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US 6,631,333 B1Granted
Methods for remote characterization of an odor
AssigneeCalifornia Institute of Technology
InventorsNathan S. Lewis, Erik Severin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided are compositions and systems useful in remote monitoring of chemical hazards, air quality, and medical conditions, for example, robotic systems to search for and detect explosives, mines, and hazardous chemicals. In addition, the methods, systems and compositions of the invention provide the ability to mine data from a database containing a plurality of chemical fingerprints.
Claims31
A sensor array system for remote characterization of a gaseous or vapor sample, comprising:
- a plurality of sensors, wherein at least one sensor is an electrically conductive sensor comprising alternating regions of a conductive material and a material compositionally different than the conductive material between two conductive leads, wherein the sensor provides an electrical path through the regions of the conductive material and the regions of the compositionally different material, wherein the plurality of sensors provide a detectable signal when contacted by an analyte;
- a measuring apparatus, in communication with plurality of sensors capable of measuring the detectable signal;
- a transmitting device, in communication with the measuring apparatus for transmitting information corresponding to the detectable signal to a remote location via the Internet, fiber optic cable, and/or an air-wave frequency;
- and a computer comprising a resident algorithm capable of characterizing the analyte.
1 more element
A system, comprising:
- a plurality of sensor arrays at different remote locations, wherein each sensor array comprises a plurality of sensors;
- a plurality of measuring apparata, in communication with each of the plurality of sensor arrays, wherein a measuring apparatus is capable of measuring a detectable change in a sensor array;
- a plurality of transmitting devices, in communication with each measuring apparatus for transmitting information corresponding to the detectable signal to a remote location;
- a computer comprising a resident algorithm capable of characterizing the analyte based upon the detectable signal;
- and a storage system at the remote location for storing and retrieving information related to the detectable signal.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.