Scientists at the University of California, Irvine, are working on a portable device to “smell the world” and sniff out explosives, narcotics, and dangerous chemicals, the institution reported Sept. 19.
A team from the university’s engineering complex is trying to fuse nature’s olfactory precision with tiny electronics, according to electrical engineering and computer science professor Peter Burke.
The team aims to create a handheld device that can instantly sniff out explosive residue at a crime scene, harmful airborne chemicals after an industrial spill, or illegal drugs before they enter the postal system.
The goal is to create an “electronic nose” that reacts to trace amounts of chemical substances—even if they differ by a single carbon atom….