The goal of this project is to develop an advanced sensor system, that combines miniaturized Gas Chromatography (GC) as its key chemical separation tool, and Hollow-Fiber-based Infra Red Absorption Spectroscopy (HF-IRAS) as its key analytical tool to recognize and detect illicit drugs, key precursors and potential derivatives. The DIRAC sensor will be developed to:

1. be used on the field primarily by customs officers for controls at the EU external frontiers and by law enforcement personnel for intra-Community checks as a rugged and hand-portable unit;
2. perform rapid detection of key chemicals;
3. reject interferents with minimal false positive alarm rate;
4. perform advanced data analyses such as similarity evaluation between the chemical structure of the unknown sample with that of controlled/illicit substances. 

The DIRAC consortium consists of ten partners from six countries (Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, Belgium, and Finland), and includes two Universities (University of Lausanne, University of Galati), three public research centres (FRAUNHOFER Institute IPM, CNR IMM, INSTM), one private research centre (CREO), two large enterprises (EADS and Selex S,I), and two public bodies (the Belgian National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology NICC and the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation NBI). Many partners have already cooperated in the past, this leading to an ease in the exchange of information and transfer of know-how.
The partners have a very sound expertise in the tasks they have assigned, and familiarity with European programmes and with industrial research projects. Additionally, tasks are well defined, with no gap and no overlap. All this can be better appreciated in the summary table below: