The Xsense project: The application of an intelligent sensor array for high sensitivity handheld explosives detectors

Multiple independent sensors are used in security and military applications in order to increase sensitivity, selectivity and data reliability. The Xsense project has been initiated at the Technical University of Denmark in collaboration with a number of partners in an effort to produce a handheld sensor for trace detection of explosives. We are using micro- and nano technological approaches for integrating four sensing principles into a single device. At the end of the project, the consortium aims at having delivered a sensor platform consisting of four independent detector principles capable of identifying concentrations of TNT, DNT, HMX and RDX at sub parts-per-billion (ppb) levels and with a false positive rate less than 1 parts-per-thousand. The specificity, sensitivity, reliability and the speed of responses are ensured by the use of advanced data processing, surface functionalization and nanostructured sensors and sensor design.