Abstract: A system for material detection and identification includes an interface configured to access a material database associating each of a plurality of materials with one or more corresponding resonance frequencies; an RF transmitter configured to, for each material of at least a subset of the plurality of materials in the material database, transmit into an environment an RF signal at a first resonance frequency for the material; an RF receiver configured to receive a response signal from the environment for each RF signal; and a processor configured to analyze each response signal for resonance characteristics that indicate a presence of the material and identifying the material to a user if the presence of the material is indicated by the resonance characteristics.