He aims to develop a panoply of microscopic-scale nanotech devices that will be able to measure essentially anything – and at low cost to boot. Viruses, bacteria, the chemical composition of molecules, vibration, moisture levels, particular sounds – these are just some of the things that the super-cheap devices he envisions will be able to detect. “A very tiny laser would light up and we could look at the optical spectra of chemicals. Each one is like a fingerprint, with a unique spectral identity. That would be a single universal detector.” Though a laser capable of such a task would today cost around $100, they can eventually be produced for about 10 cents.

the planet-scale sensorweb is coming. baby steps towards the angelnet. An angelnet is any all-pervasive distributed processing supervision and safety infrastructure.