Biologically-Inspired Sensor Systems

Sensors began to achieve new importance as a research topic just as the need for better sensors emerged from recent catastrophic events around the globe. These new sensors must have properties that allow them to be robust, accurate, small, low power, inexpensive, and “networkable;” in essence, everything that a biological sensor is. In this talk, I will describe what it means for a sensor system to be “biologically inspired” and present the justification for such a system. I will also discuss current efforts in the development of new sensor technologies based on CMOS optical detectors, and present some ideas on where sensor systems are headed.