SCiO is running a very successful Kickstarter campaign for a new portable mass spectrometer.
The SCiO is a scanner designed to give users information about an object’s chemical makeup. Consumer Physics, Inc is running a Kickstarter funding project to bring the prototype concept into mass production.
SCiO can be used to scan objects, keep a log of your scans, and also contribute to a worldwide database populated by information from every user. Examples in the Kickstarter video include looking for the sweetest watermelon, calculating how many calories you burn during a workout, or discovering how many calories are in a food.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/903107259/scio-your-sixth-sense-a-pocket-molecular-sensor-fo
The scanning process is explained simply and easily in the video – SCiO uses a spectrometer to take light reflected back from the object and transform it into a spectrum. The spectrum is sent to the cloud for analysis and then beamed back to your phone.
Kickstarter funding will be used to develop a small low cost spectrometer that can be scaled up for mass production. A large team of engineers and developers have been working on the project for three years.
Several apps already exist for using SCiO to scan objects – food, medicine and plants already have large existing databases. Developers are quick to point out that the more you scan, the more data will be available for the world. Some parts of the operating system are already open source so that developers can help to create more apps and have the opportunity to deepen the database.
The device itself weighs twenty grams and holds a battery charge for up to one week. Measuring time is currently specified at one to two seconds with a range of up to twenty millimeters. Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy is the current connection method, and currently compatible with newer iPhones, iPads and Android phones.
This isn’t the first tri-corder type device that we’ve seen in the last year, but it feels like the one closest to becoming a fully realized product. Consumer Physics is obviously a large company with technical knowledge and advanced funding already in place. The campaign has already blasted past its $200,000 goal with forty one more days to go. Deliveries of the finalized scanners, at the $299 pledge level, are estimated to begin in February 2015.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/903107259/scio-your-sixth-sense-a-pocket-molecular-sensor-fo
