TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) – An Israeli inventor has created a scanner that he says could change the way we shop and take care of ourselves – by reading the chemical makeup of foods, drugs and other items we use.
The tiny gadget is still limited to a few key applications. But creator Dror Sharon envisions a machine that will compile a massive collection of data that will allow users to analyze the physical matter that exists around them.
“We wanted to find applications where people have the most visceral connection to the world,” said Sharon, CEO and co-founder of Consumer Physics.
His gadget, called the SCiO, is an infrared spectrometer the size of a thumb drive. It is being marketed for three applications – food, pharmaceuticals and horticulture, or the health of plants. Simply by pointing and clicking a miniature digital wand, users can see how many calories are in a piece of cheese or determine when a tomato will reach peak ripeness.
Its name evokes the Latin verb “to know.”