According to a report by BBC, Oshiorenoya Agabi, a Nigerian inventor based in Silicon Valley, has developed a computer that can identify the smell of explosives and aid in bomb detection. The Nigerian inventor unveiled his modem-sized technology which uses mice neurons at the TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania.
The device, which has been dubbed “Koniku Kore” is made from a mixture of living neurons and silicon, with sensors that can detect and recognise smells. Agabi believes that his technology could be used to replace traditional airport security and could provide the brain for future robots.
“You can give the neurons instructions about what to do – in our case we tell it to provide a receptor that can detect explosives”, he told BBC.
According to a report by the Nigerian Communications Week, the device could also be used to detect illness by sensing markers of a disease in the air molecules that a patient gives off.
“This device can live on a desk and we can keep them alive for a couple of months. We think that the processing power that is going to run the robots of the future will be synthetic biology-based and we are laying the foundations for that today.”
Agabi believes his startup company, which was launched over a year ago and has raised USD$1m in funding, could lead us into a future where devices such as Koniku Kore could be discreetly used at various points in airports, eliminating the need for queues to get through airport security.
He says the company is already making profits of USD$10m upwards and has customers in the aviation and pharmaceuticals industries.[related-posts]
source: BBC (and inputs from IT News Africa)
