This amorphous architecture is unique since it is both synchronous and router-free, making it distinct from the more typical TCP/IP-like network schemes.
A pod as a physical platform for a sensor can be orbital or terrestrial, fixed or mobile and might even have real time accessibility via the Internet.
For example, instead of having uncoordinated smoke detectors, a sensor web can react as a single, spatially dispersed, fire locator.
In some cases, a pod will have an attached removable memory unit (such as a USB stick or a laptop) that stores collected data.
Early papers referenced the mother pod as "a prime node" if it additionally contained special hardware for a particular type of input/output device (say an RF modem).
[16] Sensor webs consisting of pods have been deployed that have spanned miles and run continuously for years.
[17] Sensor webs have been fielded in harsh environments (including deserts, mountain snowpacks, and Antarctica)[18] for the purposes of environmental science and have also proved valuable in urban search and rescue and infrastructure protection.