Syft Super Nose
Development
Christchurch company Syft Technologies has developed an electronic "Super nose", called the Voice100, that avoids these drawbacks and can instantly and accurately identify traces of chemicals in concentrations as low as a few parts per billion.
Last year Syft sold five of the devices to the Australian Customs Service (ACS). The instruments were installed in Australian ports to monitor fumigant levels in cargo containers. Shipping containers are regularly fumigated as part of biosecurity control, but even when a container has been ventilated, traces of fumigants may be present, endangering unprotected dock workers or the people inspecting the cargo. The potential export market for the Voice100 is very large indeed. Europe alone has more than 1,200 seaports, which collectively process more than 3.5 billion tonnes of cargo every year.
Fumigant detection is just one of a myriad of applications the Voice 100 is suited for. Other applications include border security, petroleum exploration, and medical research. Development of the device provides an interesting illustration of how research, engineering and business expertise can be used to move technology out of the laboratory and into the commercial world.
