A tiny MEMS spectrometer could be integrated into smartphones to test fruits and vegetables at the store.
Scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute of Photonic Microsystems (IPMS) have developed a tiny MEMS spectrometer that can measure factors such as water and protein level in foods without touching them.
The MEMS spectrometer can probe under the surface of any food type, even when it is enveloped in thin packaging film
The user points it at a piece of fruit, for example, and it reflects back a spectrum of infrared light that the system analyses by comparing it with information stored in a database.
The spectrometer is small enough and cheap enough that it could be integrated into smartphones and be used to test fruits and vegetables at the market for ripeness or freshness.
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