Test of Census Handhelds Begins

Doing up the census is serious business, a task that has in the past taken thousands of people thousands of hours to do. That process has gotten more streamlined and more electronic through the years, and the 2010 census will be the most electronic and precise yet. This is mainly because much of the data counting and correlating will be done using handhelds.

A fleet of specialized handhelds is being developed for the U.S. Census Bureau by Harris, HTC, and others. A field test of the devices begins today, incorporating 1,400 of the handsets in separate yet connected operations on both coasts. Using GPS, SD cards, and high-tech reporting software, the devices will track the citizens of the country better than any combination of pen and paper ever has. The full-time effort is expected to incorporate 500,000 of the handhelds.


Because these devices contain sensitive information, they have been engineered to a high level of security, including multiple levels of passwords, starting with fingerprint authentication. The devices communicate with a central Census database using Government-standard industrial strength encryption.

Assuming that the field test goes well, we'll be hearing a lot more about these handhelds in the next few years, leading up to the Decennial Census of 2010.


Written by Gina Cavallaro
Published in Handhelds