Back in May 2007 we wrote that one of DHS’s ardent hopes is to develop a chemical and biological sensors small and cheap enough so they can be embedded in cell phones.
Back in May 2007 we wrote that one of DHS’s ardent hopes is to develop a chemical and biological sensors small and cheap enough so they can be embedded in cell phones. The combination of these sensors and GPS technology would turn millions of Americans into mobile human sensors, alerting the authorities to terrorist (or accidental) release of biological or chemical toxins.
This hope is now closer to realization, as
NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California,
demonstrated a first-generation laboratory prototypes of new technology that would bring chemical sensing capabilities to cell phones. The demonstration took place on 27 October at San Diego State University Regional Technology Center, San Diego, California.
Jing Li, a physical scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, along with other researchers working under the Cell-All program at DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), demonstrated their proofs of concept. Li has developed a device, designed to be plugged in to an iPhone, which collects sensor data and sends it to another phone or a computer via telephone communication network or Wi-Fi.
Cell-All is designed to provide greater chemical detection capabilities in cell phones. Cell phone owners could use their phone’s GPS to provide sensor location information to emergency operation centers. While still years from implementation, researchers are working on the proof of concept in cell phones and will provide a look at the state-of-the-science to date.
To see images of the cell phone sensors, go here.
Correction: In the story above we mistakenly describe the project as a “NASA project.” In fact, the Cell-All program is a DHS initiative, through the Science &Technology Directorate’s Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA). NASA is only one of three contracts DHS is workingwith to develop miniaturized chemical detectors that ultimately could be implanted in cell phones. When an alarm is triggered, the cell phones couldtransmit the alert and a GPS location to emergency response centers, allowing for faster response to save lives. DHS conducted a demonstration of allthree technologies on 27 October 2009 in San Diego.
