A new gas sensor developed by a team from Trinity College Dublin and AMBER (SFI Research Center for Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research) detects solvent vapors in the air to monitor the health and safety of home ecosystems.
The device is 3-D printed and color changing with microscopic sensors to easily monitor air quality in indoor settings, according to Laser Focus World.
The researchers employed direct laser-writing (DLW) to focus on extremely small areas and create “tiny structures in three dimensions from the soft polymers” they have developed in the lab. The study focuses particularly on the design, modeling, and fabrication of different structures that can respond to light, heat, and humidity to create systems that can “truly recreate the vividness, stealth response, and camouflaging ability found in nature,” says Louise Bradley, a professor of photonics at Trinity College Dublin who participated in the study.
According to the researchers, the new gas sensors “could play an enormous role in the development of a domestic environmental monitoring ecosystem. This could ensure that health and wellbeing monitoring become central to the future of home building and automation.”