We could see it in action within a year. It’s a new smartphone that will alert us when the air around us is polluted. The technology has been developed by Mobile Physics, an Israeli startup specializing in environmental physics, in collaboration with an Italo-French electronics and semiconductor company, STMicroelectronics. The latter is responsible for integrating the innovative software into phones, specifically those equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor (such as Samsung and Xiaomi phones, for example). To achieve this, they will use the so-called direct time-of-flight sensors (abbreviated as dToF), which are very precise and cover even long distances. In other words, the new smartphone will not only be able to detect air quality and smoke levels but also temperature and exposure to ultraviolet rays.
According to the developers, the system is likely to provide advice on what to do in case of polluted air, such as wearing a mask or opening a window. Moreover, the significant innovation is that all these features will be active even in indoor environments, such as at home, where the phone can detect the presence of toxic and polluting substances. Think of emissions from stoves or certain heating systems, like pellet stoves or fireplaces. In this sense, it will serve as both a smoke detector and a fire alarm.
