As far as I can tell, any floor can be embedded with smart rfid , whether it is carpet or tile.Carpet maker goes underfoot with RFID -- March 27, 2006
"Vorwerk & Co is launching a textile flooring underlay equipped with RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, Vorwerk spokesman Thomas Weber says.
In its next step, the company aims to connect the RFID tags to form an intelligent network that can track movements and respond, [ Ed: remotely controlled ] according to Weber.
The RFID-enabled flooring underlay is the result of a “thinking carpet” project Vorwerk & Co launched in partnership with German chip maker Infineon Technologies in 2003.
The smart-floor underlay can be used to perform a number of tasks, such as navigating automated transport systems in buildings, Weber says[ Ed: what about those automated robots ( see article below ) ? ]
In a first step, together with robot manufacturer InMach Intelligente Maschinen, Vorwerk is offering a bundled “smart-floor” package consisting of the RFID-enabled underlay, robots and software.
The underlay enables robots to orient themselves in a room and move towards precise targets on the floor, using information stored in the embedded RFID tags, Weber says.
REMOTE CONTROL
Systems administrators can manage the robots from a central point, sending data to them from a control PC, via wi-fi or Bluetooth, he says.
The RFID tags consist of a microchip joined to an antenna coil and attached to an ultra-thin sheet of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic. Each tag has its own ID number, which can be detected and identified by the robot’s integrated RFID reader from up to 10cm away. The power required for reading the tags is supplied by the robot; the tags are passive, requiring no electrical voltage.
The networked tags could be used to help secure floors from intruders
[ Ed : identification, tracking, monitoring, surreptitious surveillance ;
anywhere there are smart floors such as in government buildings, banks, stores, schools, homes etc. ]
or detect nursing home patients who have fallen on the floor, he says. [ Ed: alert mechanisms ] "
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/tech/7C63B4B2AA001FE8CC25713B000ADBCE
I wonder if this remote control will work with robo-roach ?
Robo-Roach : Photos and many links included
http://www.conceptlab.com/roachbot/DARPA's Spy Flies ( MAVS )
http://www.robots.org/MAVBots.htmHi- MEMS ( hybrid micro-electro mechanical systems )
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=571Smart Dust
So, how small is small in this brave new world? Well, the entire computer locking device is about the size of a shirt button. And some researchers, including Karen Markus of the MEMS program at MCNC, a publicly funded technology incubator in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, believe that MEMS particles, equipped with sensors, processors, and communications elements, will easily be able to operate as complete surveillance systems, or "smart dust
http://www.thebulletin.org/article.php?art_ofn=jf99rothsteinIn January, the Administration said that one of their highest prioroties will be the advancement of nanotechnology.
All of the above falls into that category.