Georgia Tech: New Mobile App Turns Phones into At-Home Fetal Heart Monitors. “Studies show that one in five pregnant women experiences perinatal anxiety, which is characterized by intense negative thoughts about their pregnancy. DopFone turns any smartphone speaker into a Doppler radar by emitting a low-pitched ultrasound and detecting reflected signals of abdominal surface vibrations caused by […]

The Register: Passive RFIDs can now stream telemetry data from sensors. “The new standard makes it possible to stream data from sensors married to passive tags, by allocating a frequency channel to each device. When radio waves reaches a tag, the device wakes up and broadcasts the basic info it contains and then negotiates a clear channel on which to stream data.”

University of Central Florida: UCF Researcher Creates Novel Sensors for Smartphone-Based Health Monitoring . “Professor Debashis Chanda (right), working with researchers including physics doctoral student Mahdi Soudi (left), created a smartphone-based biosensor to improve infectious disease detection. The platform provides a faster, more affordable option for communities with limited access to […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/07/university-of-central-florida-ucf-researcher-creates-novel-sensors-for-smartphone-based-health-monitoring/

The Register: Magician forgets password to his own hand after RFID chip implant. “It’s important to have your login in hand, literally. Zi Teng Wang, a magician who implanted an RFID chip in his appendage, has admitted losing access to it because he forgot the password.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/11/26/the-register-magician-forgets-password-to-his-own-hand-after-rfid-chip-implant/

Northeastern University: These ‘zero-power’ sensors could revolutionize consumer electronics. “Instead of relying on electricity, Zepsor’s sensors take advantage of infrared radiation — or heat — emitted from our bodies for power, explains Zhenyun Qian, a Northeastern University professor of electrical and computer engineering and the company’s chief technology officer.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/10/07/northeastern-university-these-zero-power-sensors-could-revolutionize-consumer-electronics/

Northern Arizona University: Understanding nature with old smartphones and new technology. “The National Science Foundation has awarded two grants to [Andrew] Richardson that will combine the widespread use of cellphones with an advanced image recognition program, helping researchers track these changes in a more timely and economical manner.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/09/14/northern-arizona-university-understanding-nature-with-old-smartphones-and-new-technology/

Notre Dame News: Collecting more than trash: Researchers equip local garbage trucks to gather data on urban heat island effect. “…urban heat islands, which disproportionately affect lower-income neighborhoods, increase air pollution and energy costs, as well as heat-related illnesses and deaths. To help identify — and ultimately mitigate — heat islands in South Bend, a team of University […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/09/02/collecting-more-than-trash-researchers-equip-local-garbage-trucks-to-gather-data-on-urban-heat-island-effect-notre-dame-news/

Snapshot Wisconsin: 10 Years and 100 Million Photos!. “…ten years later, Snapshot Wisconsin has accumulated over 2,000 trail cameras deployed across the entire state. In return of this immense effort, Snapshot has just reached a whopping 100 million photos collected, and still counting! To honor this celebration, we’ve assembled an interactive photo collection showcasing one photo from […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/07/28/snapshot-wisconsin-10-years-and-100-million-photos/