NANOTEC and the organizer of INTERMACH 2012 held a special public forum on Nano Sensor to promote awareness to the importance of sensor development for industrial applications.
“We are surrounded by sensors and sensing networks that monitor a large amount of parameters for the sole purpose of enhancing our safety and quality of life” said Dr. Sirasak Teparkum, Deputy Executive Director at NANOTEC. “Industrial sector such as automotive, medical, entertainment, food, and security are using sensors to enhance the efficiency of their products. The addition of nanotechnology in sensor development is helping to make smarter sensors and in many ways more compact in size. This helps to increase the application of sensors in other sectors where sensors’ size is critical. The nano sensor research activity at NANOTEC is to build local capabilities that are suitable and appropriate for industrial use”.
The global sensor market is expected to reach US$ 76.7 Billion by 2017. Technological refinement in terms of improved efficiency and performance will be key to driving the growth of sensor applications.
“The electronic sensor research program at NANOTEC originated as an idea to create a complete smart facial sensing system that covers the eyes, ears, tongue, and nose” said Dr. Jedsada Manyam of NANOTEC NanoMolecular Sensor Lab. “We have performed contract research on areas related to money security. Since then, the program has diversified to include developing electronic eyes for the paint industry which has an average market forecast growth of over 9% per year. The development of sensors capable of detecting different shades of color is important for both the paint industry. It is also being adapted for the food industry”.
In addition to Dr. Sirasak and Dr. Jedsada, Dr. Sirapat Pratontep of King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMUTL) also gave a talk on the development of “Electronic Nose” which is a joint NANOTEC and KMUTL research collaboration.
Attending the forum were representatives from the private sector such as food and jewelry, and research institutions. The private sector representatives’ interests range from seeking ways to maintain consistent taste, color, and smell of food related items. While the jewelry people were interested in trying to maintain consistent jewelry color shades for the European market.
The speakers also took time to provide hands-on demonstration on the various nano sensor prototypes which was beneficial for the participants understanding of sensor systems.
For information on INTERMACH 2012, please log on: http://www.intermachshow.com/
