Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Phones that look for terrorist attacks

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 04:33:43 -0400

Phones that look for terrorist attacks

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 21-Apr-03

 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/8717.shtml

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