Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Awesome Idea- for techie people

ScienceHideout - 27-10-2011 at 14:10

How many of you keep a chem inventory? I do! I would hope you all would. Have you ever noticed how difficult keeping an inventory is on paper, or on a computer in the other room? We all have our iPads, iPods, or iPhones with us nearly all the time... so what if we could scan a chemical bottle- it would give us safety info, we can tell it how much we are going to use, and BOOM! A complete inventory on our iPods!

Who ever is smart enough to make this... please. :)

AndersHoveland - 27-10-2011 at 14:18

I think this would be bordering on the obsessive-compulsive.

bahamuth - 27-10-2011 at 14:40

Have another/additional ideas, though linked to topic and such could easily be joined in such an app.
Inventory lists could get one of the hook from authorities if that ever happened in this day and age as alot of the charges usually are linked to not keeping inventory/quantity and lack of labeling, which actually, atleast in Norway, is illegal.

But would guess it had to be linked to a online database of sorts if identification with physical data would be the output. There is a lot of good open databases online so it should not pose to big a problem but complicates things.

Personally, as a basic chem lecturer, use ChemBioDraw from Cambridge to name molecules from structure and visa-versa. Also use Chemix from a Norwegian guy, extremly useful and highly accurate chemical calculator with many features which I 've not even used.

So to my point, though do not know if any such app exists, I would like IUPAC naming from structure (know Sigma-Aldrich have a product search from structure, though not universally useful), molecular calculator with possibility to store/save molecules as in Chemix, linked to a synonym or IUPAC database of sorts so one could get CAS from structure, and some sort of search function to get e.g. Merck Index data by structure and name.

As a summary:

IUPAC naming from structure

molecular calculator with possibility to store/save molecules as in Chemix

IUPAC to CAS and visa-versa

Merck Index "like" data from structure/CAS/IUPAC

Inventory with name recognition through camera(from original labels) with possiblility for atleast keeping track of approx. quantities and general safety data(Though in my opinion one should not use anything that one not have familiarized oneself with from the start, not just read a skull label and think that that sign will keep one safe...) .


Just to entice any coders, such an app would be bought by all chemistry students in the world so alot om cash could be made..

BTW, Chemix has this store/save function mentioned above, though it is only name and not quantities or any other data other than moleweight of the molecule.

hkparker - 27-10-2011 at 15:12

Just print QR codes with links in them. I might consider doing that.

Endimion17 - 28-10-2011 at 05:37

I keep an inventory that I update once-twice a year in MS Excel. It's not detailed, though.

And I see hparker was faster. :)
Yes, QR codes would be a neat thing. Generators are widely available, and every decent mobile phone with Java support and a few MPx camera can read the codes.
Although that's a cheap solution, it's slow.
For all of you with extra money on the hand, this might be a thing to try out. :D

Rogeryermaw - 11-11-2011 at 18:09

i wouldn't put anything on any apple device you don't want publicly known. to be part of the i-device generation is to give up any shred of privacy you may have had.

hkparker - 12-11-2011 at 16:56

Quote: Originally posted by ScienceHideout  
iPads, iPods, or iPhones with us nearly all the time


I do not use anything, software or hardware, associated with apple, except quicktime when a website requires it because I have some strong disagreements with how they respect their users.

Fortunately, any modern phone can scan a QR, my android has had it for years.

barley81 - 13-11-2011 at 08:17

I would think that a lot of us here are attached enough to our chemicals that we know exactly what we have and in what quantity :P. But for those who have too much to keep track of with plain memory, QR codes is probably a good idea. The links can be to some MSDS's from one company, and an app can be developed to scan each QR code link to that company and store inventory.

hkparker - 13-11-2011 at 09:14

Quote: Originally posted by barley81  
I would think that a lot of us here are attached enough to our chemicals that we know exactly what we have and in what quantity :P.


...yeah :D

Endimion17 - 13-11-2011 at 11:12

Quote: Originally posted by ScienceHideout  
...

We all have our iPads, iPods, or iPhones with us nearly all the time...


No, we don't. Apple holds only a fragment of the market, but they're very loud so everything they make appears big and appeals to people that aren't tech-wise.

I've always thought that true geeks like the characters from The Big Bang Theory ought to be would never use an iPhone. It's obvious that Apple is the series sponsor.

phlogiston - 13-11-2011 at 15:27

My geeky bioinformatics collegues all use macs, and I do a lot my programming and electronic hardware design on a macbook too, so some geeks/tech-wise people prefer macs too, but please let's not turn this into a mac vs PC debate.

It won't do to keep track of stock just by the name of the compound, because you can have multiple vials of it in stock.

It would also be great if the app would tell you quickly how much to weigh out approximately for a given volume and concentration of a desired solution, so you don't have to look up the MW for each compound and carry a calculator around.