It started when NASA answered a call for a tool to detect dangerous gases
and chemicals with a smartphone. The result became a smartphone-linked device
that can do, well, just about anything someone can build a sensor for.
The NODE+ Platform
The NODE+ platform can be outfitted with an array of different sensor
modules for detecting light, gases, temperature, motion and more. It can store
data or transmit it to a smart device using Bluetooth wireless technology.
Credits: Variable Inc.
When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) put out its request in 2007,
NASA Ames Research Center scientist Jing Li already had a sensor that reacted
to various gases and compounds — she’d been working on it for space
applications, like evaluating atmospheres on other planets.
But to answer the DHS specs, she needed a way for the device to “sniff” the
air for samples and a system that would allow it to interface with a
smartphone. Li’s team settled on a small fan to gather the air samples, and
approached George Yu of Genel Systems Inc., who was able to deliver the cell
phone interface system.
Smart Sensing-Plus
Building on the system he developed with NASA, Yu created his NODE platform
— a cylinder not much bigger than a thumb that can transmit data from sensors
to a smartphone or other smart device or store it to be uploaded to any
computer. Unlike the sensor developed for DHS, NODE operates independently of
the cell phone and transmits the data it gathers using Bluetooth wireless
technology.
Variable converted off-the-shelf sensors, such as infrared thermometers,
color referencers, motion sensors and barcode readers, into interchangeable
modules that can be snapped onto either end, so two modules can be used
simultaneously. There is a module for carbon dioxide detection and another that
senses carbon monoxide, nitric oxide and other gases. Another module measures
ambient light, room temperature, humidity and barometric pressure.
“Using a common platform for multiple sensor modules, you save a lot of
money,” Yu says.
The product line went on the market in 2012, and by summer of 2014 it was
already in its second generation, NODE+, which Yu says is faster, uses less
power, is more durable, has more memory and is compatible with Android and
Apple smart devices.
The pharmaceutical industry was quick to take advantage. “Their packages
are extremely high-value,” Yu explains, with drugs needing to stay unjostled
and at set temperatures. A sensor embedded in a package can send readings on
temperatures and vibrations so the shipper knows exactly what occurred during
transit.
A paint company uses one of the Chroma sensors for quality control, just as
a food producer can use the infrared thermometer for temperature assurance. All
the data can be automatically recorded on a smart device, saving time and
cutting down on user error.
Meanwhile, Li convinced the program manager at DHS that the sensor should
be attached to the outside of the phone, instead of being built in. “This is a
very new technology, and there will be a lot of iterations. Making it
interchangeable will make it easier to update,” she explained.
That decision turned out to be game-changing.
Not only did it make easier to update future smartphone chemical sensors,
it made it possible to switch out the sensors for ones that perform any of an
endless list of other tasks. And it was this innovation that led to the line of
interchangeable, smartphone-savvy sensors Yu put out a few years
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