What: SunSPOTS talk and demo (not a sale pitch they promise)
Where: Sitterson 014
When: Thursday November 15th at 3:30
Who: Sun Labs’ David Simmons
More: David has hands-on experience in building applications for SunSPOTs and was instrumental in its design and development, will be on hand to offer his insight into this amazing product.
The SunSPOT (Small Programmable Object Technology) was developed in the Sun Labs and represents the future of embedded systems. Already used throughout academia, students and professors alike are finding new and interesting uses for SunSPOTs. Each SunSPOT comes equipped with a processor, memory, eight external tri-color LEDs, light sensors, temperature sensors, an seemingly countless practical uses.
At its core, a SunSPOT is an embedded system. But, unlike other embedded systems that must be programmed using a low-level language such as assembly or C, SunSPOT applications are developed in Java. By allowing Java applications to be uploaded and run on an internal Java Virtual Machine, Sun is not only opening up SunSPOTs to more users than many other embedded systems, it is also leaving the final function of each SunSPOT up to the end user. By following a simple API with which to interface the SunSPOT, developers nationwide have created unique uses for SunSPOTs – everything from animal research to rocket testing and much more!
Thanks for the tip. These are pretty amazing little devices. I recently starting using them, and I think it’s an easy and fun way to learn about sensors, and wireless mesh networks. The new web (beyond 2.0?) is very much going to be the ‘web of things’, and also going to include personal area networks, so SunSPOTS can help us get ahead of the curve, so to speak.
Hee! Don brought down one of our old JavaStations and wanted to take it to the talk. Thick as brick.
I’m learning about library budgets and can’t be at the talk.
Mike, take a look at ” When Things Start to Think” by Neil Gershenfeld and/or an of his recent work at the MIT Center for Bits and Atoms http://ng.cba.mit.edu/ including desktop fabrication. You’ll love it.