Gas sensors are of tremendous interest to consumers and companies alike. People want to know about the air that they breathe, and companies want to make sure that consumers are happy. The challenge has always been to create sensors that can effectively monitor environmental conditions.
 
Judging by initial interest and results, AerNos seems to have found the ideal combination for gas sensors. Founded in 2016, San Diego, CA-based AerNos (the company notes the name is inspired by the Latin words “air” and “our”) has developed a unique technology for gas sensors that are about to be implemented into existing products by leading global companies.  
 
Larry Eason, EVP corporate strategy for AerNos, noted that the company has moved quickly, advancing its technology, raising funds, developing manufacturing capability and building out its team. 
 
“Once we proved to ourselves that our approach would work, we were off to the races,” Eason added. “We are now working with numerous Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies on integrating our sensors into their existing product lines.” 
 
Unique Advantages
 
Compared to traditional gas sensors, Eason noted that AerNos’ sensors offer numerous key advantages, beginning with the ability to handle multiple gases simultaneously. The gas sensor modules are designed to target specific gas sensing applications, and are configured to the customer’s needs. 
 
“It’s a pretty unique technology, a nano-based sensor on a 3mm x 3mm MEMS chip that has multiple mini channels with circuits that signal when it comes into contact with gases,” Eason said. “We can do multiple gases. Today we are focused on air quality gases for air quality monitoring – NO₂, SO₂, ozone, formaldehyde, ammonia, methane, some hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds. We have a sensor module that is plug and play, and initial applications with be in the three to four gas range.”
 
Aside from size, the nano gas sensors also have other benefits, beginning with low power consumption and cost.
 
“Our sensors operate at ambient temperatures at low power, and are very sensitive,” Eason added. “Our IoT device gets power from whatever it is plugged in to. Our sensors detect to the parts per billion in terms of sensitivity. We also have a self-calibration mechanism. When you provide this combination of capabilities, you open up a range of markets.” 
 
Even though size is already a competitive advantage for AerNos, the company continues to push.
 
“From the very beginning, our goal has been to be able to produce a million chips a day so we can ultimately get into phones and wearables,” Eason said.
 
Key Markets
 
Eason said that AerNos has received a lot of interest, particularly at the last two Consumer Electronic Shows (CES). 
 
“CES provides companies with a dashboard that shows how you rank against other exhibitors by listing views,” Eason said. “At CES 2019, we were ranked number one out of 4,700 exhibitors, which shows how much interest there is in gas sensors and our specific capabilities.
 
“Right now, our focus is on environmental monitoring, primarily for indoor/Smart Home applications, but also for outdoor, industrial and automotive. Long term, there is a larger range, including Homeland Security, Department of Defense, health and food safety. We also have a wearable specifically developed for the research community that connects via the phone that is battery powered,” Eason said.
 
In one example, at CES 2019, AerNos worked with a partner which introduced AerBetic, a gas sensor incorporated in a new wearable alert device that detects patterns in the breath that are indicative of hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic diabetic episodes. 
 
“With diabetes monitoring, our sensor is being used to detect patterns in the user’s breath that indicates elevated blood sugar levels, which gives you early warning,” he reported. “Our partners will be coming out with AerBetic in 2020.”
 
The Internet of Things (IoT) offers a substantial opportunity for environmental monitoring, which led AerNos to develop and launch its AerN²S technology for discrete multi-gas sensing, as well as AerIoT^TM, a nano gas sensor module for monitoring pollutants, detecting hazardous gases and other e-nose applications. Chosen as a CES 2019 Innovation Award Honoree, AerIoT can be integrated into IoT connected products such as smart appliances, vehicle in-cabin environmental control systems and air purification. 
 
“The big play for AerNos is our IoT device,” said Eason.
 
The Future for AerNos
 
In addition to AerIoT, Eason noted that AerNos is simultaneously developing its next wave of gas sensors, and anticipates a future that includes flexible sensors.
 
“We can see these sensors being flexible,” he added. “One of the most exciting applications is health and fitness, where our sensors could be used on clothing and uniforms, and that requires flexible printing. 
 
“The main thing is being able to detect multiple gases in a small module that is inexpensive and low power,” he continued. “This opens up many new applications. For example, if you are sitting in traffic, the air inside cars in traffic, air is 11 times worse than right outside; the sensor could detect the pollution, turn on air purification and communicate the information to the driver. 
 
Ultimately, AerNos sees gas sensors for environmental monitoring as a tremendous opportunity both from a business and impact perspective.
 
“Gas sensors have enormous potential to improve human health and the environment,” Eason added. “In most urban areas, there are only a handful of air quality monitoring stations and those aren’t necessarily near the user. Our sensors will offer granular level data which will be highly beneficial to city and health officials, schools and the public. Long term, offering cloud services for data will also be a huge opportunity. There are a lot of cool things we can do.”

AerIot sensor. (Source: AerNos)