A novel, unobtrusive and wearable, multiparameter ambulatory physiologic monitoring system for space and terrestrial applications, termed LifeGuard, is presented. The core element is a wearable monitor, the crew physiologic observation device (CPOD), that provides the capability to continuously record two standard electrocardiogram leads, respiration rate via impedance plethysmography, heart rate, hemoglobin oxygen saturation, ambient or body temperature, three axes of acceleration, and blood pressure. These parameters can be digitally recorded with high fidelity over a 9-h period with precise time stamps and user-defined event markers. Data can be continuously streamed to a base station using a built-in Bluetooth RF link or stored in 32 MB of on-board flash memory and downloaded to a personal computer using a serial port. The device is powered by two AAA batteries. The design, laboratory, and field testing of the wearable monitors are described.

Monitoring vital signs in applications that require the subject to be mobile requires small, lightweight, and robust sensors and electronics. A body-worn system should be unobtrusive, noninvasive, and easy-to-use. It must be able to log vital signs data for several hours as well as transmit it on demand in real-time using secure wireless technologies. The NASA Ames Research Center (Astrobionics) and Stanford University (National Center for Space Biological Technologies) are currently developing a wearable physiological monitoring system for astronauts, called LifeGuard, that meets all of the above requirements and is also applicable to clinical, home-health monitoring, first responder and military applications.

The vision of an integrated Earth observation system to help protect and sustain the planet and its inhabitants is significant and timely, and thus has been identified recently by many organizations. Clearly, the societal benefits of global integrated monitoring are many: to understand how environment and humans are linked, to protect and monitor resources (water supply, weather, oceans) and predict and adapt to their change, to provide for sustainable development, and to reduce costs/impacts of disasters and provide for an effective and intelligent response.The requirements of such a system are that it be able to collect observations (remote sensing/satellite data and in-situ sensors), manage data 1,3 (archive, model), interface with users (user-and context-specific display), and that it enhance human capacity by providing for research/training, collaboration and ultimately decision support. Further, in order to be effective, it must also be easily usable by a wide cross section of users, provide for advanced analysis and visualization with interaction and collaboration tools over the Internet; be open source, protocol, and information; and future-proof, modular and extendable as new needs and technologies arise.Intelesense Technologies was spun off from Stanford University to provide worldwide integrated monitoring of the environment and its' inhabitants, to understand their interrelationships and improve our ability to protect the planet and its people. A global network of wireless sensor devices transmit their data to gridbased computing servers where they are integrated with hundreds of thousands of other data sources to help to better understand their interrelationships. This data, along with thousands of sources from NASA, USGS, Google, and others are provided within a federated, open system of systems, with a collaborative, worldwide GIS portal to provide interactive exploration of the world and its data. The goal is to collaborate across government, academia, and with industrial partners to empower the researcher, scientist, and policymaker with data, analysis, and information leading to a better understanding.

Monitoring the complex environmental relationships and feedbacks of ecosystems on catchment (or mountain)-to-sea scales is essential for social systems to effectively deal with the escalating impacts of expanding human populations globally on watersheds. However, synthesis of emerging technologies into a robust observing platform for the monitoring of coupled human-natural environments on extended spatial scales has been slow to develop. For this purpose, the authors produced a new cyberinfrastructure for environmental monitoring which successfully merged the use of wireless sensor technologies, grid computing with three-dimensional (3D) geospatial data visualization/exploration, and a secured internet portal user interface, into a working prototype for monitoring mountain-to-sea environments in the high Hawaiian Islands. A use-case example is described in which native Hawaiian residents of Waipa Valley (Kauai) utilized the technology to monitor the effects of regional weather variation on surface water quality/quantity response, to better understand their local hydrologic cycle, monitor agricultural water use, and mitigate the effects of lowland flooding.

Wireless sensors offer the advantage of minimizing physical constrains on the monitored environment and thus enable various embedded applications where conventional monitoring is not possible or desirable. On the other hand, wireless sensors must meet the challenges of compact size, low power consumption, and limited bandwidth. This workshop will address the issues of using wireless devices in physiological monitoring, including design constrains on single-chip Doppler radars, minimizing power consumption in wireless sensor networks, Bluetooth enabled wearable sensors, and development of millimeter wave components that will enable use of that part of the spectrum for future wireless networks.xv