] Moving Sensor Data onto the Internet
]
] A new XML encoding scheme may make it possible for you to
] remotely discover, access, and use real-time data
] obtained directly from Web-resident sensors, instruments,
] and imaging devices.
] ...
] Members of the Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC), including
] NASA, the National Imaging and Mapping Agency, and EPA,
] are developing a standard XML encoding scheme for
] metadata describing sensors, sensor platforms, sensor
] tasking interfaces, and sensor-derived data ...

Most interesting: SensorML aims to "archive fundamental properties and assumptions regarding sensor"

Sensors - April 2003 - A Sensor Model Language: Moving Sensor Data onto the Internet