Jack Bauer Cellphone Network to Detect Nukes, Surveil Cities

Scientists and industry have been working together to create a global surveillance network.  It naturally weights itself to provide greater coverage for greater populations, contains more distributed computing power than the entirety of NASA, doesn't cost a single tax dollar and people waste it all talking about 'Lost'.  Yes, you and your cellphone friends are part of one of the most powerful network in the world and researchers at Purdue University have found a more important use for it than arguing about where to eat lunch.

Their design converts your local coverage area into a vast radiation detection grid, capable of thwarting the modern-day boogieman of nuclear terrorism once and for all.  You might think adding a directional nuclear detection rig to your handset would make it even more expensive than an iPhone, not to mention ruining the line of your pocket, and you'd be right.  The key to the system is the universality of mobile phones throughout the civilized world - rather than complicated detection components, a simple, light and very cheap "hotter/colder" solid state sensor in each handset is enough.  Data transmitted from each to a central computer (and it turns out mobile phones can send data pretty easily) allows a huge number of simple signals to accurately locate any radiation source.

They've already tested the system on their university campus using a number of simple detectors, an extremely weak radiation source, and a load of students who'd be hilariously and inaccurately outraged if they knew about it.  They are currently working on getting mobile phone manufacturers to incorporate the system into new phones.

They aren't the only ones harnessing this vast untapped surveillance resource.  Swiss researchers at the Institute for Pervasive Computing (which honestly couldn't sound more like it's helping the machines take over if it was called the Schwarzzeneger Center for Skynet production) have open-sourced a system called "Facet", using existing mobile phone cameras and bluetooth capabilities to create a vast CCTV network that could cover the globe.  We're sure some readers are already screaming "Big Brother" and alt-tabbing to their blog window to write about this evil new "Nokia 1984 phone", but before you power up your anarchizing alerts remember two things:

1) It's an extremely flattering delusion, but nobody actually cares enough to monitor you.  If nobody even comments on your blog, why would they invest millions to secretly surveil you?
2) They already know where you are - that tinfoil-helmet mail-order company is really a CIA front.

Expect an increasing number of these swarm-applications as companies wake up to the amazing potential of the system, a torrent of outraged and terrified editorials when the mainstream finally notices it's happening, and a top-rated Facebook application that hooks into it. Because if you thought people updating their status message once a minute was bad, wait until they can show you what they're doing every second.

Posted by Luke McKinney.

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Links:

Distributed radiation detectors (aka "You and your friends") http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080122154415.htm

Facet camera network http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/dn12861-cellphones-team-up-to-become-smart-cctv-swarm.html?feedId=online-news_rss20

Comments

[Andy]

That is cool but take a look at this: http://www.spymac.com/details/?2331213

[Ian Kemmish]

As usual, the basic flaw is even more obvious than that. Jihadists are even more accomplished at hacking mobile phones, to turn them into triggering devices, than are iPhone users. A few dozen people on a subway system, each carrying a handful of phones all sending out misleading radiation alerts, and bingo! You've closed down an entire city and probably panicked half its inhabitants.

[Donna]

Just because Big Brother isn't interested enough in you to track you right NOW doesn't mean he won't be at some point in the future -- maybe when you've awakened to the fact that all your liberties, guns, property, etc. are gone. If and when you find your voice, then he'll be interested in finding you, and the technology will be in place to help him do it.