Bruker in Phase III of automatic, unattended chemical detector

DHS has awarded Billerica, Massachusetts-based Bruker Daltonics a $1.3 million follow-on Phase III contract for further research, development, and testing within the Autonomous Rapid Facility Chemical Agent Monitor (ARFCAM). This Phase III program will last about three years during which time Bruker will continue to improve its ARFCAM technology. ARFCAM Phase III is an effort to develop an effective automated and unattended chemical agent and toxic chemicals detector for government facilities and critical infrastructure by the year 2011.

Bruker Daltonics’ work in ARFCAM Phases I and II has already resulted in a commercial product line, called the RAID-AFM (Automated Facilities Monitor). The RAID-AFM is targeted for governmental customers as well as financial institutions, convention centers, hotels, sports venues, and transportation facilities. The RAID-AFM is based on the company’s RAID ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) technology. In the United States, the RAID-AFM has received a NRC Exempt License excluding it from radiation safety requirements, thus encouraging installations and maintenance outside the government. The RAID-AFM detects and identifies a range of chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals with short response times at IDLH (Immediate Danger to Live and Health) levels. Since it is automated and does not need attending to, it can monitor critical infrastructure and larger buildings on a continuous 24/7 basis without operator intervention with minimal service requirements. The fixed-site autonomous RAID-AFM may be complemented by Bruker’s handheld RAID-M chemical detectors for facility walk-throughs and problem localization.