Cellphone sniffs out dirty bombs

New Scientist reports that a smart phone that can detect radiation may soon be helping the police to find the raw materials for radioactive "dirty bomb" before they are deployed.

"LLNL engineers funded by the US Department of Homeland Security have turned a multi-function internet cellphone into a wireless sensor that will feed data into a new type of radiation monitoring network that they are calling a RadNet.

The phone transmits radiation readings continuously over an always-on internet connection to a central computer. A GPS receiver in the phone labels the data with a time and location, allowing it to be used to build up a radiation map of a particular area."

Related articles:

-- Phones that detect terrorist attacks - A newly opened research center at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA is developing a cell phone that can also detect "dirty bombs" by containing detectors that then upload their information to a central database.

-- Cell phone could warn of gas leaks - A mobile phone able to warn against fire, leakage of methane or other types of toxic gas has been submitted to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office for patent.

"In the future, the mobile phones might also include biosensors, which will warn about the presence of bacteria, viruses, toxins, micro-organisms, radiations, nuclear particles and explosive powder."

emily | 12:58 PM | Technology |
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2004/12/006328.htm