What's for dinner? Just check the spectrometer
The IPMS spectrometer could one day be integrated into smartphones
Foodies who've ever dreamed of having superhero-style vision that
could analyze what they are about to eat should keep an eye on the
upcoming Sensor+Trade fair in Nuremberg. Scientists from the Fraunhofer
Institute of Photonic Microsystems (IPMS) will be exhibiting a tiny
prototype spectrometer that can measure factors such as water and
protein level in foods, meaning you won't make the mistake of buying
fruit that looks good on the outside but is rotten at its core.
The micro electromechanical system (MEMS)
spectrometer can probe under the surface of any food type, even when it
is enveloped in thin packaging film. The user points it at a piece of
fruit, for example, and it reflects back a spectrum of infrared light
that the system analyses by comparing it with information stored in a
database.
It’s not a new concept, but the advantage of the IPMS technology is
that it is cheap to manufacture and, because it's built on silicon
wafers that can hold the components of hundreds of spectrometers, far
smaller than existing commercial devices.
This means that the spectrometer could be integrated into smartphones
and be used to make purchasing recommendations - i.e. an App could tell
you when the avocado you are about to buy will be ready to eat.
“We expect spectrometers to develop in the same way that digital
cameras did,” says Dr. Heinrich Grüger, who manages the relevant
business unit at IPMS. “A camera that cost 500 euros ten years ago is
far less capable than the ones you get virtually for free today in your
cell phone.”
The scientist expect that the spectrometers become commercially
available in three to five years and it’s not only food that the system
will be able to read. Other possible applications include the analysis
of drugs, cosmetics and even forgery detection.
The Sensor+Trade fair takes place in in Nuremberg, Germany, between May 22 and 24.
Source: Fraunhofer
