitoring and cost-controls.

Another application is supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) for "tank-farms" – storage tanks for oils, chemicals and petroleum products that are physically scattered over a large area, perhaps several square-miles. Physically wiring of sensors, level controls, alarms, recorders, etc. is relatively expensive. Internet enabled sensors and controls with wireless connections provide a quick and effective solution.

In many applications like the ones described, once the measurement and control points are collected at a central monitoring hub, it is easy to provide web access for supervisory monitoring and control to be done seamlessly from any Internet connection, located anywhere in the world.

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