Imagine your phone's signal as a tiny invisible wave. While we know how these waves affect humans, we don't really know how they impact small creatures like bees or specific parts of our body like the eyes. This work creates tools to measure these waves in the real world and finds ways to design networks that keep exposure as low as possible.
New 5G and 6G technologies increase RF-EMF absorption in human skin, eyes, and insects, creating regulatory uncertainty and potential ecological risks that could impact the economy via pollination loss.
An open-access 5G Scientist app for quantifying personal RF-EMF dose and a network architecture for 'ALARA by design' exposure reduction.
If you are a network provider dealing with public health concerns and regulatory hurdles — this project developed an ALARA by design network architecture that reduces exposure levels. This helps in deploying 5G and 6G infrastructure with lower biological risk.
If you are a consultant dealing with ecological impact assessments — this project developed a way to quantify how RF-EMF affects insect pollinators like bees. This allows for more accurate environmental risk reports for new antenna installations.
If you are a hardware company dealing with user safety certifications — this project developed a 5G Scientist app and dose calculator to quantify personal absorbed RF-EMF. This data can be used to improve the safety profiles of consumer devices.
Based on available project data, no specific pricing or cost for the tools is mentioned, though the 5G Scientist app is described as open-access.
The project focuses on network architecture for ALARA by design and a population-scale app, suggesting the results are intended for wide-scale infrastructure and public use.
Based on available project data, the RF-EMF exposure app and portal are designed to be open-access, but specific licensing for the network architecture is not detailed.
The project generates scientific evidence on RF-EMF effects to feed into policies and current regulatory frameworks regarding exposure limits.
The project runs from 2022-06-01 to 2027-05-31, with the 5G Scientist app already released in March 2025.
The consortium is heavily research-driven with 8 universities and 2 research institutes, but maintains a 23% industry ratio with 3 industrial partners, including 3 SMEs. This balance suggests the project is focused on high-level scientific validation while ensuring the outputs, like the 5G Scientist app, have practical utility for the telecommunications market.
Contact Universiteit Utrecht regarding the 5G Scientist app and ALARA network designs.
Request a deep dive into the ALARA by design network specifications.
