Monitoring of environmental systems using electronic tongues as sensor networks

This paper introduces Electronic Tongues (ETs) for remote environmental monitoring applications. ETs are bio-inspired systems that employ an array of sensors for analysis, recognition or identification in liquid media. In this work it will be used as node sensor network for monitoring of heavy metals (Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺) in open air waste streams and rivers heading down the Gulf of Mexico. The proposed arrays were formed by potentiometric sensors based on polymeric membranes (PVC) and the subsequent cross-response processing was based on a multilayer Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model. Analytical measures were performed using a laboratory-made electronic system which includes data transmission by radiofrequency, in order to demonstrate system viability for automated remote applications.