 switch to a Xemics XE1202 single-chip transceiver for its pro- duction models. "It has higher power output and a more sensitive receiver," says Bryan. A pair of companies supplies MiniTalker's sensors. The temperature/ humidity sensor comes from EME Systems of Berkeley, California. Norwood, Massachusetts-based Analog Devices provides an accelerometer for vibration sensing. Production models may include other sensors from other vendors. "We're looking at little, tiny stuff," says Bryan. Turney predicts that MiniTalker and other future mesh WLANs will create a growing market for sensors that can measure sound, light, gas, liquid, and various other levels. "There will be a large demand for sensors," he says. Will MiniTalker fly in the market as well as on aircrafts? Turney foresees "almost limitless" growth for the WLAN market and its suppliers. He says he's not sure that mesh WLANs will ever be as cheap as RFID. "But for lots of applications for which you need more intelligence, I see this as a big opportunity," he says. MESH NETWORKS Thilo Koslowski, lead automotive analyst for GartnerG2, the business strategy division of Gartner, also believes that mesh WLANs have strong potential. "We will have devices, products, technology that will talk to each other." But he notes that it's not easy for a single start-up to jump-start an entire market. "It's very difficult for one small company to really push for that," he says. 3.7.1 Emergency Mesh Mesh networks can also be used to protect people. Toxic clouds, whether caused by an industrial accident, transportation mishap, or terrorist attack, can threaten any metropolitan area. But a new telecom-driven defense technology, currently being planned by researchers at Cornell University, promises to help local authorities determine the extent and direction of a chemical- or biological-based outbreak. With this technology, helicopters are into affected areas and then release flurries of tiny devices-each about the size of a dime. Analysts will be able to determine with these d