University of California Professor, Steven Glaser, hoped to build the world's biggest sensor network. The system would involve 7,500 devices that would inform government agencies and experts about crucial data for the state planners as well as farmers. Details on the amount of water that California possesses in its coffers could be detected through the system.

Glaser has been testing the network since February. The current undertaking would be among the biggest test of this latest type of sensor. The gadgets used by Glaser were equipped with Linear Technology Corp and Cypress Semiconductor Corp's silicon. The silicon, in turn, makes the device into a mini-computer. The gadgets were also capable of monitoring the data's quality and performing advanced calculations.

Transparency Market Research said that the sale of these new kind of sensors would rise 10% each year. It could potentially reach US$6.9 billion in 2018. According to WinterGreen, the market for the sensors that were integrated with processors would reach 2.8 trillion units in 2019. The figure was up from this year's 65 million unitd. The research organization also added that the sensors would be no bigger than a pinhead.