Ready for a mind-blowing example of what Android is capable of? You'd better be - Sensorcon, hoping for funding from Kickstarter, has thrown together a demonstration of Sensordrone, an accessory for your Android device that will be small enough to fit on your keychain and yet powerful enough to pack 13 different sensors under its hood, paving the road for hundreds of potential new apps.

sensordrone

In a nutshell, Sensordrone is an entire suite of sensors, useful for projects ranging from gas oxidization to color intensity measurement. It will communicate the information it finds to your handset via Bluetooth, at which point a Sensordrone-enabled app will take over. Here's a video demonstration:

If you didn't quite catch all of Sensordrone's features, we don't blame you - to say there's a lot of them would be a drastic understatement. Fortunately, Sensorcon put together a list of the included sensors:

  • Precision Electrochemical Gas Sensor - Calibrated for Carbon Monoxide (Also can be used for precision measurements of Alcohol, Hydrogen, and others)
  • Gas Sensor for Oxidizing Gases - MOS type for Chlorine, Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide, etc.
  • Gas Sensor for Reducing Gases - (MOS type for methane, Propane, alcohols, other hydrocarbons, etc.)
  • Temperature - Simple resistance temperature sensor type
  • Humidity
  • Pressure - can be used for Barometer, Altimeter, Blood Pressure, etc.
  • Non-Contact Thermometer - Infrared sensor for scanning object temperature
  • Proximity Capacitance - fluid level, intrusion detection, stud finder & more applications
  • Red Color Intensity
  • Green Color Intensity
  • Blue Color Intensity
  • Illumination - combine RGB & illumination for color matching
  • Digital & Analog Interface - Expansion connector for connecting anything you want to your mobile device through the Sensordrone

Moreover, as the video points out, should you for whatever reason desire even more sensors, you'll be able to connect any piece of hardware to the Sensordrone using the 0.1" pitch header that, according to the Sensorcon, supports both digital (RS-232, I2C) and analog signals. This will enable "expansion modules" for things like air quality monitors.

The theoretical applications of Sensordrone are simply astounding - for instance, the devs imagine that, using crowd-sourced data from Sensordrone users in a specific area, better air quality and weather station networking will be made possible. Examine the improvement for yourself using the images below - the picture on the left shows New York's official Air Quality Index network, while its counterpart on the right depicts what Sensordrone data could do.

So, when will it go on sale? Assuming Sensorcon achieves its goal of $25,000 in donations before July 11th (which seems quite likely considering it's received about $23,000 as of this post), "early birds" - those who pledged $149 or more - should begin to receive their Sensordrones in September. However, Sensorcon has already reached its limit of 100 early birds, so that option is no longer available; still, if you pledge $175+, you should receive a unit in October, which is also currently scheduled to be the general production release.

Compatibility will start with Android - other platforms (i.e. iOS, Blackberry OS, and Windows) will follow, and then only if Sensordrone's initial launch is successful.

As stated in the video, the price is pretty impressive given Sensordrone's capabilities - the device will cost you $175; if you were to buy all the included sensors individually, you'd be coughing up something to the tune of $925.

If your interest has been kindled, hit up the source link for all sorts of information about the project, from details about Sensorcon's engineers to instructions on pledging money.

Source: Sensordrone