Abstract
When proper measurement and calibration protocols are applied, smartphone sensors can generate relatively high-quality data among a variety of physical parameters that compare well with professional-grade, calibrated systems, but at far lower cost. This may open the door for a new generation of citizen science and crowdsourced applications involving the monitoring of these physical parameters for innovative research. Based on the calibrated results from a variety of apps and platforms, the direct use of smartphone sensor systems for conducting citizen science experiments is warranted, especially if modest adjustments to the recorded data are made using a small set of calibration curves. Radiation dosimetry variations near ±0.05 μSv/hr are dominated by noise, however at altitudes of 26,000 feet or higher, a clear cosmic ray signal can be easily detected above 0.5 μSv/hr. Magnetic fields can be detected with a random noise limit set by the digitization process at about ±200 nT, but a variety of instrument and unknown influences cause systematic errors as high as ±1,500 nT, which may be reduced somewhat by following appropriate measurement protocols. At this level, severe geomagnetic storms can be detected as an adjunct to auroral studies.
Highlights
In recent years, citizen science projects have begun to adapt smartphones to provide novel crowdsourcing opportunities (Stoop 2017) for collecting data across fields as diverse as bird watching and aurora sightings (Aurorasaurus) to precipitation monitoring and meteor-spotting (Meteor Counter)
Based on the calibrated results from a variety of apps and platforms, the direct use of smartphone sensor systems for conducting citizen science experiments is warranted, especially if modest adjustments to the recorded data are made using a small set of calibration curves
Radiation dosimetry variations near ±0.05 μSv/hr are dominated by noise, at altitudes of 26,000 feet or higher, a clear cosmic ray signal can be detected above 0.5 μSv/hr
Summary
Citizen science projects have begun to adapt smartphones to provide novel crowdsourcing opportunities (Stoop 2017) for collecting data across fields as diverse as bird watching (eBird) and aurora sightings (Aurorasaurus) to precipitation monitoring (mPing) and meteor-spotting (Meteor Counter). The smartphones displayed no changes related to battery charging over a range from 100% to 20% during the course of a 2-hour measurement session, as shown, the Samsung phone did show consistent changes in the recorded radiation levels that varied slightly with battery temperature at rates between –0.7 to –1.5 μSv/hr per °C.
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