Patent ID: 7477993

Claim:
A distributed sensing system in a networked environment for identifying an analyte, said system comprising: a first sensor array connected to said network comprising sensors capable of producing a first response in the presence of a chemical stimulus; a second sensor array or single sensor connected to said network comprising sensors capable of producing a second response in the presence of a physical stimulus, wherein each sensor of said second sensor array or said single sensor is an optical sensor, a mechanical sensor, a radiation sensor, a thermal sensor or combinations thereof; a computer connected to said network; a computer readable algorithm for execution by said computer, said computer readable algorithm comprising: (1) instructions for indicating or selecting the most relevant sensor modality to use within each sensor array for a particular application in said network, or (2) instructions for comparing a combination of said first response and said second response with combinations of responses of a particular analyte or mixture of substances that are known so as to identify an unknown analyte.