There are now cameras and microphones that match or even exceed human vision and hearing abilities. But despite all our technological advances, we haven’t quite succeeded in making an artificial nose better than a human nose. After all, it took millions of years for animals and insects to perfect the receptors they use to detect odors. But now, with nature’s help, scientists may have broken new ground on that front.
In a study published Monday in the journal Biosensor and Bioelectronics, a group of researchers from Tel Aviv University announced that they have recently developed a robot that can identify odors with 10,000 times greater sensitivity than some specialized electronics. The team describes the robot as a bio-hybrid platform. It has an array of antennae taken from a desert locust, connected to an electronic system that measures the amount of electrical signal produced by the antennas when they detect a scent.
They paired the robot with an algorithm that learns to characterize odors based on their signal output. In this way, the team developed a system that can reliably distinguish between eight “pure” scents and blends of two scents, including geranium, lemon and marzipan. Scientists say their robots could one day be used to detect drugs and explosives.
A YouTube video from Tel Aviv University claims the robot is a “scientific first,” but last June researchers from Michigan State University published research detailing a system that uses surgically modified grasshoppers to detect cancer cells. In 2016, scientists also tried turning grasshoppers into bomb-sniffing robots.
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