Wildfires, river basins, tsunami alerts, and environmental risk management are just some of the projects using OGC's interoperability framework for Web-based access and control of sensors and sensor data.

In an increasingly wired world, knitting together data from disparate sources into an interoperable whole can present disaster managers and first responders with critical information during a major emergency or crisis. Building on a vendor-neutral interoperability framework for Web-based discovery, access, control, integration, and visualization of online sensors, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) tested this idea in a December 2006 disaster response demo.

Advance warning, leading to community preparedness and potential evacuation, is the best way to mitigate the effects of natural disasters," says Frank Koester, vice president and director of ITT Space Systems Div., Commercial and Space Science Programs.

Wireless sensor networks seem to be everywhere. Technology magazines talk about them. Universities offer courses on the topic. Companies, both large and small, are working aggressively to push the development of these systems. Despite this interest and activity, such systems have not yet achieved the broad adoption envisioned by pundits and anticipated by engineers. Before this technology can attain its expected ubiquity, more effort is required to identify and satisfy real-world needs.

New software tools now make it possible to integrate sensor technology with an overall information framework. This eliminates worries about integration headaches or cumbersome architecture revisions.