Pachube (pronounced “patchbay”) has developed a sensor gateway that collects data feeds in many different formats and converts them into commonly used standards in real time. The company wants to kick-start a revolution in new apps and services by providing ways for anyone to share and access all this sensor data.

Pachube processes six million data points per day, and recently built its own cloud-based storage platform to handle a growing amount of data. The company converts sensor data that arrives in a unique format such as text strings related to a home automation system, or the AI commands for a robot, into more useable formats.

Pachube charges $2 per month for accessing large quantities of data and hopes to encourage more companies to open access to sensors by showing them how useful sensor feeds can be. After the Japanese earthquake and nuclear disaster last month, developers used feeds from automated radiation sensors to create tools for monitoring radiation levels.