Researchers at MIT Lincoln Laboratory have designed a throwable, baseball-sized sensor that can remotely detect hazardous vapors and aerosols.
Called the Tactical Optical Spherical Sensor for Interrogating Threats (TOSSIT), the sensor is designed to alert military service members, first responders, and law enforcement to the presence of chemical threats like nerve and blister agents, industrial chemical accidents, or fentanyl dust.
Users can simply toss, drone-drop, or launch TOSSIT into an area of concern. To detect chemicals, the sensor samples the air and uses an internal camera to observe color changes on a removable dye card.
If certain chemicals are present, TOSSIT alerts users via an app or alarms in the sensor.
"TOSSIT fills an unmet need, providing a low-cost sensing option for vapors and solid aerosol threats — think toxic dust particles — that would otherwise not be detectable by small deployed sensor systems,” says principal investigator Richard Kingsborough.
After extensive testing in the field, the technology is being transferred to the U.S. military.
