KINGSTON, R.I., April 16, 2018\u2014It\u2019s the size of a toolbox, and just as sturdy. It\u2019s lightweight and even has a handle so it can be carried\u2014quickly, if necessary\u2014to different locations.<\/p>\n
If all goes as planned, \u201cThe Digital Dog Nose\u201d created by Otto Gregory, chemical engineering professor at the 溏心vlog免费B站, could soon be placed at subway stations, train stations, airports and ports to detect bombs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve made great progress on the project, and now we\u2019re ready to get the word out,\u201d says Gregory. \u201cWe\u2019ve turned a corner with these latest developments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two years ago, Otto and his students created a sensor to detect explosives commonly used by terrorists. One of the explosives is triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, which was used by terrorists during the Paris and Brussels attacks several years ago.<\/p>\n
Terrorists use TATP because it is easy to make with chemicals that can be bought at pharmacies and hardware stores, attracting little attention from authorities. Only small amounts are needed to cause large explosions.<\/p>\n
The goal of Gregory\u2019s research is to find a way to detect the explosives\u2019 vapors before the bomb detonates, launching quick evacuations and saving lives. The device is also significant because it works continuously, unlike bomb-sniffing dogs that can get tired.<\/p>\n
The sensor Gregory created two years ago works by detecting the decomposition of nearby explosive molecules, triggering an alarm in the device. Back then, the sensor was in its early stages, mostly used for experiments in Gregory\u2019s \u201cSensors and Surface Technology\u201d laboratory on campus.<\/p>\n
Over the last 15 months, Gregory and his students have been working intensely on the project and completed a prototype this summer. The team tested the prototype at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., in July, and at Rapiscan Systems, one of the top detection system manufacturers in the world, in August. The company is based in Andover, Mass.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe testing exceeded our expectations,\u201d says Andrew Rossi, of Portsmouth<\/strong>, who is pursuing his master\u2019s degree in chemical engineering. \u201cBoth groups were impressed with our results. The prototype works\u2014and works well.\u201d<\/p>\n During the field trials, the prototype sucked in air contaminated with explosive molecules. Once the molecules hit the sensor, they broke apart and released heat, which, in turn, set off the sensor\u2019s alarm.<\/p>\n The prototype was able to detect explosives at very low concentrations, as low as one molecule of an explosive in a billion molecules of air. \u201cThat\u2019s amazing to us,\u201d says Rossi. \u201cThe lower we can go, the less likelihood terrorists are going to get by security.\u201d<\/p>\n Building the prototype was a challenge. \u201cWe were essentially taking something that was spread out on a big lab bench and condensing it into a small toolbox,\u201d says Peter Ricci, of West Warwick<\/strong>, a junior studying chemical engineering. \u201cWe had to come up with the right box, tubing and piping.\u201d<\/p>\n Alyssa Kelly, of Millville, Mass<\/strong>., says she appreciated the opportunity to work on a project that could save lives.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting to learn so much in a research lab in such a short amount of time,\u201d says Kelly, a junior majoring in chemical engineering. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot in the lab that I don\u2019t necessarily learn in my classes, and it\u2019s fulfilling to work on a project that could have a global impact.\u201d<\/p>\n The next step is to make the prototype as small as a cell phone. The team is also reaching out to partners to market the product and to federal agencies involved with national security.<\/p>\n Gregory\u2019s work is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. \u201cI\u2019m very excited about the future of the product,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to make life safer for people throughout the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KINGSTON, R.I., April 16, 2018\u2014It\u2019s the size of a toolbox, and just as sturdy. It\u2019s lightweight and even has a handle so it can be carried\u2014quickly, if necessary\u2014to different locations. If all goes as planned, \u201cThe Digital Dog Nose\u201d created by Otto Gregory, chemical engineering professor at the 溏心vlog免费B站, could soon be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}