Smartphone electronic nose

21 century does not cease to amaze mankind with discoveries in the field of electronics, biology and physics. This time it's time to congratulate the Germans, who came up with and created an electronic nose for smartphones. Representatives of the German research center emphasized the miniaturization of the device, which integrates seamlessly into smartphones. The microscopic sensor detects odors and gives the result to the user.

Smartphone electronic nose

Physicist Martin Sommer, under whose leadership the laboratory operates, positions the device as a device for home safety. Since the scientists originally planned to release a sensor that detects the smell of smoke or gas. But later it was discovered that the device is capable of more.

Researchers claim that the electronic nose for smartphones determines hundreds of thousands of odors and accurately displays the result. The only drawback for the future owner is the inability to determine the freshness of the products. But scientists assure that the problem will be solved in the near future.

Not all objects smell the same in different environmental conditions. Flowers have very different smells in sunny and rainy weather, for example.

The human body, to recognize odors, involves millions of olfactory cells and as many neurons that send signals to the brain. In a microscopic sensor, the role of odor-determining cells is played by nanofibres. They react to gas mixtures. Each mixture has its own signal associated with the smell. The mechanism looks simple, but in practice it is difficult to “teach” the electronic nose for smartphones, German scientists say.