SCiO – The Pocket Molecular Sensor

Coined as the first pocket molecular sensor, Scio allows users to accurately assess the molecular fingerprint of various organic materials. The scanning device is able to scan an object in real time and then show the results on a connected smart phone within seconds. SCiO is actually a miniature spectroscope. Just like the bigger and more expensive laboratory-grade models it's based on, it works by shining near-infrared light on materials which then excites the objects molecules in the process. By analyzing the light that's reflected back from the vibrating molecules, it's possible to identify them by their unique optical signature. Once it has done this (within just a few seconds may I add) it then sends this data off to a cloud where the information is processed and then sent back to the user’s phone. This device is centred on food and drink and allows users to know exactly how much nutritional value is in any given product.

 For example how much fat is in their glass of milk or which Apple is the sweetest. It provides the user with specific macro nutrient content such as calories, fats, carbohydrates and much more. It can also be used on pharmaceutical pills and liquids to show the ratio of certain ingredients or to identify them via its name/brand.  The device can also scan various plant species and tell the user whether or not it needs to be watered in order to reach its optimal growth.

All of this of course is music to the ears of nutritionists and athletes everywhere who wish to gain a competitive age by knowing exactly what they’re putting into their body. For example if you wanted to know how much protein is in a handful of nuts as opposed to the whole bag, you could. The future of this of course is not likely to stop here with spokesperson for Scio Dror Sharon stating “We are on a mission to build the world’s largest database of physical world fingerprints. We are basically aiming to build a Google for the physical world and in real time”.