--- title: "2010 Trend: Sensors & Mobile Phones" date: 2010-01-17 author: "Richard MacManus" categories: - name: "ReadWriteWeb" url: "/category/readwriteweb.md" tags: - name: "2010" url: "/tag/2010.md" --- # 2010 Trend: Sensors & Mobile Phones ![](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935im_/http://rww.readwriteweb.netdna-cdn.com/images/iphone_accelerometer_150.jpg)Last week in our [**Mobile Web Meets Internet of Things**](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/mobile-web-meets-internet-of-things/) series, we looked at [barcode scanning](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/barcode_scanning_mobile_web_meets_internet_of_thing.php) and [RFID in the next generation iPhone](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/iphone_as_rfid_tag_reader.php). We expect to see Apple and Android battling it out for both barcode and RFID supremacy this year. Another key technology in the Internet of Things – where everyday objects are endowed with Internet connectivity – is [sensors](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.readwriteweb.com/tag/sensors). In fact we’ve seen the most activity so far in the Internet of Things from sensor data. So in this post we explore how mobile phones and sensors are mixing; and what to expect in 2010. RWW’s Mobile Web Meets Internet of Things Series: 1. [Mobile Apps For Barcode Scanning](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/barcode_scanning_mobile_web_meets_internet_of_thing.php) 2. [iPhone as RFID Tag & Reader](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top_10_consumer_web_apps_of_2009.php) 3. [Sensors & Mobile Phones](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/2010_trend_sensors_mobile_phones.php) 4. [Mobile Phone as Proximity Sensor](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/using_your_mobile_phone_as_a_proximity_sensor.php) Last year we wrote a lot about sensors and discovered that there are two common scenarios for sensors + mobile phones: 1\) Everyday objects with sensors pumping out data on things like temperature, noise and activity; the mobile phone reads and analyzes this data. 2\) The phone is used as a sensor itself. For example the iPhone has a built-in [accelerometer](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3gs/high-technology.html), which is basically a motion detector. This is used for game control and also for re-sizing your iPhone display from portrait to landscape. The iPhone also has a microphone (which can be used as a noise sensor), a proximity sensor, and an ambient light sensor. ## iPhone as Sensor ![](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935im_/http://rww.readwriteweb.netdna-cdn.com/images/widenoise1.jpg)A good example of scenario 2 is [WideNoise](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.widetag.com/widenoise/), an iPhone application that [samples decibel noise levels](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/widenoise_monitor_noise_levels_iphone.php) and displays the data on an interactive map. WideNoise is essentially a sound sensor, using the iPhone’s microphone. You can take a sound reading on WideNoise and, if you so desire, share that with the community. I must admit that I haven’t found too much practical use for this app yet. However one of the use cases cited is checking it when house-hunting, to assess the average noise levels of the neighborhood. It’s one of those apps that will become more useful the more data is added to it by the community – but we all know that’s a hard thing to achieve for a young startup. ## Mobile Phones Reading Sensor Data ![](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935im_/http://rww.readwriteweb.netdna-cdn.com/images/cense_150.jpg)Sensors are rapidly growing as a source of data on the Web. A corollary is that sensor networks are an enormous opportunity for some of the big tech companies. In November we wrote about [HP’s CeNSE project](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/cense_hp_labs.php), which aims to be a “Central Nervous System for the Earth.” CeNSE is a research and development program to build a planetwide sensing network, using billions of what HP calls “tiny, cheap, tough and exquisitely sensitive detectors.” According to HP Labs, CeNSE sensors will enable real-time data collection, analysis and better decision making. And what will be a key tool for doing all of that? You guessed it, the mobile phone. Imagine for example getting a real-time update of traffic conditions on your mobile phone, via sensors on a major stretch of highway. Those are the two main ways that sensors and mobile phones are mixing currently. Let us know in the comments if you have a favorite mobile phone app that outputs or inputs sensor data. Also please share other use cases. *Image credits: [seizethedave](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.flickr.com/photos/zub/2572989799/); [raneko](https://web.archive.org/web/20120217143935/http://www.flickr.com/photos/raneko/3971359430/)* *Originally published on ReadWriteWeb ([archived copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040018/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/2010_trend_sensors_mobile_phones.php))*