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Also by this reporterAs 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.
They are working to develop cheap wireless sensors that, once fitted inside cell phones, could sniff out anything from biological weapons to traffic patterns. While the sensors might not be a typical cell-phone add-on, those involved in the research claim the sheer number of mobile phones in use could make such a system a boon for worldwide data collection and problem solving.
Wireless sensors are already used throughout the world to track things like landslides and pollution. These can be expensive, though, thanks to costs for batteries and radios. R.J. Honicky, a computer science Ph.D. student working on the software components of the project, estimates a single sensor with battery and radio costs about $70.
As a result, the costs of deploying wireless sensors can be prohibitive in cash-strapped developing countries, where pollution and traffic are rising and changing -- and arguably most in need of measurement.
Enter cell phones, which already come equipped with a radio mechanism and battery, and increasingly include GPS capabilities. According to accounting and consulting company Deloitte & Touche, about 2 billion people will be cell-phone subscribers by 2006.
Why not harness that power, using cell phones to keep an eye on and even fix anything from traffic congestion to disease to radiation, reasoned Honicky and his adviser, Richard Newton, dean of UC Berkeley's College of Engineering.
"If you have data coming from cell phones, you have both very, very large scale (and) very fine granularity. So you can have very fine, detailed readings in a sensor area," Honicky said.
While the sensor work is still very much in the idea phase, some work has been done to make it a reality. Honicky has built and tested a demo that had him using a Motorola phone and GPS to map cell-phone signals across the UC Berkeley campus.
Next steps will include developing a database to store sensor information and determining how information should be sent from phones to a central place, Newton said. They'll also have to determine how to get a better reading on where sensor data is coming from, as GPS readings can be off by about 30 feet, he said.
A mechanical engineering professor is also working with several graduate students to assemble the actual sensors, he said.
Right now, a phone is being put together with a carbon-monoxide sensor that Honicky will begin testing in September. This type of sensor is being used first because they are easy to find, inexpensive and reliable, Newton said. Because carbon monoxide can be lethal in high doses, monitoring for its presence could immediately help save lives.
They'd like to have a test run of about 200 people using sensor-equipped phones around the UC Berkeley campus in about a year, Honicky said.
They also need to figure out how to account for differences in screwy sensor readings that could occur from users having phones in their pockets or bags. He's using a computer simulation to see how people carry their phones around, he said.
Eventually, the hope is that one or more sensors could be fitted inside cell phones, said Honicky. He and Newton are hoping a sensor would add only about $1 to the cost of the phone.
"The cost component means this might bring data within reach of developing countries where it might not be otherwise," Honicky said.
Already, the sensor work has garnered some interest from the cell-phone industry. Newton said he's spoken with UC Berkeley alum and Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs, as well as others at Samsung he declined to name.
"Particularly Qualcomm is very open-minded about the use of the cell phone in many, many different ways," he said. "They would see this as somewhat obvious in a way. It's sort of one more application for their cell-phone platform."
Jacobs could not be reached for comment.
Even if cell-phone manufacturers bite on the idea, Honicky and Newton know consumers could have privacy concerns. Newton said sensor data should be taken anonymously, and that consumers should have to opt in -- not out -- of using a phone-based sensor. Honicky wants any data collected to be publicly available on the internet.
"Nobody is going to let the government deploy radiation sensors in their homes," Honicky said. "But if people feel they're protecting their safety, they might be wiling to put a radiation sensor in their cell phones."
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