Morphix mounts a methamphetamine detector to a UGV
Developed with a USMC grant, New York, Chicago, and other cities show interest in a chemical sensing system that can be worn on the clothing or attached to a robot; Chameleon system relies on armbands and disposable cartridges to provide a reading
“Protecting the individual from the invisible.” Such is the motto of Virginia Beach, Virginia-based Morphix Technologies, innovator of, among other things, a methamphetamine detection kit that can be mounted on an unmanned ground vehicle (UGVs). The company does itself manufacture UGV, but the fact that they might be necessary says a lot about the meth business. Cooked clandestinely in rural homes, and relying on a dangerous broth of volataile chemicals, the fire risk may even outweigh the social cost of the drug. Morphix’s sensing devices are intened to help police detect the danger before they themselves are put in harm’s way — “Just to give us an advance warning before we go in or before we get too far in would be advantageous,” said Deborah Crisher of the Virginia Beach Fire Department, which is currently testing the system.
The detection kit was originally intended for other purposes. In 2002 the company received a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the Marine Corps to develop a low-cost, disposable product to protect troops from exposure to chemical weapon attacks. The result was Chameleon, a system that relies on thin pieces of coated film that change color in the presence of certain predetermined chemicals (the company has develop eight in all). The films are mounted in adjustable armbands, so the responder need only keep an eye on his arm in order to ensure safety. Each armband costs $30 and the disposable caserttes cost only $3 each. New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco have all purchased the system. “We’re small, so we’ve been hitting the big markets first,” said Morphix’s Kimberly Chapman. “We figured if we got the big ones it’d be easier to get the small ones, because you’ve got references.”
The company is also working with the Defense Department to develop a device able to detect both chemical and biological agents, such as anthrax, and wirelessly transmit the test results. Morphix also holds a federal contract to develop a protective coating for garments worn by military troops or first responders that would neutralize toxic chemicals.
-read more in Jon W. Glass’s Virginian Pilot report
