{"288211":{"#nid":"288211","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tiny Wireless Sensing Device Alerts Users to Telltale Vapors Remotely","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA research team at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (GTRI) has developed a small electronic sensing device that can alert users wirelessly to the presence of chemical vapors in the atmosphere. The technology, which could be manufactured using familiar aerosol-jet printing techniques, is aimed at myriad applications in military, commercial, environmental, healthcare and other areas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe current design integrates nanotechnology and radio-frequency identification (RFID) capabilities into a small working prototype. An array of sensors uses carbon nanotubes and other nanomaterials to detect specific chemicals, while an RFID integrated circuit informs users about the presence and concentrations of those vapors at a safe distance wirelessly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBecause it is based on programmable digital technology, the RFID component can provide greater security, reliability and range \u2013 and much smaller size \u2013 than earlier sensor designs based on non-programmable analog technology. The present GTRI prototype is 10 centimeters square, but further designs are expected to squeeze a multiple-sensor array and an RFID chip into a one-millimeter-square device printable on paper or on flexible, durable substrates such as liquid crystal polymer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cProduction of these devices promises to become so inexpensive that they could be used by the thousands in the field to look for telltale chemicals such as ammonia, which is associated with explosives,\u0022 said Xiaojuan (Judy) Song, a GTRI senior research scientist who is principal investigator on the project. \u0022This remote capability would inform soldiers or first responders about numerous hazards before they encountered them.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWireless sensors could also be valuable for identifying and understanding air pollution, she said. Inexpensive sensors that detect ammonia and nitrogen oxides (NOx) could be fielded in large numbers, giving scientists increased knowledge of the location and intensity of pollutants.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe availability of such chips might also help companies detect food spoilage. And healthcare facilities could benefit, as the presence of telltale chemicals informed caregivers of patient conditions and needs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe present prototype contains three sensors along with an RFID chip. Future devices for field use might contain a much larger number of sensors based on various nanomaterials \u2013 including carbon nanotubes, graphene and molybdenum disulfide \u2013 depending on the types of chemicals to be detected.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022In general, having an extensive sensing array is the best approach,\u0022 Song said. \u0022For real-world applications, a variety of sensors offers better functionality, because they can work together to produce a more detailed and reliable picture of the chemical environment.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe RFID component in the GTRI device makes use of the 5.8 gigahertz (GHz) radio frequency, one of several radio bands reserved for industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) purposes. The GTRI component is believed to be the first RFID system that exploits this frequency.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe advantage of 5.8 GHz technology is that it will let RFID tags be made extremely small \u2013 in the area of one centimeter square, said Christopher Valenta, a GTRI research engineer who is co-principal investigator on the project. He explained that the digital transmission of data from RFID-based sensors does a much better job than earlier analog techniques based on interpretation of radio-frequency waveforms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESpecifically, digital signaling with 5.8 GHz RFID offers:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EGreater security due to digital techniques that prevent unauthorized access to the wireless data stream;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EIncreased resistance to interference from materials such as metals that can cause false readings;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDigital-logic readings of chemical concentrations that are more precise and easier to interpret than analog approaches;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELonger-range communication capability.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe GTRI team is currently gearing up to design a very small, 5.8 GHz RFID component. After fabrication and testing, the chip could be manufactured in large numbers inexpensively.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It might take $400,000 to design and fabricate that first RFID chip, but all the subsequent copies might cost only a few pennies,\u0022 said Valenta, who is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe GTRI team successfully tested its prototype sensing system in a demonstration designed to resemble an airport checkpoint. The sensor array detected the targeted chemical despite emersion in a complex chemical environment, and the RFID component was able to transmit the sensors\u0027 readings.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe present GTRI prototype is semi-passive, so it requires power from an incoming signal beam in order to send data back to a remote reading device. However, future sensing devices might exploit ambient energy from solar or vibrational sources that would let them work at longer ranges with greater sensitivity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team is continuing to work on the important task of developing pattern recognition software that will support effective functioning of the sensor array.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The prototype 5.8 GHz wireless sensing system promises to be flexible and highly scalable,\u0022 Valenta said. \u0022An advanced design might include an array of 10 or more different sensors, with electronics that could utilize those sensors to perform 25 different jobs, and yet still be tiny, robust and inexpensive.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Lance Wallace (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:lance.wallace@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elance.wallace@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-407-7280) or John Toon (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-894-6986).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Rick Robinson\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA research team at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) has developed a small electronic sensing device that can alert users wirelessly to the presence of chemical vapors in the atmosphere. The technology, which could be manufactured using familiar aerosol-jet printing techniques, is aimed at myriad applications in military, commercial, environmental, healthcare and other areas.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have developed a small electronic sensing device that can alert users wirelessly to the presence of chemical vapors in the atmosphere."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-04-03 11:18:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:11","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"288161":{"id":"288161","type":"image","title":"Chemical-Sensing1","body":null,"created":"1449244254","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:50:54","changed":"1475894983","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 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nanotubes"},{"id":"1364","name":"chemical"},{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"107","name":"Nanotechnology"},{"id":"169638","name":"sensing"},{"id":"167318","name":"sensor"},{"id":"7338","name":"vapor"},{"id":"1526","name":"wireless"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"},{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}