OStatic

ReadWriteWeb has an interesting series of posts going on this week on Pachube, an open source software platform that allows developers to connect sensor data to the web. The series analyzes some of the applications that are being built with Pachube, analyzes Pachube's business model and characterizes it as part of an important trend called The Internet of Things.

Of course, the idea that physical objects--ranging from plants that can communicate online that they need water to home lighting systems--will eventually be connected to the Internet is not new. Vint Cerf, one of the fathers of the Net has been saying so for years, in addition to many futurists. Sensors have been making it into our cars, our homes and elsewhere for years. What role does open source play in their future?

We first covered the iCub, an open source robot, in a post last year.? It's a robotics project funded by the European Commission and there are several versions of the iCub (one is shown here) in research labs and at universities throughout Europe. The goal of the multi-year project, which began in 2004, is to imbue iCub with several types of learning capabilities, shedding light on how robots can become smarter, and on how human beings learn and understand each other.

The hardware design for iCub is publicly shared, and the software for iCub is open source. You can find the hardware specs here, and links for the software here. Recently, iCub has been in the news, with some interesting videos of its newfound capabilities, and evidence that it is one of the more advanced humanoid robots anywhere.

No matter where you are, there are more sensors around you than you may realize. Inexpensive, but driven by processors that are maturing at a fast clip, they monitor the brake pads in your car, the sprinkler systems in the office, and can monitor motion, heat, and much more. Sensors are being deployed in security systems and airports all around the world, among many other places. Futurists believe that sensors will increasingly be embedded inside of us to monitor our physical systems and communicate information about them wirelessly to our mobile devices.

All of this is why Open Source Sensing is an interesting initiative. The organization's call to action reads like this: Pervasive sensing is arriving soon ? we have a short window of opportunity for guiding this technology to protect both our security and our privacy.