Patent ID: 8192685

Claim:
An interactive interrogator system for detecting a target substance, comprising: a concentration cell; a first sensor tuned to detect the target substance in a range of 1 ppm to 1 ppt, but that may provide a false alarm for an interferent, wherein the first sensor comprises at least one nanotube and the first sensor is situated in the concentration cell; a computerized interrogator that is interactive with a human user, wherein when the first sensor has returned a positive indication for presence of a target substance, the interrogator performs steps comprising: presenting a query sequence that comprises a series of yes/no queries to the human user for yes/no response, as the user makes yes/no response to the yes/no queries, receiving yes/no response data, processing the yes/no response data to each yes/no query including screening for whether the target substance is actually present in the concentration cell and being detected by the first sensor or whether instead the first sensor is likely to be issuing a false alarm; a library in a computer-readable form of at least the target substance and possible interferents, wherein the library is contained in or receivable by the interrogator; a second sensor which is an ambiguity resolver, wherein the second sensor is dependent upon a different physical parameter of an analyte than the first sensor; a computerized analyzer that receives from the interrogator, in computer readable form, one or both of GPS coordinates of the first sensor at a time an atmospheric sample is introduced into the concentration cell, and environment information relating to presence of possible chemical interferent sources.