Low-Cost, Networked, Disposable Chemical Sensor

There is an acute need for a networked chemical sensor that is inexpensive enough to allow it to be treated as a disposable item - deployed and left in-place until the end of its useful life, or until operations move out of communications range. Electrochemical microarray sensors can be fabricated at low enough unit cost to make the development of a disposable sensor node feasible. These sensors are small, have low power requirements, and have been shown to be rugged and reliable. They have demonstrated excellent sensitivity to Army approved chemical warfare agent surrogates and explosives components. The microarray design provides inherent resistance to interfering gases. The Phase 1 effort will involve testing the sensor with chemical warfare agents in the Dilute Agent Facility at Argonne National Laboratory, an Army approved laboratory. The sensor will be integrated into a wireless, networked demonstration node for testing. An inverse plume model will also be implemented. The Phase 2 effort will focus on refining the node design and fabricating several field-deployable nodes, and refinement of the C2 node.