In the movie, Superman, Superman spun the earth around to reverse time so Louis Lane could escape a driving tragedy. Nowadays we do not need Superman to avoid catastrophe? We can sense the conditions of roads miles before we get there.



Spiderman uses his ?Spidey-sense? to alert him of transgressions. We have our own sixth sense? We can learn of criminal actions without anyone being there to witness the event.

We are acquiring more superpowers with each passing day. It is not a result of global warming or some unknown bacteria in the water? it comes from sensor technology.

Answers from the previously unknown

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear, does it make a sound? We all have heard that frustrating question before. Now we know the answer is a resounding, ?yes.?

Sensors have been deployed in all kinds of areas and situations giving us information that was not previously available. From jungles, to space, to oceans, sensors have been providing us with intelligence.

Sensors can assess pathogens at the molecular level or the rotation of planets in orbit. We can see the day-to-day or year-to-year impact of our development from space on the Amazon, Mexico City, or Las Vegas.

How have we become superhuman?

Four things have facilitated the growth of our superhuman strength:

- More sensors are becoming wireless, so they can be used anywhere.

-Sensors are able to operate on less power (some even extracting the power from their immediate environment).

-Sensors are becoming smaller and smaller. The latest sensors are the size of a pinhead.

-Sensors are working together. Sensors are being formed into networks, relating information to one another and ultimately to us. Think of the world as being one big Internet with information becoming accessible from anywhere at any time.

What the future will be like

Sensors will enable real time viewing of all places at any time. Sensors will be on our street in our forests, on our corners, in our houses, and on our clothing. It has already begun, and each passing moment invites more opportunities for sensor advancement?