Within the “smelldect“ Project, KIT Researchers Develop a Sensor to “Smell“ Cable Fires or Spoilt Food
Freshly ground coffee, popcorn, bio waste or smoke – in the course of life, we get to know different scents and thanks to our nose, we distinguish and identify them even without seeing their source. Within the smelldect project, scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed a sensor that can be taught different scents. The “electronic nose” is to be suited for everyday use and to smell potential hazards, such as smoldering cables or spoilt food, earlier than a human being.
The human nose consists of about ten million olfactory cells with about 400 different olfactory receptors. These receptors perceive the scents and generate a specific signal pattern. The brain allocates the signal pattern to a certain smell. “We use the biological nose as a model,” says Dr. Martin Sommer, who coordinates the smelldect project at KIT’s Institute of Microstructure Technology. “In our electronic nose, nanofibers react to complex gas mixtures – i.e. scents – and also generate signal patterns, on the basis of which the sensor identifies the scents.” The objective of smelldect is to develop a low-cost olfactory sensor suited for mass production and everyday use.
The electronic nose only is a few centimeters in size. It contains the electronics needed, including the technology to evaluate the gases. The “nose” consists of a sensor chip equipped with nanowires made of tin dioxide on many individual sensors. The chip calculates specific signal patterns from the resistance changes of the individual sensors. These depend on the molecules in ambient air, differ for the different scents and, hence, are characteristic and recognizable. If a specific patterns has been taught to the chip before, the sensor can identify the scent within seconds.
To start the process, the researchers use a light-emitting diode that is integrated in the sensor housing and irradiates the nanowires with UV light. As a result, the initially very high electrical resistance of tin dioxide decreases, such that changes of resistance caused by molecules responsible for the smell and attached to the tin dioxide surface can be detected. “When the sensor perceives a smell, the resistance decreases further. If a smell disappears, the electrical resistance increases again to the initial level and the “nose” is ready for other measurements,” Sommer says.
The sensor chip can learn a number of different scents and, hence, can be used for various purposes: In the household for the control of ambient air or as smoke alarm, during shopping to find out how fresh the fish or meat is, to control the quality of e.g. honey, or as a nose of a robot. “The difficulty consists in the fact that a scent does not always remain the same. For instance, the smell of a rose in the sun differs from that of a rose in rain,” the physicist says. “Currently, we are training the electronic nose for specific uses which can be chosen universally however.”
The scientists of KIT want to develop a low-cost sensor for the mass market. “In the future, the electronic nose might be incorporated into all electric devices in order to prevent cable fires. Or it can be used in smartphones. When going shopping, everybody might be accompanied by his/her own highly sensitive electronic nose,” Sommer says.
Learn more: What‘s That Smell? – Electronic Nose Recognizes a Variety of Scents
The Latest on: Electronic nose
[google_news title=”” keyword=”electronic nose” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Electronic nose
- Ferrari 12Cilindri Is The Most On-The-Nose Supercar Since The LaFerraron May 3, 2024 at 1:30 pm
For whatever reason, Ferrari wanted to leave mention of the Daytona, one of its most famous cars, out of this Daytona-inspired V12 coupe/spider’s name. Instead, it went the literal route, opting for ...
- Army town Aldershot is the true blue territory that gave Tories a bloody noseon May 3, 2024 at 9:37 am
Local elections famously allow voters to give sitting governments a bloody nose. Here in Aldershot, they went for GBH – grievous ballot-box harm. The de facto home of the British Army and true blue ...
- Gypsy Rose Blanchard Reveals How Her Nose Job Impacted Her Egoon May 2, 2024 at 9:02 am
After undergoing a physical transformation months following her prison release, Gypsy Rose Blanchard shared with E! News how her new look has changed her on the inside.
- Gypsy Rose Blanchard Shows off New Nose in Social Media Returnon May 2, 2024 at 8:08 am
Blanchard's new post was set to the song "Bejeweled" by Taylor Swift, and showed Blanchard in a red skirt and blazer with a black top. She took one selfie outdoors in the sunlight and another inside ...
- Diagnostic Performance of an Electronic Nose, Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide, and Lung Function Testing in Asthmaon April 25, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Data are expressed as No. or mean ± SEM. FEF 25%–75% = forced expiratory flow at 25% to 75% of forced vital capacity. a P
- Electronic Nose (E-Nose) Market To Surpass USD 72.92 Billion With Highest CAGR Of 15% By 2031: SNS Insideron April 24, 2024 at 6:47 pm
The Electronic Nose (E-Nose) Market is expected to reach a valuation of USD 72.92 Billion by 2031, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% from 2024 to 2031. A Magnificent Tool for ...
- Electronic Nose (E-Nose) Market to Surpass USD 72.92 Billion with Highest CAGR of 15% by 2031: SNS Insideron April 21, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The Electronic Nose (E-Nose) Market is expected to reach a valuation of USD 72.92 Billion by 2031, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% from 2024 to 2031. A Magnificent Tool for ...
- PSUT Engineers Develop E-Nose For Food Safety Detectionon April 21, 2024 at 4:36 am
Under the guidance of Professor Ashraf Tahat, a team of engineers comprising Abdullah Aqili, Rahaf Haddadin, and Mirna Jamalia from the Department of Communications Engineering and the Internet of ...
- Diagnostic Performance of an Electronic Nose, Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide, and Lung Function Testing in Asthmaon April 19, 2024 at 4:59 pm
Subjects, recruited from March 2007 to September 2008, attended on one occasion for clinical examination, FENO measurement, electronic nose analysis, lung function tests, and skin prick testing.
via Bing News