Hypertaste by IBM: an electrical language that can analyze fluids!
Can you imagine that soon you will be able to test liquids for the presence of hazardous waste and chemicals without having to visit a laboratory full of specialist equipment? And that's all thanks to IBM.
IBM is one of the largest technology companies in the world, so it's no wonder that it has the necessary resources to regularly surprise us with its inventions. It is enough to mention here this year's first commercial quantum computer or artificial intelligence, which can detect breast cancer a year before its occurrence - you can not forget about the latest AI, which aroused a lot of controversy, because on the basis of employee profiles analysis it was able to with 95% efficiency predict who is about to leave the company in the near future.
Today, we've got the announcement from a slightly different barrel, because we're talking about Hypertaste, an electric language that analyzes liquids for the presence of hazardous waste or chemicals. The device is able to carry out an in-depth analysis of the fluid for many different factors and with the participation of a minimum amount of equipment - this is to be an ideal option for researchers who do not have access to modern laboratories on a daily basis. IBM calls them an assisted AI e-language for rapid and portable analysis of fingerprints.
It's probably harder to find a more adequate term, because Hypertaste is doing just that, relying on a wide range of cross-sensitive electrochemical sensors that consist of electrode pairs. The latter are able to sense the presence of a combination of molecules and assign them a specific voltage signal, and when all molecules are tested, the fluid receives a specific "fingerprint", a unique pattern. According to IBM, the whole process takes less than a minute, which is an impressive result for a portable device, and the results of the analysis can then be seen in a dedicated application
If you're wondering what specific applications an electrical language can have, then IBM mentions at least a few on its blog. According to the group, even government agencies that can use it to make rapid measurements of water in the area can reach for it. What's more, it will also be useful for food companies, because they can quickly check whether the received goods have a composition in line with the assurances, which is also much cheaper and faster than external laboratory tests. Of course, the device is now a prototype, but IBM is looking forward to the future.