It didn't take long for NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to glean valuable insights from the asteroid Bennu. The vessel has helped scientists discover water trapped inside Bennu's clays thanks to its two spectrometers, which spotted the hydroxyls (bonded...
If we're ever going to colonize another world, we can't rely solely on the supplies we bring with us. We'll have to make use of the resources available at our destination, with water being one of the most important. Not only can we drink it, but add...
Researchers at the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) presented a mission plan today at the European Planetary Science Congress that would allow scientists to observe hundreds of asteroids over the course of just a few years. Their plan is to sen...
Smartphones can now be used as laboratory-grade medical testing devices thanks to new kit designed by the University of Illinois. The transmission-reflectance-intensity (TRI) analyzer attaches to a smartphone to examine blood, urine or saliva samples...
While the tech giants of our time are busy putting two and three cameras inside one phone, there’s an electronics company based in Sichuan, China that’s silently changing the entire smartphone game. The H2, debuted at CES this year is now shipping out to various countries worldwide. What’s so special about this phone? Right beside its camera, lies a spectrometer, capable of identifying, and cataloging every material and chemical known to man!
Dubbed as the phone with X-Ray vision, the H2 is a smartphone that may just build the foundation for phones that are actually smart. In a world dominated by fake news, and with most organizations trying to fight the rising tide of “alternative facts”, the H2 plays a significant step of giving you an accurate depiction of the world around you. Imagine being able to scan food and know whether it has any allergens, or if it is past its sell date. Imagine knowing that the diet soda you’re having actually has sugar in it, or even more importantly, if your cocktail has been spiked. The H2 phone becomes the magnifying glass you hold against the world, essentially giving the phone a truly new function… something that hasn’t happened ever since the smartphone became your biometric lock & key (with the fingerprint scanner, introduced roughly 4 years ago). The spectrometer on the phone isn’t just capable of working with foods. It can even do as much as pick up biostats, essentially being able to read your body fat percentage, or your blood sugar, or even more work in sync with your body and identify if the medication you’re taking is actually helping you or doing you harm.
The H2 is still, spectrometric magic aside, quite a great phone. It ships with both front and back cameras, a fingerprint scanner, a 6inch HD screen, 3000mAh polymer battery (much safer than the lithium ion ones), and a rather nifty button on the side that gives your phone an adrenaline boost by clearing memory caches and prolonging battery life. Easily the Superman of phones, I’d say!
Designers: Analog Devices Inc (ADI), Consumer Physics and Sichuan Changhong Electric Co. (Changhong).
For years, scientists have wondered why Mercury is so dark. It doesn't have as much iron and titanium as the Moon, so it should be brighter. A team at Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Laboratory finally has the answer, though. Thanks to a spectral anal...
Pluto may have been imaged six ways from Sunday, but it's clear that the New Horizons probe still has a few surprises up its sleeve. NASA has posted both a photo and a video showing how the spacecraft can produce vibrant colors from the seemingly dr...
Spectrometers are devices that can identify objects using light. They usually cost thousands of dollars and are mainly used by scientists. But in the past couple of years we’ve seen compactspectrometers that are affordable and simple enough that even ordinary people can use them. If you’re looking for an even cheaper variant, check out Public Labs’ foldable mini-spectrometer.
Public Labs was able to reduce what was once a bulky and complicated machine into a piece of card stock and a DVD fragment. Or at least part of it. The rest of the spectrometer will be replaced by your smartphone and a web app. Once you assemble the spectrometer’s body, tape it to your smartphone such that it’s aligned to the phone’s camera. Then take your sample and go to Spectral Workbench on your phone’s browser to analyze the sample and upload its spectrum.
You can order the foldable mini-spectrometer from Maker Shed or directly from Public Labs for just $10 (USD). If you have a printer and a spare DVD, you can even make the spectrometer for free using Public Labs’ template. Be sure to check out Public Labs’ guide on using the device as well.
Last year we found out about TellSpec, a portable scanner that can identify the composition of food as well as provide nutritional data. A company called ConsumerPhysics is raising funds for SCiO, which works similarly to TellSpec but seems to be more versatile. Aside from analyzing edibles, SCiO can also tell you more about medicine and plants.
SCiO is a near-infrared spectrometer. I don’t know if TellSpec uses similar technology, but both devices are used in the same way; SCiO also needs a mobile device and an Internet connection to work. You point it at the item you want to know more about, and it will scan and send its findings to ConsumerPhysics’ database for identification. The information will then be relayed back to your mobile device. Here’s a demo of SCiO’s prototype:
ConsumerPhysics claims that SCiO’s capabilities will be upgraded in two ways. First, users will help enrich the database by scanning and uploading samples, kind of like a Wikipedia of matter. Second, it appears that SCiO’s functions can be diversified on the software end. ConsumerPhysics says that it will release more apps in the future so that SCiO can be used to identify more objects: “[F]or example in the future you can use SCiO to measure properties of cosmetics, clothes, flora, soil, jewels and precious stones, leather, rubber, oils, plastics, and even your pet!”
Pledge at least $199 (USD) on Kickstarter to receive a SCiO molecular sensor as a reward. I’m sure a lot of folks will treat it as a tiny Captain Obvious – “Let’s scan this slice of pizza! It says pizza! Yeah!” – and then forget about it once the novelty wears off. But it also has a lot of potential for helping people – especially children – educate themselves voluntarily and at their own pace. And that’s always a good thing.
If you’re a health buff or if you have food allergies, you probably have a mental list of edibles to avoid. But how can you be sure that the food that’s in front of you is up to your standards? That’s the idea behind TellSpec. It’s a small scanner that can supposedly tell you what’s in your food.
TellSpec has two primary parts: a low-power laser and a spectrometer. Simply put, substances in food reflect light from the laser in distinct ways. The spectrometer analyzes and records the reflections, then TellSpec sends this data online using your mobile device. The results are displayed on your device as well via an app. TellSpec can identify the amount of calories and sugar on the scanned item, as well as the presence of preservatives and allergens such as nuts and gluten. It can scan through plastic and glass so you can use it while buying or browsing food.
TellSpec’s app can do more than just identify ingredients. It can also keep track of your calorie intake and even help you self-diagnose if you’re allergic to a particular substance. Here’s a demo of a very early prototype of the TellSpec:
Looks like they’ve got a long to go to get the device down to size. But if you’re willing to take the gamble, you can pre-order TellSpec online for $320 (USD). There are also pre-order bundles for family use and for developers. Because it uses a cloud service, TellSpec will also require a subscription. When you buy the device, you get one year of free service but after that you need to pay either $7 a month or $70 a year for it to keep working. Check out TellSpec’s website or their Indiegogo campaign page for more info.
It didn't take long for NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to glean valuable insights from the asteroid Bennu. The vessel has helped scientists discover water trapped inside Bennu's clays thanks to its two spectrometers, which spotted the hydroxyls (bonded...
If we're ever going to colonize another world, we can't rely solely on the supplies we bring with us. We'll have to make use of the resources available at our destination, with water being one of the most important. Not only can we drink it, but add...
Researchers at the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) presented a mission plan today at the European Planetary Science Congress that would allow scientists to observe hundreds of asteroids over the course of just a few years. Their plan is to sen...
Smartphones can now be used as laboratory-grade medical testing devices thanks to new kit designed by the University of Illinois. The transmission-reflectance-intensity (TRI) analyzer attaches to a smartphone to examine blood, urine or saliva samples...
For years, scientists have wondered why Mercury is so dark. It doesn't have as much iron and titanium as the Moon, so it should be brighter. A team at Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Laboratory finally has the answer, though. Thanks to a spectral anal...
Pluto may have been imaged six ways from Sunday, but it's clear that the New Horizons probe still has a few surprises up its sleeve. NASA has posted both a photo and a video showing how the spacecraft can produce vibrant colors from the seemingly dr...
