Scio, the pocket-friendly molecular sensor that was a 2014 Kickstarter sensation will soon be shipped to backers, Consumer Physics -- the company that makes it -- has announced.
With promises of being able to identify food and distinguish between types of pills just by scanning their molecular fingerprints, it's little wonder the sensor was popular on Kickstarter. Not only can Scio identify objects, but it can also give a breakdown of many of the chemicals within.
Scio works thanks to the power of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, which is capable of scanning physical materials for signs of these fingerprints. It is a dramatically downsized version of a hefty and extremely pricey piece of equipment known as a lab spectrometer.
In 2014, Scio hit its Kickstarter goal within 24 hours and in the end, raised 1,381 percent of its original funding goal. Since then, the device has been redesigned many times and there has been an emphasis on building an ecosystem for developers. Consumer Physics is now preparing to ship early SDK units to the researcher community. The likelihood is that most of those who will receive their kit from the initial shipment will be super early-bird backers that managed to bag Scios for only $149. "It's been more than four years since we started working on Scio, and the Kickstarter campaign has been part of an absolutely amazing journey," says Dror Sharon, CEO of Consumer Physics. "The greatest value we got out of our campaign has been the highly enthusiastic and engaged community of early adopters, scientists, developers, and more Scio explorers."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
