Cargo Business Techwire

Friday, March 6, 2015

GE makes breakthrough in RFID sensors that detect explosives

GE Global Research has announced a technological advancement in their project to develop next-generation sensors for cargo shipping that can detect chemicals used in explosives or other hazardous materials at ports.

GE has developed a new sensor based on GE’s radio-frequency identification technology, in partnership with the Technical Support Working Group, a U.S. interagency program for counter-terrorism research and development, Quantum Magnetics and KemSENSE.

GE’s RFID sensors are intended to wirelessly detect and quantify chemicals of interest at low concentrations, in the presence of multiple

interferences, without adding to their complexity, size, or cost. They have been developed in the form of battery-free RFID tags coated with a sensing material that responds to explosives and oxidizers.

"GE’s sensors could dramatically increase the accuracy and improve the limits of detection of dangerous chemical threats," said Radislav Potyrailo, a principal scientist at GE Global Research and principal investigator on the project. "Fast and accurate chemical detection and quantitation are vital to help ensuring the safety of cargo that passes through our nation’s ports."

For more of the RFID World story: www.rfidworld.ca