Measuring Wi-Fi Radiation - There's an app for that!

Here’s a transcript of my interview with their CTO Marios talking about their new app the Wi-Fi Exposure Meter:

Sigint Solutions is an ICT Research and Development Organisation, ICT stands for information communication, technology. We mainly deal with computing and telecoms and for the last 5 or 6 years we have been running an ISO 17025 accredited Laboratory which performs EMF studies for the benefit of local bodies in Cyprus. Local operators are required to measure periodically their network in order to show that their radiation emissions are within authorized limits.

We already have expertise in developing applications for smartphones, we came up with this idea to provide a means for people that have Wi-Fi installed in their home, to enable them to obtain reliable measurements of the WiFi radiation levels or to obtain readings in any other place they may be spending a lot of time.

This video gives a brief overview of the new app:

Every smartphone or tablet measures radiation differently. So we came up with a simple, empirical I would say but very close to reality technique to bring these measurements close to those that can be measured using a sophisticated spectrum analyzer. We’ve created a video that shows the spectrum analyzer readings alongside the app readings and they are very close.

The free version can do nearly everything that the paid version can do. The main difference is that the measurements may not be calibrated. Suppose you have two identical phones one is in a cell phone case the other isn’t, you will get different readings. If you take the paid version of the app and you calibrate the app you will be able to obtain very accurate readings. The free version also has less display options compared to the paid version.

Exactly. The degree of accuracy depends on the smartphone or tablet you install it on but with paid version the degree of accuracy is ± 5% and this accuracy is demonstrated in the video by comparing the readings with those from a spectrum analyzer.

It costs three euros (just over $3). We priced it low to get people to buy it. We wanted to offer a reliable WiFi radiation measurement for the price of a cup of coffee.

The app uses volts per meter. We are measuring in dBm (Decibel-milliwatts) and we convert into electric fields. Then we compare against various approved standards and limits from all over the world, like those of the BioInitiative Report,  SBM- 2008  and the ICNIRP levels.

The reason you need to buy an EMF meter is because with an EMF meter you can measure other things as well. This application only measures WiFi.

It measures 2.4 GHz or 5.2 GHz.

If there was a cell tower nearby that was emitting radiation in the 2.4 GHz would your device measure the radiation emissions from the cell tower?

No, our application only measures the WiFi protocol.

The main reason to buy this application is to determine the best position to locate your WiFi access point in your home (or office) in order to minimize your radiation exposure. For example you would want to locate the WiFi access point away from where your children are spending a lot of time.

You can download to Android phones. In the near future we are planning to release it to other platforms as well but at the moment you can download it to smartphones and tablets that have Android version 4.0 installed.

How To Download The App

To download the free version of the app click here.

To download the paid version of the app click here.

To read the press release click here.