The firm behind the odour sensor on the CAT S61 smartphone (which can detect smells and the presence of VOCs), has now made available a particulate matter sensor for portable applications. Swiss firm Sensirion says the SPS30 particulate matter (PM) sensor is “the next technological breakthrough in optical PM sensors.” The measurement principle is based on laser scattering and makes use of a proprietary contamination-resistance technology. PM sensors are typically dogged by contamination problems, which shorten their life and cause malfunctions. But Sensirion says it has gotten around these difficulties, producing an accurate and highly durable sensor, featuring an eight-year lifetime.
According to the firm: “Sensirion’s advanced algorithms provide superior accuracy for different PM types and higher-resolution particle size binning, opening up new possibilities for the detection of different sorts of environmental dust and other particles.” Available in a package measuring 41 x 41 x 12 mm3, the device is suited to wall-mounted or compact air quality devices.
