Potencialidades de los celulares inteligentes para investigaciones biológicas. Parte 1: Sensores integrados

Smartphones have irrupted in every facets of modern life for most of the humankind, including professional and scientific activities. Many apps exist to help in guiding experimental protocols, literature management and wireless connection to other equipment. But the wide range of miniaturized integrated sensors, of high accuracy that act in hidden aspect of cellphone functioning, has not yet been fully explored. Modern smartphones contain powerful digital cameras, microphones, GPS/GNSS receivers, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetism sensor, light sensors, barometers, thermometers, moisture sensors, biometric sensors and many others with the potential of became important allied for researcher´s data collect during his work. Based on them, had emerge compasses, altimeters, scanners, barcode or QR readers, face, sounds or species identification apps, metal detectors, movement and vibration detectors, pedometers, colorimeter, spectrophotometer and many others. All this tools are producing a high impact in many scientific fields such as medicine, social sciences, environmental monitoring, transportation and industry. The advantages and possibilities of these sensors for biological investigations are still unknown. For this reason, the present paper is a review of the potentials associated to common modern smartphones sensors and its applications in biological researches. In conditions were technical equipment is limited, smartphones, its sensors and corresponding apps can be reasonably efficient alternatives to overcome the technological breach and to increase quality of researches. Citation: Denis, D., Cruz, D.D., Ferrer-Sanchez, Y. & Felipe, F.L. 2021. Potencialidades de los celulares inteligentes para investigaciones biologicas. Parte 1: Sensores integrados. Revista Jard. Bot. Nac. Univ. Habana 42: 77-91. Received: 17 September 2020. Aceppted: 25 January 2021. Online: 26 April 2021. Editor: Luis Manuel Leyva.