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Sniffer Robot
A small robot that gathers odors from a crime scene for analysis. (Read the full article)
"Several years ago, TMSUK Ltd and Sanyo introduced the Banryu Guard-Dragon robot, a home security robot with a unique feature - an odor sensor. (Banryu Guard-Dragon robot) The new "Banryu", which means "guard-dragon" in place of "guard-dog", takes on a look of an ancient reptile with a futuristic twist. The development of the robot was commenced in year 2001. The new Banryu incorporates significant improvements to the earlier prototype shown at the ROBODEX-2002 (Yokohama, Japan) exhibition in March 2002. Its speed has been increased from 3meters/min. to 15meters/min., a velocity more than fast enough for a home robot designed to travel in confined cluttered spaces. It also is able to confidently go over gaps over 10cm, sensing the height with sets of sensors located on its legs. The robot also holds onboard a completely new "odor-sensor" developed jointly by tmsuk, Kanazawa Institute of Technology (Professor Nanto), and New Cosmos Electric Co., LTD. The developers believe that this is one of the first devices that can sense a particular odor with practical accuracy. With the sensor the robot will be able to detect "burnt scent" which is known to occur in the atmosphere preceding a fire." (Bill Christensen 5/11/2006 7:14:39 AM ) |
| "Check out the Cyranose 320; I'm not sure if this is still a current product. In 2004, the military licensed this technology.
 (Cyranose 320) Here's a brief description: 'By imprinting a "smellprint" on its 32-sensor NoseChip, the Cyranose 320 could be used for noninvasive medical diagnostics, hazardous materials identification, and food spoilage detection, and many other applications. The multidisciplinary design team overcame several obstacles to give form to this new technology. Since it may be used in a variety of harsh environments, the device is provided with a rubber boot to protect it from falls or liquids. The removable snout is long and tapered, with an adjustable tip for sampling in difficult-to-reach places. The snout is locked on with a quarter turn, for easy replacement. A complex pneumatic manifold routes the air past an array of devices, including bellows, filter, sampler, etc. The backlit LCD screen has large easy to read characters, and the buttons are large for use with gloved hands. It fits comfortably in the hand, with a finger grip recess on the back, and a button configuration that enables one-handed use.'" (Bill Christensen 1/26/2007 2:39:21 PM ) |
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