{"id":299951,"date":"2026-01-23T18:53:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T18:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/299951\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T18:53:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T18:53:15","slug":"cbp-wants-ai-powered-quantum-sensors-for-finding-fentanyl-in-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/299951\/","title":{"rendered":"CBP Wants AI-Powered \u2018Quantum Sensors\u2019 for Finding Fentanyl in Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"

United States Customs and Border Protection is paying General Dynamics to create a prototype of \u201cquantum sensors\u201d alongside a \u201cdatabase with artificial intelligence<\/a>\u201d designed \u201cto detect illicit objects and substances (such as fentanyl) in vehicles, containers, and other devices,\u201d according to a contract justification published in a federal register<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis database and sensor project will integrate advanced quantum and classical sensing technologies with Artificial Intelligence and ultimately deploy proven concepts and end products anywhere in the CBP environment,\u201d the justification document reads. \u201cUnder this requirement, CBP will take additional steps to enhance its ability to detect, and thus, significantly reduce the harms of illicit contraband entering the United States of America, thus bolstering national security.\u201d<\/p>\n

The document redacts the name of the company developing the prototype; however, contract details included in the federal register entry reveal that the justification is for a $2.4 million General Dynamics contract<\/a> that has been public since December 2025.<\/p>\n

CBP and General Dynamics did not respond to WIRED\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n

CBP\u2019s request for a prototype of \u201cquantum sensors\u201d with an AI database\u2014which comes amid a widespread push<\/a> within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) \u201cto support the adoption and scaling of AI technologies,\u201d according to a strategy memorandum<\/a> published last year\u2014involves a real and growing area of scientific and technological research.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s justification does not get into detail about which methods its \u201cquantum sensors\u201d would use or what information the AI database would store and analyze. However, it does provide hints about detection methods the agency has considered.<\/p>\n

The document claims that CBP conducted market research from April through October of 2025. In July, CBP published an information request<\/a> seeking a vendor for exactly 35 handheld “Gemini\u201d analyzers, sold by<\/a> Thermo Fisher Scientific, which are designed to identify unknown chemicals and narcotics.<\/p>\n

DHS has also tested the Gemini in previous years, according to reports published in 2021<\/a> and 2023<\/a>. The July request\u2014which notes that the devices would be used to identify substances like fentanyl, ketamine, cocaine, methamphetamine, diazepam, and MDMA\u2014makes no mention of artificial intelligence or a database.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe detection equipment will be used by CBP Officers in non-intrusive testing to detect a wide range of narcotics, controlled substances, unknown substances, and general organic materials,\u201d the request reads, noting that the agency \u201ccontinues to seize an increasing number of opioids at the nation\u2019s borders.\u201d<\/p>\n

The July request for information claims that the Gemini analyzers use \u201cFourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR),\u201d which measures<\/a> how much infrared light a sample absorbs, and \u201cRaman spectroscopy,\u201d which measures<\/a> how light scatters off the surface of a sample when a laser is directed at it.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s contract justification says that the agency found an American company that creates a \u201chandheld analyzer\u201d for identifying dangerous chemicals but claimed it \u201ccannot detect fentanyl.\u201d It\u2019s unclear whether this was referring to Gemini or one of the more than 10 other devices DHS tested in 2021<\/a> and 2023<\/a>. But when reached for comment, Thermo Fisher Scientific said that its Gemini analyzers \u201care designed to detect fentanyl.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also unclear whether the General Dynamics prototype may use FTIR or Raman spectroscopy. But a 2024 working paper<\/a> about a laboratory-based fentanyl-detection method (unrelated to CBP, General Dynamics, or Thermo Fisher Scientific) notes that \u201cportable Raman spectrometers\u201d and other handheld devices\u2014though convenient, fast, and inexpensive\u2014can \u201cstruggle with detection of fentanyl\u201d and may be prone to \u201cfalse-positive and false-negative results.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it remains ambiguous what exactly last week\u2019s justification was referring to with its mention of \u201cquantum\u201d sensors, there are fentanyl detection methods based in quantum chemistry. The 2024 paper, for instance, explains how \u201cquantum dots\u201d and fluorescent dye can be used to detect fentanyl and 58 of its analogues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"United States Customs and Border Protection is paying General Dynamics to create a prototype of \u201cquantum sensors\u201d alongside…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[261],"tags":[291,289,290,715,67560,718,18,19,56,17,317,133,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-299951","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-crime","12":"tag-department-of-homeland-security","13":"tag-drugs","14":"tag-eire","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-immigration","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-quantum","19":"tag-science","20":"tag-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115945930950721343","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}