Hyperspectral imaging and sensing developer Spectral Engines Oy (Oulu, Finland) has received €2.4m in funding to develop a portable drug screening device.

The money has been granted under the Horizon 2020 SME support instrument of the European Union for a project called NarcoScan.

Earlier this year Spectral Engines won the EU Horizon Prize for developing Food Scanner, a novel spectral sensing platform that offers unique benefits in many applications such as food sensing and analysis.

The NarcoScan device will operate on the same principles as the food scanner but will be optimised to identify drugs and be a re-usable pocket-sized instrument for the police.

The scanner will be based on Spectral Engine’s sensor and cloud and device connectivity.

The goal is to provide high measurement accuracy from low drug concentration and to produce a result within seconds.

Spectral Engines’ technology platform can be utilised in a vast spectrum of products and applications ranging from smart agriculture to smart homes and smart industry.

The SME Instrument provides funding for small and medium sized EU-based enterprises.

By funding Spectral Engines’ latest project called NarcoScan with €2.4m, the EU recognises for the second time Spectral Engines’ position as a pioneer in the field of next-generation sensor technology.