Saving the World With Cell Phones

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.

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.

By Rachel Metz

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