Civil Nanotechnology

Description

"Starting in 2009, nanotech-based sensing will enable a level of environmental monitoring that could help reduce pollution tremendously. Such devices could be of immense benefit to the environment, but unfortunately, without careful attention they will trigger serious privacy and civil-liberty concerns that will stymie environmental progress. Rather than develop closed-source, proprietary sensing devices, we could instead design, build, and operate devices based on open-source hardware and software— devices which can detect only actual materials of concern, rather than tracking the location and behavior of individuals or the presence of non-pollutant materials (e.g., recreational drugs)." (http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2938)

More Information

For more info, see Open Source Sensing at http://www.opensourcesensing.org