NASA ESTO studies addressing sensor web concepts can be found at the ESTO web site (http://esto.nasa.gov/AIST-ROSES) – A Notional Sensor Web Concept / JPL, IS Technologies for a Hazard Monitoring and Mitigation System Using Sensor Webs / Draper Labs, and IS Technologies for 5-day Weather Forecasting Using Sensor Webs / GSFC. The following terms are offered to describe the concepts encompassed by the proposed sensor web approaches:
- Sensors measure the physical properties of interest to scientists and are packaged in instruments which control the sensor and acquire the observation data
- A platform provides the self-contained power, navigation, physical support, computing, storage and communications infrastructure for:
- One or more scientific sensors (space-based or in-situ)
- Data processing and/or modeling capability
- The communications network (i.e., media, topologies, protocols and devices) permits inter-/intra-platform communications
- A sensor web is a system composed of multiple platforms interconnected by the communication network for the purpose of performing specific observations and processing data required to support specific science goals. It is a networked set of instruments and analysis platforms sharing information in which sensor behavior is modified based on that shared information and the specific science goals.
The goal of the sensor web approach is to employ new data acquisition strategies and systems for integrated Earth sensing that are responsive to environmental events for both application and scientific purposes. Sensor webs can achieve science objectives beyond the abilities of a single platform by:
- Reducing response time (where events unfold rapidly or where time is otherwise constrained)
- Increasing the scientific value, quantity, or quality of the observation (where unique science criteria are met, or when co-incident observations are possible) by enabling collaboration among sensing and analysis assets.
- Workflow management - to plan, monitor and control resources
- Resource management - to allocate sensors, processing streams, models
- Situation awareness - to detect and/or predict events
- Information management - to transform and exchange data.
- The remote sensing components in the sensing system, which performs the data acquisition (e.g., spacecraft), system control (whether autonomous or externally provided), and processing (science data product) elements
- The communications components supporting connectivity among sensors and between sensors and processing and control.
The other major systems interacting with the sensor web address:
- Science research analysis and data assimilation in the prediction models and analysis tools
- Data utilization and applications in decision support systems
- Planning and scheduling with systems beyond the sensing and processing resources of the sensor web system (e.g., partner nation remote sensing assets).