Arduino sensor to detect active cellphones

Projects General Guidance
1

Guys,

I'm on a project where our objective is to reduce the use of cell phones in a petrol station. We want to do a device where we can sense waves from a cell phone and let a buzzer as a friendly reminder for the customer who is using the cell phone.After some research, we have some questions that we need answers from you guys.:slight_smile:

  1. Is there a sensor that can detect active cell phone?

  2. Can a Bluetooth pin detect active cell phone? How?

Is great to seek guidance from you guys. Website are also useful for us

Regards,

Drax2345

2

Interesting. We can use our mobile (cell) phones to pay for fuel in the UK. I've not done it but I presume it means using your phone next to the pump.

3

Hi,
I think you will find these days a mobile phone is ACTIVE ALL the time, even if you aren't talking on it.

Facebook updates, email updates, text updates, latest games updates all occurring at various times unbeknownst to the user.

Tom... :slight_smile:
PS Has it been proven that mobile phones cause petrol station fires?
Static electricity from clothes and car upholstery more like it.

4

Did you try to search the internet first? A search for "detecting cell phone" brings up a few commercial solutions as well as some DIY approaches such as http://www.electroschematics.com/1035/mobile-bug-detector-sniffer/ and - YouTube

5

I believe it has been proven that it is possible to start a fire at a petrol station with a phone. The sequence of events, as explained to me, is the phone was dropped and the battery popped off. As the battery disconnected, it caused a spark which ignited the fuel-air mixture.

While this is possible, it's extremely unlikely. Since that accident was investigated, all our phones have changed to either have non-removable batteries or the battery is under a cover. Also, the fuel-air mixture would have to be around the battery contacts before it was dropped. That's not going to happen unless you previously dropped the phone in a puddle of fuel.

It's really not an issue any more. I'm sure that the phone manufacturers actually try not to build phones that start fires. That's bad for their business, so they have a direct incentive to do this for us. You're solving a problem which no longer exists.

The petrol stations also have some pretty good incentives to avoid puddles of easily-ignited fuel at their places of business.

6

MorganS:
I believe it has been proven that it is possible to start a fire at a petrol station with a phone. The sequence of events, as explained to me, is the phone was dropped and the battery popped off. As the battery disconnected, it caused a spark which ignited the fuel-air mixture.

Well, this can then also happen with a dropped torch or a lighter. And the phone does not need to be operational to start a fire when dropped. So a cell phone detector won't make a difference.
I even believe that if the gas station insists that phones be turned off there will be MORE accidents because everyone fiddles his/her phone out of the pocket to turn it off...

7

If the phone is off when the battery disconnects then the current will be much lower. This gives a smaller spark.

Either way, it's highly unlikely.