“Imagine if there was a way to know the chemical makeup of everything you come into contact with” posits Consumer Physics cofounder Damian Goldring in an initial pitch to Kickstarter. Had time to give that some thought? If your mind immediately summoned images of the tricorder that wowed us in so many old Star Trek episodes, then you’re on the right path. The SCiO, a pocket-sized molecular sensor, is essentially a universal molecular reader for... well, everything.

Israel-based company Consumer Physics Inc. introduced the world to SCiO via Kickstarter only a few weeks ago, and already they have smashed their $200,000 goal – with nearly a month left, they are sitting funded at just under two million dollars. The three years of research that went into developing this amazing little gadget have obviously paid off for them, and when you look at what SCiO can do it is no surprise that so many people want to get their hands on one. Without going into too much mind-blowing detail regarding the field of near-infrared spectroscopy (which is a difficult enough concept to SAY, much less understand), I’ll try and break down just how the world’s first accessible spectrometer works.

The SCiO literally gives limitless access to data about the world around you. A sensor in the device scans the molecular fingerprint of physical matter then identifies its chemical make-up and sends the data directly to a smartphone. To put it in more practical terms, it can scan a plate of food and provide caloric and fat content, or can determine how ripe a piece of fruit is without ever touching or peeling it. The device could also be an amazing tool for gardeners or farmers interested in whether their plants were getting enough water or not, as well as providing data about soil conditions in different areas. The SCiO can even be used to test the authenticity of medication drugs – all by simply tapping the device to the object of interest.

Initially SCiO will only be able to analyze matter like food, plants and drugs, but developers are hoping to eventually expand that area to one that encompasses all materials on the planet. Once users start submitting scanned objects from the device to the database, the information foundation will start to grow rapidly. For a database that will obviously start with a very lean storehouse of information, the rabid fan base that the SCiO has already earned means that information within the community database should grow rather quickly.

While there is currently no set price to get your hands on one, the Kickstarter page gives us a good indication of range. For example, Super Early Birds who pledged $149 will get a SCiO device and access to any supporting apps released in the next two years. Considering the cost of a full-sized spectrometer as well as the convenience and limitless possibilities provided by this tiny Trek tech, this bad boy sounds like a steal. And that is without even mentioning some of the future hopes for the device, which researchers hope will eventually include the ability to analyze bodily fluids and human tissues. As collaborator Nitzan Waisberg (formerly of Stanford) put it – “you don’t have to be a scientist, you just have to follow your curiosity, and every time you scan you’re helping to build the world’s first database of matter”.