What remains the primary engineering hurdle for the widespread adoption of chemical spoilage sensors?
Answer
Creating a highly selective, highly sensitive sensor mass-producible for pennies
The major obstacle currently hindering the widespread rollout of these sophisticated sensors is the balance between performance specifications and economics. The engineering challenge lies in developing a sensor that maintains high selectivity and high sensitivity while also being capable of mass production at a very low cost, ideally comparable to a standard barcode or label (i.e., manufactured for pennies). Improvement in fabrication techniques, such as printed electronics, is expected to drive this cost barrier down over time.

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