iPhone Geiger Counters Help Japanese Detect Radiation
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CREDIT: Pieter Franken |
While there are constant reports about the radiation levels in Japan, the data can be difficult to understand — and even harder to organize. The Radiation Detection Hardware Network (RDTN) hopes to change that by providing radiation detectors to citizens and encouraging them to record and share their findings.
The organization's project, which is currently receiving donations to fund their project on the website Kickstarter.com, will use an iPhone that has been modified to work with two different Geiger counters the group will be supplying. Their hope is to build up to 600 Geiger counter devices that will be deployed to Japan.
Japanese residents who accept these counters will be required to take readings eight to ten times a day and report their data back to RDTN's website. The readings will be compiled by RDTN and made accessible to non-profit organizations, governments and scientists.
RDTN hopes that scientists and nuclear experts will use the information gathered by citizens to provide context and explanations for lay people. The information will be available through multiple outlets.
"The data captured from these devices will feed into the RDTN.org website and will also be made available for others to use via Pachube, an open-source platform for monitoring sensor data globally," according to RDTN’s website.
The first sensor has already been deployed (April 14) and has begun reporting information to RDTN. You can see the data collected so far on their website or through their Twitter account.
This article was provided by InnovationNewsDaily, a sister site of TechNewsDaily.
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