Cell phones: nuclear terrorism sensors?

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists are developing a system that uses cell phones to detect and track radiation to prevent attacks with nuclear weapons.

Purdue University researchers said such a network could blanket the nation with millions of cell phones equipped with radiation sensors able to detect even light residues of radioactive material.

Since cell phones already contain global positioning system locators, the network would serve as a tracking system, said physics Professor Ephraim Fischbach. "It's meant to be small, cheap and eventually built into laptops, personal digital assistants and cell phones."

Fischbach said the sensors don't perform the detection task individually.

"The collective action of the sensors, combined with the software analysis, detects the source," he said. "The system would transmit signals to a data center, and the data center would transmit information to authorities without alerting the person carrying the phone.

"Say a car is transporting radioactive material for a bomb. … As the car passes people, their cell phones individually would send signals to a command center, allowing authorities to track the source."

The Purdue Research Foundation owns patents associated with the technology.