The New York City Council is considering a bill that would make it illegal to possess a biological, chemical or radiological detector without a permit from the New York Police Department. This news from Downtown Express indicates that the effort is prompted by the Department of Homeland Security to control the proliferation of the devices.
I find this regulation to far outreach the stated goal of preventing false alarms and unnecessary public concern. Why not instead mandate a sensor web configuration that takes the sensor data in aggregate and returns average readings for regions? This would accomplish the intent of these sensors and would forge a public/private approach to the problem.
By publishing a Web service that anyone could access, you add much needed transparency to environmental monitoring rather than coming down with the heavy hand of the law. I find it odd that the police would monitor and control these devices, when calibration and monitoring are clearly the realm of scientific or regulatory agencies.
Clearly there are public fears and some mistrust that would cause consumers to purchase their own sensors. Why not harness the consumer pocketbook by signing up an army of individuals to set up sensors on their buildings. By creating a sensor network rather than a number of individual monitors, you foster exchange of information and a self-calibrating army. These concerned citizens could even help spur technological advances in how we collect information from our surroundings.
It will be interesting to see what happens to the bill. It could have far-reaching consequences for sensor web installments elsewhere.
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