Localizer (fictional device)

A localizer is a fictional device in the works of Vernor Vinge, such as "A Deepness in the Sky". These are tiny devices, powered by microwave pulses, which can contain a simple processor, sensors, and short-range communications. Vinge explores how wireless mesh networking of these simple devices in a mobile ad-hoc network can be put to use in ways quite different from traditional computer networks. "See smartdust for a similar idea."