TinyNose: Developing a wireless e-nose platform for distributed air quality monitoring applications

In this work we present the development and proof of concept testing of a protoype wireless e-nose (w-nose) architecture capable of mesh shaped networking. The proposed w-nose is based on a TelosB by Crossbow Inc. and custom, power aware, TinyOS based components for data gathering and local processing. Sensor nodes are equipped with a small array of nonconductive polymer/CB based chemiresistors operating at room temperature for VOCs indoor monitoring. A properly developed conditioning stage board connects the sensor array to the microcontroller ADC. A single w-nose has been tested in a controlled test chamber for terpenes discrimination, while networked motes operation have been demonstrated in ad-hoc small testing facilities for acetic acid spill detection.