PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army has awarded Viaspace Inc. a phase II contract for continued development of a chemical warfare threat detection technology.
California-based Viaspace's subsidiary Ionfinity received the $750,000 phase II deal. The Army Small Business Technology Transfer Program selected Ionfinity for its chemical agent sensor technology proposal, which, officials say, is being designed to detect dangerous chemicals, toxic gases and materials that are contained in improvised explosive devices threatening U.S. soldiers in combat zones.
Under the phase II deal, Ionfinity will work in collaboration with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and four other companies on developing what company officials call a differential mobility spectrometer.
"This new sensor will change the paradigm used for future chemical detection and analysis, making it much more convenient, sensitive, selective and timely," James Weiss, Ionfinity chairman and chief operating officer, said in a statement.
