Jammers can interfere with GPS
A groundbreaking study showed that Global Positioning System (GPS) jammers were being used illegally in the UK.
It is believed that GPS jammer are mainly used by people who drive vehicles equipped with tracking devices to cover their whereabouts.
The Sentinel study recorded more than 60 GPS incidents at one location in six months.
This research has raised concerns that jammers could interfere with critical systems that rely on GPS.
The team behind the study believe this is the first such study in the UK.
The results of the study will be announced at the conference "Global Navigation Satellite System Vulnerabilities: Current Dangers, Future Threats 2012" taking place on Wednesday at the National Physical Laboratory.
The Sentinel research project used 20 street monitors to detect the use of interference.
Bob Cockshott, conference organizer of the ICT Knowledge Transfer Network, said: "We believe this is the only system of its kind in the world."
The sensor records every time the cell phone jammer happens.
Charles Curry, the head of project company Chronos Technology, said, "We estimate there will be 50 to 450 incidents every day in the UK," he said they are still analyzing the data.
He told the BBC that evidence from the project showed that most jammers are small portable devices with a range of 200 to 300 meters.
The project received £ 1.5m in funding from the Technology Strategy Committee and attracted many partners including the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).
Mr Curry said the search also resulted in police finding and confiscating a jammer.
He said, "We found a model where you (the police) can sit and wait."
Mr Curry said that this study could potentially also determine that radio interference is interfering with the ammunition gauges.
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