Buildings that "detune" themselves during an earthquake to prevent collapse. Water systems that automatically detect sabotage and can then isolate the danger. These are among the possible breakthroughs to be pioneered by a new UCLA research center with a vision and a mission: to create a new generation of wireless sensing technologies.

Just as UCLA was the first node on the ARPANET, a computer network that was the precursor to the Internet, researchers say the next incarnation of the Internet — a total communications system permeating the physical world — will be developed at the newly established UCLA Center for Embedded Networked Sensing.

The center will receive up to $40 million over the next 10 years from the National Science Foundation.

Embedded networked sensing systems will use tiny devices — called sensors and actuators — that can be densely distributed within a natural or man-made environment to monitor and collect information on such diverse subjects as plankton colonies; endangered species; contaminants in soil and air; artificial structures such as buildings and airplane wings — even to gather physiological information about medical patients.

"This technology will help us connect the physical world just like the Internet has allowed us to connect the world of computers," said Deborah Estrin, a UCLA computer science professor who will direct the center. "Not only will we be able to collect information not available before, but this will allow us to design systems to automatically take action once a pollutant, structural failure or other hazard is detected."

A multidisciplinary group of computer scientists, electrical engineers, biologists and geophysicists are involved with the center. Approximately 20 UCLA faculty, as well as faculty from USC, UC Riverside, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech make up the research team. Professors from almost every department at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science are taking part, as well as UCLA researchers in biology; earth sciences; education and information studies; and the California NanoSystems Institute.

Initially, the center will concentrate on developing the fundamental technology to create the sensor networks. To make sure the networks will be able to operate without constant human supervision, researchers will focus on developing devices that can organize themselves into a network, repair themselves and manage their own power consumption.

Then working together with scientists in other fields, computer scientists and engineers will apply the networks in four physical areas: the environment and its biological diversity; earthquake-prone structures; pollutant flows through water and land; and detection of tiny organisms that contaminate the oceans and coastal waters.

The center's earthquake project, for example, includes broadening a network of earthquake monitors installed in the 17-story Factor Building.

Other projects will develop sensors to study noxious algae blooms known as "brown tides," create a remote habitat sensor network in Riverside County and fashion devices that can monitor contaminant flow through soil, water and air pollution.