Jerry Petersen
Draper Laboratory is working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on an initiative that seeks to produce sensor devices using engineered microbes to complement conventional sensors for environmental monitoring.
The initiative, called Tellus, seeks to determine the range of physical and chemical signals that microbe-based sensing devices can detect, the output signals such devices can generate in response to the input and the environmental conditions that such devices can tolerate, Draper said Tuesday.
Microbe-based sensing devices would work by generating a physical or chemical output signal when they encounter an input, like toxins, contaminants, explosives, chemical warfare agents or poison gases. The output signal would then be detected and measured using conventional receiver systems.
For its part, Draper will help develop a methodology that will facilitate the design of microbe-based sense-and-respond devices themselves. Kevin Remillard, the laboratory’s director for the DARPA Tellus program team, said that his organization aims to develop six unique microbial sensors that will function in various environments.
Draper is partnering with a team comprising experts from industry and academia for the effort.
