August 14, 2015

Scientists developed a miniature gas sensor for mobile devices


CAPTION: VTT has developed a gas sensor that can be connected to mobile devices.
Using a mobile device to measure carbon dioxide creates the possibility of developing
new kinds of mobile phone applications. For example, sleep quality can be monitored
by checking the levels of carbon dioxide exhaled by the sleeper.

Applications from monitoring air quality to healthcare & wellness

(August 14, 2015)  VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed a miniature gas sensor that can be connected to mobile devices. Gas measurements made with smartphones will make activities such as the detection of internal air problems easier. In addition, sleep quality will be measurable with greater precision, using mobile healthcare applications which gauge carbon dioxide quantities.

Many sensor developers are interested in using smartphones to measure gas concentrations.

"This is probably due to the spread of the Internet of Things (IoT), which enables indirect observations of a range of environmental factors based on data gathered from single sensors or sensor networks. Many day-to-day issues, such as precision and efficiency in the workplace, can depend on carbon dioxide levels and internal air quality," says Anna Rissanen, leader of the VTT research team.

Using a mobile device to measure carbon dioxide will also enable new applications for smartphones: for example, sleep quality can be monitored by measuring the sleeper's exhalations.

The miniaturised gas sensor is based on Fabry-Pérot interferometers (FPI) – adjustable optical filters. Over the years, VTT has developed these for various spectroscopy-based applications, such as hyperspectral cameras for nanosatellite- and drone-based environmental monitoring, the early detection of skin cancer and fuel analysis for emission minimisation.

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