DHS Wants Cell Phones to Detect Chemical, Radioactive Material

This is a cool idea!

CQ Homeland Security - DHS Wants Cell Phones to Detect Chemical, Radioactive Material: "John P. Peters, president and CEO of Gentag, said he first began thinking about combining radiation sensors and personal detection equipment, such as GPS functions in cell phones, in 1996.

“We’ve been thinking of this technology for a long time,” he said. “After Sept. 11 [terrorist attacks], I said ‘Hey, we really need to expand this concept. . . . What you really want is to put inexpensive scanners out there.’ ”

In Sept. 2006, Gentag received a patent for a flexible, cost-effective detection system using “electronic devices such as mobile phones, PDAs or watches, in combination with new microsensor technologies.”

“Because of the broad and ubiquitous use and distribution of mobile phones and watches, the technology will maximize the chances of an encounter between the bearer of a modified personal device and a potential threat,” the patent says."