RFID device could be used to detect explosives

The ultra small prototype integrates a 5.8GHz RFID chip with three sensors, each of which uses carbon nanotubes and other nanomaterials to detect specific chemicals. Its developers from Georgia Tech say it could be used by the military to look for telltale chemicals such as ammonia, which is associated with explosives. It could also be used to identify and understand air pollution, they say, and even help doctors keep a better eye on their patients. The device measures 10cm², although the researchers are working to cut this down to just 1mm². At the moment, the chip is semi-passive, which means it requires power from an incoming signal beam in order to send data back to a remote reading device. However, the team is keen to explore how it could exploit ambient energy from solar or vibrational sources, so that it could work at longer ranges and with greater sensitivity. Christopher Valenta, a research engineer at Georgia Tech who co-led the project, said: "The prototype 5.8GHz wireless sensing system promises to be flexible and highly scalable. "An advanced design might include an array of 10 or more different sensors, with electronics that could utilise those sensors to perform 25 different jobs, and yet still be tiny, robust and inexpensive."