bomb-sniffing
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Airbus to deploy 'game-changing' bomb-sniffing sensors at airports
Airbus plans to test an “electronic nose” device that uses biological cells to mimic what bomb-sniffing dogs can do, reports the Financial Times. The company will deploy jellyfish-shaped sensors, developed by Silicon Valley startup Koniku, in several airport screening tunnels later in 2020.
Mini-Nose scent detector sniffs out bombs, possibly liars
Ever dreamt of having a second, electronic, miniature nose that you could use to sniff out explosives, and maybe detect when your milk will go bad? We "sense" that you're at home shaking your head "no." Not a problem -- because some scientists in Israel have had that dream for you. Enter the Mini-Nose (no, seriously), a new technology developed by Herzliya-based Scent Detection Technologies Ltd., which effectively emulates the mammalian olfactory sense for trace and particle detection. The analyzer will be put into use by security organizations in Israel and the US, including (but not limited to) the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon. Apparently, the Mini-Nose works by utilizing a technology called High-Frequency Quartz Crystal Microbalance (HF-QCM), which sniffs trace levels of explosives with a lower cost and greater accuracy than existing technologies. "Our technology is portable, reliable, cost-effective and can also detect improvised explosives without the need for upgrades," says the company's Vice President of Business Development Doron Shalom, who then went on to ominously add that the device can also "smell fear."[Via ISRAEL21c]
Scientists create "nanodog" to sniff out danger
A team of scientists at the University of Wales recently revealed that they've developed a new type of bomb-detecting sensor using nanotechnology, branding the tech with the too-cute-for-its-own-good "nanodog" moniker. As with most things nanotech, the nanodog promises to allow for devices to be both smaller and more effective than current technologies, apparently able to detect explosives at levels in the one part per trillion range. And, like it's K-9 counterpart, the sensor can apparently detect explosives even if they're concealed, which should no doubt lead to less invasive, and hopefully speedier airport searches in the future. Of course, depending on who you ask, the nanodog might not exactly turn out to be man's best friend.[Via Fark]
