New software must also make it possible to quickly acquire data and store it locally, passing back only parametric data.

Linking RFID with production tools in one of its semiconductor wafer fabrication plants allows IBM to track the production of each wafer, for more efficient fabrication and improved factory scheduling.

While the ZigBee specification has been ratified, the product certification process is yet being developed. Still, vendors continue to fill the pipeline with products that are "ZigBee ready"—i.e., conform to the IEEE's 802.15.4 standard—and to make other announcements that will position them as leaders in this space.

The term "data model" refers to the way in which information flows through a network. Here are five major data models, each appropriate for a particular type of application.

3e Technologies International (3eTI, www.3eti.com) is teaming with OMNEX Control Systems Inc. (www.omnexcontrols.com) and Phoenix Contact (www.phoenixcon.com) to develop highly secure wireless products for industry using DoD-proven technology. The partnership expands OMNEX Controls' Trusted Wireless Ethernet product line (sold by Phoenix Contact) by incorporating 3eTI's FIPS 140-2 validated encryption technology, which is certified for use by the U.S. government and deployed by the military. The Trusted Wireless IEEE 802.11b/g Ethernet products promise secure wireless communications for process control signals for applications in such industries as utilities, auto manufacturing, petrol-chemical, and food processing.

In compliance with the time schedule established many months ago, the ZigBee Alliance (www.zigbee .org) has ratified the first ZigBee specification for wireless data communications. ZigBee is the only standards-based data communications protocol specifically designed to enable low-cost, low-power, wireless sensor networks. The spec finalization is the culmination of two years of worldwide development and interoperability testing by the more than 100 member companies within the ZigBee Alliance, and it promises to make wireless sensing and control networks a widespread reality. In fact, that ratification was the basis for rosy projections of wireless sensor growth that futurists and market researchers have made. For instance, ON World Inc.'s (www.onworld.com) projection of 465.58 million RF modules implemented for sensor networking by the year 2010 was based on the assumption of Q4 2004 ratification of the ZigBee spec. And by the way, ON World estimates that ZigBee-based modules will account for nearly 78% of..

It's happened. The event upon which rosy projections of wireless sensor growth is based—completion of the ZigBee spec—has taken place. If the futurists and market researchers are right, we're about to rocket up the hockey-stick slope to wireless utopia.

IEEE 802.15.4–compliant radios are entering the market. But can you trust their spec sheets to give you an honest indication of how they'll actually perform?

When it comes to hauling heavy loads around, underbuilt equipment will likely break itself, its cargo—and its operator. On the other hand, overbuilt gear is expensive and a waste of material. The same holds true of buildings, bridges, and other structures. But how do you get accurate, real-time data on the way something is performing under variable load conditions?