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.
In the future, customs agents, police and other workers could carry cell phones that double as radiation detectors and serve as part of a vast, nationwide detection network. This device and more than a dozen other advanced technologies to detect clandestine nuclear materials or nuclear devices are under development at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Under development for six months, RadNet is based on small detector units that will feature the capabilities of a cell phone, radiation sensor, Personal Digital Assistant, Internet access and a Global Positioning System locator.
The RadNet units would be deployed as part of a wide network that would report and transmit data about the possible location of clandestine nuclear materials or devices.
"In effect, all of the phones operating at any time are part of one large detector that is spread out throughout an entire geographic area," Labov explained.
Along with being lightweight and able to operate at low power, each unit would have sufficient energy resolution to distinguish between different types of radioactive materials, such as medical isotopes, industrial sources or "dirty bomb" materials.
"This is a device that people will use because people want other capabilities, like cell phones," Labov said. "They'll take care of them and they'll keep the batteries charged."
In addition to use by police and customs agents, the cell phone radiation detectors could be deployed with firefighters, utility workers, hazmat teams and others.
Prototypes of the device are expected to be ready in a few months.
Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a national security laboratory, with a mission to ensure national security and apply science and technology to the important issues of our time. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration."
Posted to the site on 21st April 2003
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