ELECTRONIC PAPER

Many researchers aim for the development of sensors or sensor systems which are similar or comparable to the human sensory system. NASA and the California Institute of Technology have developed an electronic nose, called E-nose for short.

Like a human nose, the ENose is amazingly versatile, yet it's much more sensitive. It’s an environmental monitor that mimics the olfactory system. The electronic nose (eNose) is applied to detect, monitor and identify a wide range of environmental organic, inorganic and biochemical vapors. ENose can detect an electronic change of 1 part per million.

Various electronic noses have been used by industry for a number of years, but the one being developed at JPL is smaller, lighter, and less power-hungry than any of its predecessors. E-nose contains 32 sensors that expand or contract depending on the elements in the air. The reaction creates a pattern that scientists evaluate using computer software. The sensors respond to any change in the air, and the responses are recorded. Matching the patterns created by a gas with patterns that have been recorded in the laboratory helps scientists identify the substances in the air. If the chemical is on the computer's watch list of hazardous substances and is in a concentration deemed to be dangerous, the ENose can sound an alarm to notify the crew.

Electronic Noses are already being used on Earth. There's also an Electronic Tongue, which identifies compounds in liquids. A major application that JPL scientists are pursuing is the detection of a fire before the blaze erupts. . With early detection, the fire can be extinguished safely before much damage occurs. The many potential commercial uses include "sniffing" for unexploded land mines; for spills in chemical plants that could contaminate workers; for plant ripeness to harvest at the desired point in the agricultural cycle; and for possible diagnosis of disease based on odors from human perspiration and breath.

Back on Earth, the ENose might one day be put to uses as diverse as sniffing for explosives at an airport or for unexploded land mines, monitoring the atmosphere for pollutants, protecting the environments of submarines and other enclosed places, sensing the ripeness of plants for harvesting, warning of spills in chemical plants, even sniffing out tumors and other diseases in a doctor's office.

Contributed By :

Shweta Shrivastava

IV Sem