Insights
How the world's sensor networks actually work
Field notes on the public instrument networks StarFlash indexes — what the hardware measures, who operates it, and what the data is genuinely good for.
Weather stations: the oldest sensor network on EarthHow professional and amateur weather stations are built, who runs them, and why a 150-year-old instrument design still underpins aviation, farming and insurance.Air quality sensors: the citizen network that outgrew the official oneReference monitors cost six figures and there are a few hundred per country. Low-cost particulate sensors cost fifty dollars and there are tens of thousands. Both are needed, for different reasons.Parking sensors: the small magnet under the tarmacIn-ground occupancy sensors turn a parking bay into a live data point. How they detect a car, why cities deploy them, and the data trap that catches almost everyone using the feeds.