In 1999, work started on MEMS (Micro-Electromechanical Systems) at the University of California, Berkley. The aim was to produce a sensing, computing and communicating system in a one cubic millimetre size. These dust motes, dubbed Smart Dust, could be scattered or carried in the air forming a sensor web covering a wide area.
The project closed in 2001 having reached a mote size of a few cubic millimetres.
Certainly, there was a lot of R&D activity in the next size up – the insect size. So, the next time you take a swipe at a Bluebottle fly remember it may just be doing a TV audience survey!
The distributed intelligence idea is interesting though.
Henry Ford is attributed with the complaint that whenever he hired a pair of hands, he got a brain too. Of course, these days we recognise that you cannot run a successful organisation without using all the brains you employ.
Is there a similarity between the distributed intelligence of MEMS and using the brains of your people in the organisation?
The people working the process should be the experts and sense first-hand the results. Their brains can compute data and they can communicate simply to their peers or their managers.
This is a huge amount of information to manage promptly. There are two solutions to managing this information.
The most common solution is to ignore it totally, perhaps channelling the information into a Suggestion Scheme to limit the flow of information.
The better way is to establish delegated authority at each level, commensurate with the detailed information content.
The manager’s role is delegating “who takes the decision” instead of taking the decisions himself.
Stafford Beer’s book, “The Brain of the Firm” has a fascinating insight into delegated authority.
How do you use the intelligence you pay for?