Koniku Konikore Bio-Electric Sensor | 2020-2021

Designers: Dan Harden and Cole Derby, Whipsaw, Inc., San Jose, California, USA
Manufacturer: Koniku, San Rafael, California, USA

We designed a family of devices for Koniku, nicknamed Jellyfish and Morph. These devices use live brain neurons fused to a silicon chip to “smell” compounds in the air, such as pathogens, cancer cells, explosives, and more. The genius of this innovation lies in how these devices convert a life form signal from a programmed neuron into a digital message. In other words, you can give the neurons in the sensors a particular instruction, such as sniffing out threats in an airport or “tasting” food for quality assurance. The living cells inside are bathed in a nutrient rich microfluidics chamber, sampling air from the surrounding environment. This radical field of merging biology, technology and design is exciting to say the least, and represents a unique opportunity for life changing innovation.

Design Innovation

THE PROBLEM:
Conventional sensors can detect light, motion, and humidity but cannot detect organic molecules such as airborne pathogens or explosives. Hospitals and security applications need organic molecular detection, but none exist. That’s why dogs have been used, until now.
THE TECHNOLOGY:
These Koniku devices elevate sensing technology to a new level. For the first time, it joins organic biology (live mice brain neurons) with digital electronics (computing). The design shows off that balance between organic and technological wonder.

AIR SENSING PERFECTION:
The Jellyfish device is designed with air intakes that surround the form. Bathing in air particles, they ensure no contaminants make it past the device. In contrast, the Morph device is a precision sniffer featuring one single air intake on top that reaches high above its surrounding environment.

TRANSLUCENT MATERIALS:
Both the Jellyfish and Morph devices have a clear cast acrylic outer housing with a special vacuum sputtering process to colorize and treat the surface. This translucent material gives some visibility to the inside without giving away trade secrets. The appearance was heavily inspired by the KoniKore technology inside.
Benefit to User
These Koniku devices benefit users in the following ways:

THEY PREVENT USERS FROM CONTACTING DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES:
KoniKore technology detects very dangerous disease pathogens, explosives, and other harmful VOCs.