Whisker Manufacturing, Detection, Response, and Compound Manufacturing Apparatus and Method

An apparatus for detecting and responding to whiskers comprising:

• at least one detection compartment;
• a first structure disposed within said at least one detection compartment formed to have at least some physical, chemical, or structural characteristics corresponding to a device under surveillance having tendencies to form whiskers;
• an interaction generating unit formed to influence or generate whisker related interactions with said first structure in said at least one detection compartment, wherein said whisker related interactions include temperature, humidity, and stress conditions associated with said first structure;
• a control unit adapted to control said interaction generating unit so as to approximate or match whisker generation related conditions associated with said device under surveillance, wherein said control unit receives whisker related condition data from said device under surveillance and alters whisker generation related conditions or interactions generated by said interaction generating unit which are applied to said first structure;
• a sensor system adapted to detect whiskers formed on said first structure comprising at least one moveable optical sensor;
• a response system adapted to generate a detection signal based on detection of at least one of said whiskers formed on said first structure, wherein said detection signal indicates presence and at least one approximate location of said detected at least one whisker;
• a user interface adapted to display a whisker detection indicator to an operator associated with detection signal.