(This article was prepared for presenting in a bunch of Tech Festivals in India back in 2002–2003. The research is on and some of the knowledge in this publication might be outdated.)
It is now possible to add a new sense of smell to the Internet. This is done through the virtual nose called the e-nose. An electronic nose is not a replacement for people, it is a supplement. The “electronic nose” is a relatively new tool that may be used for safety, quality, or process monitoring, accomplishing in a few minutes procedures that may presently require days to complete.
The electronic nose consists of two components, (1) an array of chemical sensors (usually gas sensors) and (2) a pattern-recognition algorithm. The sensor array “sniffs” the vapors from a sample and provides a set of measurements; the pattern-recognizer compares the pattern of the measurements to stored patterns for known materials. Gas sensors tend to have very broad selectivity, responding to many different substances. This is a disadvantage in most applications, but in the electronic nose, it is a definite advantage. Although every sensor in an array may respond to a given chemical, these responses will usually be different. In recent years, electronic noses have been sniffing out landmines, detecting contraband drugs, sensing for chemical and biological weapons, identifying batches of spoiled food, and even showing promise…
