May 16, 2010
Silicon 'nose' turns cell phones into toxin detectors
According to CNet, San Diego's The University of California and a startup called Rhevision, are working a tiny silicon chip that can be embedded in cell phones that will detect and then map the location and extent of gas leaks and toxins in the air.
The sensor, described in the university's news release as a porous flake of silicon that works like a nose, changes color when it comes into contact with specific chemicals, which can be searched for by manipulating the shape of the pores so that they respond to specific chemical traits.
A megapixel camera smaller than a pencil eraser captures the image from the chip's array of nanopores, and the resulting images, seen through a supermacro lens developed by Rhevision, come into focus through changes in fluid instead of a typical lens' moving parts.
Just last month, PhysOrg.com reported on Cell-All, a technology in development by Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate, that aims to equip cell phones with a sensor capable of detecting deadly chemicals.
And other variations have been in the works since 2003:
-- Cell-All could put chemical sensors everywhere (2009) - New technology that would add chemical sensing capabilities to cell phones .
-- Radiation detectors in your cell phone (2008) - Purdue University is developing sensors which fit inside a cell phone that can detect radiation, and thus perhaps stop the detonation of a nuclear bomb by terrorists is a bit outlandish to my way of thinking.
-- Saving the World With Cell Phones (2005) - As cell phones evolve to include souped-up games, streaming video and MP3 players, some University of California at Berkeley professors and graduate students want to slip a pollution detector into the mix.
-- Phones that detect terrorist attacks (2003) - 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.
-- PCell phone could warn of gas leaks (2003) - 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.
-- :Cell Phones - For so much more than just talking (2003) ... And down the road, research is working on cell phones which can warn of gas leaks (thanks to sensors that verify changes in the atmosphere) and cell phones that will be able to warn about the presence of bacteria and viruses (thanks to bio-sensors) or detect dirty bombs (thanks to detectors that can upload information to a central database).
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2010/05/026012.htm
| Tweet |
