Japan’s foremost mobile phone company is planning to unveil a smartphone that has different “jackets”, each with sensors and software that allows the owner to measure radiation levels in their surroundings, or tells them if they have bad breath, or how much body fat or muscle bulk they have.
NTT DOCOMO announced on 21 September that it will be exhibiting these innovations, among other mobile ideas, at Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (CEATEC) JAPAN 2011, Japan’s largest mobile industry trade show, which will be near Tokyo from 4 to 8 October.
Daisuke Sakuma, a spokesman for NTT DOCOMO told AFP news agency that:
“Many customers have been nervous about radiation since the Great East Japan Earthquake.”
“We had been thinking what services we can provide to address these customer needs as a telecom carrier,” he added.
He was referring to the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March this year and gave rise to the nuclear accident at the Fukushima power plant. The plant is still leaking radiation, and demand for radiation detectors has soared in Japan.
The company say they also plan to demonstrate a jacket that can tell if the owner smells of alcohol or is being exposed to UV light that might harm the skin.
Another version gives a reading of acetone in the breath: the owner blows into a device connected to the smartphone which then tells them, depending on how high the level of acetone is, how hungry they are and when they are burning fat.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD