Software-defined sensing

Inspired by software-defined networking, which has replaced many of the physical features of network switches and routers and radios with code, the SAGE project is an NSF-funded effort to design and build a new infrastructure for collecting and analyzing very large volumes of data on environmental and urban conditions that shifts much of the processing to the sensors themselves. " SAGE will explore new techniques for applying machine learning algorithms to data from such intelligent sensors and then build reusable software that can run programs within the embedded computer and transmit the results over the network to central computer servers. Sage will develop open source computer code and provide open hardware design documents. "

This points towards a future in which intelligent sensors that can be rapidly retooled—and even adapt themselves in real-time—for changing applications and conditions, will become the norm.