Air-Sniffing Cellphones Could Aid Chemical-Warfare Defense

A sensor in your cellphone could alert you to a toxic leak in your immediate vicinity -- or it could alert government officials to a major terrorist attack with a chemical weapon. Putting the crowdsourcing concept to work, it would be possible to assess the location, nature and the severity of such an attack in seconds. It's unclear how many citizens would want such a capability on their phones, however.
If the Department of Homeland Security has its way, cellphones will soon do more than transmit calls, GPS information and a host of data from the Web. They'll also monitor the air for toxic substances that could be part of a chemical warfare attack.
Anywhere a chemical threat breaks out -- a mall, a bus, subway, or office -- Cell-All will alert the authorities automatically. (Image by Paul Wedig. Click to enlarge.)
Just as antivirus software springs to life when it spies suspicious activity, so Cell-All, from the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), regularly sniffs the surrounding air for certain volatile chemical compounds.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Air-Sniffing-Cellphones-Could-Aid-Chemical-Warfare-Defense-69760.html