Syft Super Nose
Problems
Scientists and technicians at the University of Canterbury developed a machine that could test for minute quantities of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in real time. VOCs are carbon-based compounds responsible for most of the smells and tastes around us.
VOCs are produced by metabolic processes and by a wide range of domestic, commercial and industrial processes. Where these processes are present, so is a unique but often elusive VOC profile. Just as fingerprints can identify all humans, VOC profiles can identify living organisms, many diseases, chemical hazards and many industrial and chemical processes. If VOCs can be detected in real time, the processes producing them can also be accurately monitored in real time. And if the unique VOC profile produced by each source can be quickly interpreted, what is happening can be identified – as it happens.
But while the concept had obvious commercial potential, the instrument developed at the University was unsuited to the rigours of life in airports, ports, factories, hospitals and other real world situations. What was required was a small, robust instrument capable of detecting VOCs in real time. Furthermore, the device had to be simple to operate.
Working with Canterprise – the commercial arm of Canterbury University – the scientists formed a company, Syft Technologies, to do just this and commercialise the technology. To achieve this, Syft brought together research expertise, engineering and software skills, marketing know-how and proven business experience. After 18 months of R&D, the size of the instrument was reduced from an unwieldy 4 – tonne room-filling giant to the size of a washing machine.
