A Novel Capsaicin Concentration Detector for Individuals With Capsaicin Sensitivity

In this study, a novel capsaicin concentration detector was proposed for individuals with capsaicin sensitivity. Capsaicin damages these individuals’ chromatids and organs such as the eyes, gastrointestinal organs, and skin. The proposed capsaicin concentration detector comprises a capsaicin sensor and a capsaicin concentration converter, which can linearly convert capsaicin concentration into a duty cycle output. In addition, the innovative automatic sensitivity control circuits automatically increase the detector sensitivity when low capsaicin concentration is sensed. Through measurement, all functions of the capsaicin sensor and capsaicin concentration converter were proven accurately. The measured differential voltage of the proposed converter was 0.1–1.4 V, and the corresponding sensitivities of 55.35, 45.4, 34.5, 25.17, and 13.3 %/V were changed automatically. The capsaicin concentration ranged from 57.134 to 1347.71 Scoville heat units (SHU), and the corresponding sensitivities of 0.066, 0.043, 0.031, 0.021, and 0.008 %/SHU were obtained automatically. The maximum linear error of the proposed detector was 0.633%, and the chip size was
$1.49\times1.49$
mm
²
. Finally, the whole system was tested on two chili peppers—paprika and poblano peppers. The proposed detector could successfully detect capsaicin concentration.