Smartphones have various sensors that let them detect gravity, speed and a whole bunch of other things, but a new type of sensor may soon allow our smartphones to sniff out smells. The sensor is based on a MEMS vacuum pump which is many times smaller than previous versions and works on the basis of spectrometers. It is being developed by Honeywell ACS Labs and involves the creation of many mini turbines on a circular platform smaller than the size of a penny or 1-cent coin. Developers are using it to detect chemical reactions for toxins in the air, allowing it to effectively smell dangerous substances or situations which we might not be aware of. Here's what the developers have to say about it:
"What we have done is create the world's smallest vacuum pump -- a unique enabler for a whole new class of analytic instruments. Many people have tried to downsize analytical instruments in recent years, but the vacuum pump was the last obstacle. Previously the smallest models were brick sized and consumed 100 watts, but ours is now penny sized and uses less than one watt."
"One thing we are very excited about is putting these into smartphones, essentially adding a sense of smell that can sense everything from toxic chemicals to pollen to general air quality. They could keep a cumulative record of exposure for every person carrying one, noting when and where a user was exposed."
"In the coming decade, this innovation is going to usher in all types of very sophisticated instrumentation for handheld mobile platforms," Honeywell's ACS Labs principal research scientist Wei Yang said.
Developers don't expect it to arrive soon though as even a commercial prototype still hasn't been created yet. Instead, they are projecting it to come to smartphones in the next couple of years. Whether or not it will eventually detect bad Body Odour is something else entirely.
[Source]
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