The multi-chamber electronic nose (MCE-nose)

One of the major disadvantages of the Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) technology as transducer for electronic gas sensing devices (e-noses) is the long recovery period needed after each gas exposure. This severely restricts its usage in applications where the gas concentration may change rapidly, as it is the case of robotic olfaction, where the robot must move at a very low speed, almost incompatible with any practical robot operation. This paper describes the design of a new e-nose which overcomes, to a great extent, such limitation. The proposed e-nose, called Multi-Chamber Electronic Nose (MCE-nose), comprises several identical sets of MOS sensors accommodated in separate chambers (four in our current prototype), which alternate between sensing and recovery states, providing, as a whole, a device capable of sensing faster changes in chemical concentrations.