NextGen handsets ready to double up as health trackers

Kolkata, Nov 24 (UNI) You are driving to see a doctor with your baby and your mobile phone warns you well in advance that you are approaching a high-pollution zone.

Sensing the presence of your baby and his chest congestion, it sends an SMS alert, suggesting a cleaner alternate route. This is not science fiction but technology that would redefine your lifestyle in future.

Mobile phones would hit the next level of technological development soon '' beyond speech, text or images'', where unprecedented levels of interactivity with the user and his environment would be possible.

University of Cambridge, which is close to entering a technology agreement in January 2007 with one of the world's top mobile phone manufacturers to roll out 'interactive cellphones', has almost completed this cellular research,'' Nanoscience Centre at the University of Cambridge Director Professor Mark E Welland told UNI.

'' The University of Cambridge is planning to enter into a technology partnership with an MNC to come up with the next-generation of cell phones. I will not disclose the name of the vendor before a formal agreement is signed in January next,'' Mr Welland said.

'' This technology would help the cell phones to interact with the local environment, including the user,''he added.

This is the next generation of mobile phones that are likely to come with built-in sensors and GPS devices capable of monitoring the environment to even personal health tracking. These mobile phones would also generate instant SMS alerts for users.

Mr Welland believes this upcoming technology would redefine the use of mobile phones, beyond mere ''speech and text.'' Incidentally, much of the future mobile phone-centric research partnerships between Cambridge and technology MNCs will be in the realm of nanotechnology.

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