Smartphones Open Doors, Detect Dirty Bombs and Now Sniff for Toxin Chemicals

So what can smartphones not do? In Japan, you can buy a vendor meal. In the U.S., some phones can open doors for a level of access control. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is studying a plan to plant radiation detection into consumer phones so that they call to indicate the coverage of a dirty bomb attack.

And now there is an iPhone app to alert to deadly chemicals. Scientists at NASA’s Ames Research Center, working with DHS, have created a portable chemical sniffer. It’s about the size of a postage stamp, can plug into 30-pin dock connectors, and can quickly detect airborne traces of ammonia, chlorine gas, and methane. The device senses chemicals in the air using a “sample jet” and a multiple-channel silicon-based sensing chip, which consists of 16 nanosensors, and sends detection data to another phone or a computer via telephone communication network or Wi-Fi.

Got an idea for another security use of a cellphone or smartphone? Email zaludreport@bnpmedia.com

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In this podcast, Bill Lawrence, director of Service Solutions and Platforms for ADT Security Services, explains the growing interest in video surveillance by both government agencies as well as businesses of every stripe. He discusses what any organization should consider before investing heavily in the technology. Lawrence is a 25-year veteran of both the information technology and physical security industries, with extensive experience in network video surveillance and physical security convergence.

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