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Ring tones silenced by wallpaper

KEVIN HURLEY ( The Scotsman.com )

THE trill of a mobile phone in a cinema at a key moment in a film could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a revolutionary new screening method.

British scientists have developed a hi-tech "wallpaper" that will block radio waves to prevent phones ringing when they should be turned off.

Researchers have found a way to mass-produce frequency-selective screens (FFS) which filter out radio signals while allowing others through.

The screens, an intricate pattern of fine metal grids, can be hidden within wallpaper so they will not be noticed when they are installed.

The breakthrough was made by experts at QinetiQ, a technology development company, who say the wallpaper will be useful in areas that require a "quiet zone", such as cinemas, airports, hospitals and schools.

The company, which, before it was privatised, was part of the Ministry of Defence, believes the innovation will also be a valuable weapon in the fight against terrorism.

Areas that could be screened within an airport include the arrival halls and the explosive containment areas, where suspicious packages are held while under investigation, because the radiowaves emitted by a mobile phone could not be used to detonate a bomb.

Michael Burns, the director of aviation markets at QinetiQ, confirmed that the company has now developed a way to produce the screens on a large scale.

He said: "Phones can not only be disruptive but, on occasions, can pose a real security threat as they could be used to set off a device.

"The wallpaper allows certain wavelengths to pass through them while preventing others, so that some mobile phone signals are effectively wiped out."

"Until now, it’s only been practical to manufacture small areas of frequency selective screens, so they have been predominantly used as the protective screening for microwave doors or in various radar applications.

"It’s now both practical and economical to produce large sheets of material."

The wallpaper is produced by printing the grid pattern on to the surface to be screened. Metal is then "grown" in the desired pattern when the wallpaper is immersed in a chemical bath.

However, the experts admit that the technology, whose origins lie in stealth aircraft and boats, does have a flaw. Radiowaves can flood a screened room when a door is opened.

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Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 07-29-2004, 03:00 PM:
 
The FCC should have fun with this, if it makes it's way across the pond.
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 07-29-2004, 03:07 PM:
 
This should be perfectly legal in the US. If I read the article correctly, it more-or-less functions as a giant Faraday cage around the auditorium. It just blocks signals, but doesn't generate its own RF interference (which is what would be illegal).
 

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Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 07-29-2004, 03:08 PM:
 
The FCC won't care, as this qualifies as "passive interference." You can fortify your theater with all the concrete and chicken wire you want right now to block cell phone signals. In fact, that's the ONLY legal way to do it. The FCC gets a hard on for people who use cellular JAMMING devices as they actually transmit a signal on a frequency thats supposed to be exclusively assigned to the cell phone companies. But blocking that frequency passively is perfectly legal.

Sounds good to me! Being it on!

Edit: Scott beat me by one minute!
 

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Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 07-29-2004, 03:42 PM:
 
Sweeeeet....

Until I have to make a call to the booth when I'm doing tech work
 

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Posted by Paul Cassidy (Member # 951) on 07-29-2004, 04:46 PM:
 
Techs will need to leave a Door open to communicate with the Booth .
Here is what the stuff looks like ....
 

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Posted by Brian Michael Weidemann (Member # 2243) on 07-29-2004, 08:58 PM:
 
I'm pretty sure that short-range walkie-talkies transmit at much different frequencies than celphones; it depends on how selective the filter is. And if this wallpaper were only installed in auditoriums, there's no reason that someone in the lobby couldn't call someone in the booth.

It sounds like a great idea. It's the exact same technology that keeps the microwave from cooking your face when you look at your marshmallow peeps blowing up ... isn't science neat!

Wait ... so does this mean that if your celphone were in the microwave with the door closed (it doesn't have to be cooking) it couldn't be called?

quote: posted article

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Radiowaves can flood a screened room when a door is opened.

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Not if the auditorium is designed adequately, with hallways and perhaps a pair of "airlock" doors. Radiowaves, like all waves, can only spread in straight lines (unless you really get into quantum theory, but that's for a different thread). It's not like an air contaminant. "No, NO, don't open that door!!! ... we'll all be FLOODED with WAVES!"
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 07-29-2004, 10:50 PM:
 
Quit makin' with the negative waves!

RF at today's cell phone frequencies can be very sneaky. It can get into a building or an auditorium through the tiniest openings. Things to look at include door seals, port glass, air ducts, conduits, even the building power mains. A Faraday shield is just one part of a RF shielding project--additional measures have to be taken to deal with these other potential problem areas.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 07-30-2004, 08:08 AM:
 
Yeah, yeah, but if the source of the RF signal is INSIDE the Faraday cage WITH you, then what the article said about preventing terrorists from communicating and/or detonating a device goes right out the window. Doesn't it?

Still, I see a lot of good uses for the stuff in hospitals, doctors offices and places like that as well as in theaters.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 07-30-2004, 10:48 AM:
 
Don't forget to wallpaper the doors, windows, ceilings, and all the above-grade floors.

>>> Phil
 

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Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 07-30-2004, 10:53 AM:
 
Actually, next Phil, someone should create a rug and matching ceiling tiles with this stuff.

And while we're at it, put it on the back of the screens, the seats, and everything else.
 

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Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 07-30-2004, 12:07 PM:
 

quote: Phil Hill

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Don't forget to wallpaper the doors, windows, ceilings, and all the above-grade floors.

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quote: Ken Lackner

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Wouldn't the signals be able to come in from the ceiling or the port glass?

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Not if you paper that part of the booth

This is a great innovation. Now if only they could come up with something to silence the loud assholes and screaming children...
 

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