{"id":6209,"date":"2014-06-24T06:54:46","date_gmt":"2014-06-24T06:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.sellcell.com\/blog\/?p=6209"},"modified":"2024-01-17T15:01:57","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T15:01:57","slug":"end-smartphone-theft-researchers-reveal-circuit-can-melt-stolen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sellcell.com\/blog\/end-smartphone-theft-researchers-reveal-circuit-can-melt-stolen\/","title":{"rendered":"Is This the End of Smartphone Theft? Researchers Reveal Circuit That Can Melt When Stolen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Theft is the biggest fear of any smartphone owner. The average phone contains dozens of apps that enable the user to access and manage their financial and personal information. While most phones have anti-theft software to track the location of the handset<\/a> and remotely delete the data, not all users activate these features.<\/p>\n

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Another fear exists that criminals may be able to deactivate, hack or disable anti-theft software once they steal the phone. Now, researchers at Iowa State University<\/a> believe they may have found a way to eliminate smartphone theft.<\/p>\n

Melting Circuits: Anti-Theft<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Researchers at Iowa State have developed circuits that can melt on demand when just a single drop of water is introduced. This renders the circuit useless and could become a highly effective anti-theft device for smartphones of the future. For instance, if a tiny vial containing just a drop of water was to be positioned in the smartphone over the circuit, it could be remotely controlled to break and dissolve the circuit.<\/p>\n

This would render the smartphone inert. Who would steal a phone knowing that it would have no resale value or use? If stolen, the owner of the smartphone could simply send a command to their handset to cause it to self-destruct.<\/p>\n

How Self-Degrading Circuits Work<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Researchers have developed special polymers that completely melt away when a trigger is activated. They created a blue light-emitting diode (LED) and mounted it on a clear polymer base.<\/p>\n

A video of the test was published to YouTube and also shown on the official website of the Advanced Materials Lab, Iowa State University. The video shows how the LED’s electrical wires were embedded inside the polymer composite base. A single drop of water causes the base and wiring to melt away.<\/p>\n