One hundred telephone poles in Cambridge, MA, will soon host wireless sensors that will allow researchers to track weather more precisely, discover when and where pollution peaks, and test new technologies that could lead to better Wi-Fi.

Anyone will be able to run experiments using the sensor network, says Matt Welsh, a professor of computer science at Harvard University, who is one of the project's lead investigators. So far, there are five nodes apiece on the campuses of ­Harvard and BBN Technologies, which is partnering with Harvard on the project.