Introducing The SCiO, The Closest Thing to a Tricorder That Kickstarter Has to Offer.

A Kickstarter project is raising funds to create the world’s first molecular sensor that will be able fit into the palm of your hand.

Israel based company Consumer Physics inc. has created a handheld device that will scan materials or physical objects and relay the information to your Smartphone.

The pocket molecular sensor has been referred to as a Star Trek Tricorder and the Kickstarter page claims that straight out of the box, the SCiO will be able to:

• Get nutritional facts about different kinds of food: salad dressings, sauces, fruits, cheeses, and much more.

• See how ripe an Avocado is, through the peel!

• Find out the quality of your cooking oil.

• Know the well being of your plants.

• Analyze soil or hydroponic solutions.

• Authenticate medications or supplements.

• Upload and tag the spectrum of any material on Earth to our database. Even yourself!

The SCiO is also being released with the promise that new applications will be developed and released regularly with ideas such as measuring the properties of precious stones, clothes and even your pets!

Those who order the SCiO from Kickstarter will receive all applications released in the next two years for free.

The SCiO could also be used as a way to keep yourself safe by scanning your drink, you could reveal whether someone had spiked it, or it could be used to keep a close eye on diets.

Alongside these apps, Consumer Physics are encouraging mobile developers to create fun games for their molecular scanner.

The Kickstarter campaign set a goal of $200,000 and has currently raised around $2,000,000, ten times the original goal with over 9,000 current backers.

The SCiO uses the unique optical signature, which are created by unique vibrations created by molecules which then react with light. This information then sent to your Smartphone via Bluetooth to give you a detailed analysis of the object you scanned.

The SCiO will cost around $199 and is compatible with: iPhone 4S, 5C, 5S, iPad (3^rd Generation or later) and Android based phones with Bluetooth 4.0.

This is just an example of some of the amazing ideas to come from crowd-funding sites, the Virtual Reality headset, Oculus Rift also started through Kickstarter, as well as the console/development kit Ouya.

The SCiO has been three years in the making undergoing changed to the technology and appearance to make it as portable as possible and is expecting to ship in December 2014.

If you want to pledge to the Kickstarter project you can find the project here, tell us what you think about the SCiO in the comments or tweet me @JonathonAalders.