FirstDefender Helps Haz-Mat Teams Identify "Powders"

Imagine this scenario in an airport: a suspicious unidentified substance is discovered and freezes the activity for hours until a first-rescue team can come in order to make a safety assessment. Well, this is where the Ahura's Corp First Defender comes in to give rescuers a hand.

The FirstDefender is a handheld instrument that recognizes thousands of chemicals giving cops and firefighters an immediate analysis of almost any substance. It's ideal for emergency situations demanding a rapid assessment of potentially hazardous materials including toxic industrial chemicals, explosives, chemical warfare agents, and narcotics. The hadnheld uses laser beams and a type of optical analysis known as Raman spectroscopy.

Here's how it works. It sends laser beams on the surface of an object and analyzes the scattered light that reflects from it. After checking the optical signature of a material, FirstDefender will tell the user if the scanned object is liquid or solid. It's like a pair of eyes that can see through the walls in order to check the nature of the materials around the person using it.

Weighting 1.8-kg, the device is beefy, but portable enough to be carried in a backpack. Anyway, Ahura's shrinking plans will probably lead to a slimmer device (the size of a cellphone). Apparently, this will make it a more practical tool, but not less pricey than it is now ($30, 000). Ouch, there go your taxes!

The device has already been used in the post-Katrina clean up opperations. It has also been used in law-enforcement and terrorism investigations. FirstDefender also "acted" as a movie-placed product in the "CSI" TV series (Crime Scene Investigation that is). It can soon be applied in testing for counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

We are just a few, but there are many of you, Softpedia users, out there. That's why we thought it would be a good idea to create an email address for you to help us a little in finding gadgets we missed. Interesting links are bound to be posted with recognition going mainly to those who submit. The address is .