Scientists are developing a new technology that could transform any smartphone into a Star Trek-style 'Tricorder' capable of identifying the chemical components of objects from a distance.

Star Trek's 'Tricorder' was an essential tool, a multifunctional hand-held device used to sense, compute and record data.

An invention by Tel Aviv University researchers may be able to turn smartphones into powerful hyperspectral sensors, capable of identifying the chemical components of objects from a distance.

Professor David Mendlovic of TAU's School of Electrical Engineering and his doctoral student, Ariel Raz, have combined the two necessary parts of this invention: an optical component and image processing software.

"A long list of fields stand to gain from this new technology," said Mendlovic.

"We predict hyperspectral imaging will play a major role in consumer electronics, the automotive industry, biotechnology, and homeland security," said Mendlovic.

Mendlovic and Raz, together with a team of researchers at the Unispectral Technologies firm, patented an optical component based on existing microelectromechanical or "MEMS" technology, suitable for mass production and compatible with standard smartphone camera designs.

The combination of this optical component and newly designed software go further than current smartphone cameras by offering superior imaging performance and hyperspectral imaging capabilities.

"The optical element acts as a tunable filter and the software - an image fusion library - would support this new component and extract all the relevant information from the image," said Mendlovic.

The imaging works in both video and still photography, he said.

Every material object has a hyperspectral signature, its own distinctive chemical fingerprint. Once the camera acquires an image, the data would be further analysed to extract the hyperspectral content at any location in the image.

"We are close to producing a prototype, which is scheduled for release in June," said Mendlovic.

Unispectral is in talks with other companies to analyse data from its cameras' images. This back-end analyser would need a large database of hyperspectral signatures at its disposal.

Applications of the sensor include remote health monitoring and industrial quality control.

"Agricultural applications may also benefit because hyperspectral imaging could be used to identify properties of crops, vegetables and other types of foods," Raz said.

"Its hyperspectral platform is also suitable for wearable devices," Raz added.