Getting to Know: Intelesense Technologies

What do they do?

Intelesense Technologies offers tools and support services for monitoring the environment and its inhabitants. A suite of three products: InteleCell, InteleView and InteleNet; provides sensor data and 3D visualization through an integrated global network. They have corporate offices in Hawaii, Research and Development in California, and field offices at each of their own research monitoring areas.

How it works

The InteleCell is a small wireless mobile device with GPS which can be connected to a large range of sensors and left unattended to monitor an area. InteleCells can also be used as handheld devices to collect data in the field. Multiple InteleCells link up over a long-distance radio signal to create a mesh network, the InteleNet. All of the data collected can be viewed in real time through the InteleView data visualization package.

There are many different sensors which can be connected to an InteleCell including moisture sensors, thermometers, gas sensors, weather stations, motion detectors, and heart rate monitors. In addition to the many sensors which InteleCell already supports, it is possible to hire their professional services department to create a customized driver for a different sensor.

Open Architecture/Open Source

The tools are built on an open architecture to allow import and export of data as well as customizations to meet special monitoring needs.

InteleView is a 3D world visualizer based on NASA open source World Wind software. InteleView adds authentication and encryption for security, better real-time data integration including alerts, and collaboration tools. Also, unlike World Wind, InteleView is server-based in order to consolidate disparate data into one location. Intelesense Technologies says in their Website that they commit to returning code back to the open source community and have returned patches and updates to World Wind.

A major draw to the Intelesense Technologies suite is the open georepository of data from all of the monitors on the global InteleNet network. While customers can choose to make any or all of their data private, the company encourages all of its users to allow public access to all of their collected data. This enables research on very large bodies of data across the globe, from global weather patterns to epidemic tracking.

What is it used for currently?

“The InteleNet combines disparate data sources such as weather, water quality and flow, soil moisture, animal biotelemetry, seismic and earth magnetic field readings, video, audio, GPS-mapped human field observations and field research data, and even human knowledge and historical information to capture the environment on a scale that has never been attempted before.”
Intelesense Technologies Website

The founders of Intelesense Technologies are Stanford researchers and former NASA engineers who were interested in environmental monitoring for the purpose of protection. Early uses of the InteleNet were for weather, sea and soil monitoring. Funding from the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (MRMC) Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center helped them expand their usefulness for medical monitoring and public health applications.

There are Intelesense Technologies-run deployments for environmental monitoring in more than ten locations in Asia, Africa, the Pacific, and the United States, with more scheduled or in planning stages.

In addition to the customer and research installations, Intelesense also takes part in educational programs, helping children connect with each other & understand environment.

Try InteleView

You can sign up on the website to request free trial access to InteleView.