Tricorder Beta?

I humbly confess that I used to watch Star Trek "Next Gen". The tricorder was an instrument that a fan of nearly any Star Trek series is likely familiar with. The device was capable of measuring all kinds of things including vital signs and unhealthy air. The latter came to mind when I read an interesting article about the possible future of cell phones as "scientific devices".

It's not that cell phones are expected to literally sense air composition. Rather, with GPS the cell phones could easily tap into data on a large-scale basis. This got me to thinking though, if Google can drive a van down every street in every major city and snap panoramic pictures, who is to say that there won't some day be devices installed every few streets in cities that measure the air quality and report it in real time right to your cell phone? How about UV?

I do not at all claim to have any information supporting the notion that would even be market demand for such a concept. Rather, it's just interesting to imagine.

As a side note, this also reminded of another sci-fi movie: Gattaca - in that authorities carry small measuring devices that use biometrics which I presume are linked via satellite to a database that yields real-time information about the individuals in front of them. Unless, of course, the individual does what Ethan Hawke did in that movie. What's that? You haven't seen it? You might be surprised what is on the internet nowadays...