Those, incidentally, allow marketers to measure the direction and velocity of consumer values and expectations at least 12 months in advance of the marketplace.
With further modifications to the system's image-processing software, the team said it believed the same technology could be used to measure an object's speed and direction.
"Through embedded sensors, the probes can measure a tornado's wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, humidity, and temperature, " the magazine wrote.
Mr Obama also took a half-step in the direction of bringing down costs through the Republicans' favoured measure: tackling the huge costs of doctors' legal liabilities.