Your mobile phone already knows where it is, how you’re holding it, what you’re saying to it and how fast you’re moving.
Yet with significant improvements in mobile sensor technology just around the corner, this is only the beginning chapter in the era of self-aware devices and continuous data logging. There’s much more to come.
We’re now used to phones and tablets recognising when they’re being held upside down and flipping the screen accordingly, but even this kind of technology is a relatively new innovation that has only become commonplace in the last four or five years.
It would be great to have air and water quality sensors, some forms of medical sensing, 3D/stereo cameras, even radar and sonar… the wishlist could certainly grow if we could have an understanding of how quickly sensor miniaturisation will proceed.
Sensory overload
How would you like a phone that could track your heart rate and emotional state, perhaps putting on some soothing music as soon as you start to get anxious?
This sort of technology is on the way, some years ago, it was reported that feelings could be read by sensors costing just a few shillings.
The microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) built into our phones are made of silicon, but scientists are now experimenting with MEMS running on an organic polymer more suitable for implanting in the human body.
Once the cost and time taken to manufacture these components comes down, we could be able to monitor health and activity from inside our own bodies. They could even be used to control bionic limbs.
Not only will users get immediate answers to their problems, but governments too will be able to run their infrastructures more efficiently.
The smarter home
As sensors become smarter, so will all of the other gadgets and equipment in our homes. The sensor-packed smartphone of the future won’t work in isolation, but as part of a larger network of devices, whether it’s the thermostat at home or the Wi-Fi enabled lamppost out on the street, each with their own integrated miniature monitoring components.
STMicroelectronics is one of the companies leading the charge in sensor development. It’s working on technology that combines readings from an accelerometer, magnetometer, pressure sensor and Wi-Fi scanner to accurately pinpoint your location indoors.
