From Old English mot, and akin to Middle Dutch and Fris meaning sand or grit. 1. A speck of dust or other tiny particle. 2. In telecommunications, a wireless sensor so tiny as to compare to a speck of dust. About the size of a grain of sand, a mote comprises sensors, a processor, a bidirectional antenna, and a power supply.Also known as smart dust, future applications for motes are many.The military is developing motes that can be spread from the air to gather and transmit information about enemy troop movements. Civil engineers intend to embed motes in concrete to monitor and report on the condition of bridges and roadways. Spread around a warehouse housing weapons, financial records, or other sensitive materials, motes can be used to sense and report security violations.The ZigBee Alliance is involved in the development of standards for mote mesh networking. See also ZigBee and ZigBee Alliance.