CHAPTER 1

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 What is an electronic nose?

Electronic Nose is a smart instrument that is designed to detect and discriminate among complex odours using an array of sensors. The array of sensors consists of a number of broadly tuned (non-specific) sensors that are treated with a variety of odour-sensitive biological or chemical materials. An odour stimulus generates a characteristic fingerprint from this array of sensors. Patterns or fingerprints from known odours are used to construct a database and train a pattern recognition system so that unknown odours can Neural Network based Soft Computing Techniques are used to tune near accurate co-relation smell print of multi-sensor array with that of Tea Tasters scores. The software framework has been designed with adequate flexibility and openness so that tea planters themselves may train the system with their own system of scoring so that the instrument will, then on, reliably predict such smell print scores.subsequently be classified and/or identified.
Electronic nose is a device that identifies the specific Components of an odour and

analyzes its chemical makeup to Identify it.

An electronic nose consists of mechanism for identification of chemical detection such as

an array of electronic sensors and a mechanism for pattern recognition. An electronic nose is such an array of non-specific chemical sensors, controlled and analyzed electronically, which mimics the action of the mammalian nose by recognizing patterns of response to vapors. The sensors used in the device discussed here are conductometric chemical sensors which change resistance when the composition of its environment changes. The sensors are not specific to any one vapor; it is in the use of an array of sensors, each of which responds differently, that gases and gas mixtures can be identified by the pattern of response of the array. Electronic Noses have been discussed by several authors, and may be applied to environmental monitoring as well as to quality control in such wide fields as food processing and industrial environmental monitoring.

In the device designed and built for crew habitat air monitoring, a baseline of clean air is established, and deviations from that baseline are recorded as changes in resistance of the sensors. The pattern of distributed response of the sensors is deconvoluted, and contaminants identified and quantified by using a set of software analysis routines developed for this purpose. The overall goal of the program at JPL/Caltech has been the development of a miniature sensor which may be used to monitor the breathing air in the International Space Station, and which may be coordinated with the environmental control system to solve air quality problems without crew intervention.

Figure 1.1 Electronic Nose

Electronic Nose developed in the early 1980s, the operating principle consists of an array of chemical sensors that are coupled to an appropriate pattern recognition program that emulates the human olfactory system. The individual sensors consist of conductive polymers which have defined adsorptive surfaces that, when interacting with volatile chemicals, display a change of electrical resistance that can be recorded.Even

though each individual sensor responds more selectively to a certain group of chemicals, they all show an overlapping response (this is called cross-selectivity ).How the electronic nose actually works is that, for each complex aroma, the array of sensors produces a unique response pattern -called a fingerprint- which reflects the aroma complexity of that sample. An electronic nose, therefore, acts more like a human nose in that it does not measure the amount of an individual aroma compound, but rather, gives a global and qualitative idea of the whole aroma profile. The electronic nose consists of two components, (1) an array of chemical sensors (usually gas sensors) and (2) a patternrecognition algorithm. The sensor array "sniffs" the vapors from a sample and provides a set of measurements; the pattern-recognizer compares the pattern of the measurements to stored patterns for known materials. Gas sensors tend to have very broad selectivity, responding to many different substances. This is a disadvantage in most applications, but in the electronic nose, it is a definite advantage. Although every sensor in an array may respond to a given chemical, these responses will usually be different. Figure 1.2 shows sets of responses of a typical sensor array to different pure chemicals: Acetone Benzene Chloroform

Figure 1.2 Responses of a typical sensor array to different pure chemicals

1.2 What is an odour?

An odour is composed of molecules, each of which has a specific size and shape. Each of these molecules has a correspondingly sized and shaped receptor in the human nose. When a specific receptor receives a molecule, it sends a signal to the brain and the brain identifies the smell associated with that particular molecule. An odor or odour (see spelling differences) is a volatilized chemical compound, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the sense of olfaction. Odors are also called smells, which can refer to both pleasant and unpleasant odors. The terms fragrance, scent, and aroma are used primarily by the food and cosmetic industry to describe a pleasant odor, and are sometimes used to refer to perfumes. In contrast, malodorous, stench, reek, and stink are used specifically to describe unpleasant odors. The study of odors is a growing field but is a complex and difficult one. The human olfactory system can detect many thousands of scents based on only very minute airborne concentrations of a chemical. The sense of smell of many animals is even better. Some fragrant flowers give off odor plumes that move downwind and are detectable by bees more than a kilometer away. The study of odors can also get complicated because of the complex chemistry taking place at the moment of a smell sensation. For example iron metal objects are perceived to have an odor when touched although iron vapor pressure is negligible. According to a 2006 study this smell is the result of aldehydes and ketones released from the human skin on contact with ferrous ions that are formed in the sweat-mediated corrosion of iron. The same chemicals are also associated with the smell of blood as ferrous iron in blood on skin produces the same reaction.
odour in a substance is due to volatile Organic compounds which evaporate and get

carried Away by air.

1.3 Recepters
In biochemistry, a receptor is a protein molecule, embedded in either the plasma membrane or cytoplasm of a cell, to which a mobile signaling (or "signal") molecule may attach. A molecule which binds to a receptor is called a "ligand," and may be a peptide (such as a neurotransmitter), a hormone, a pharmaceutical drug, or a toxin, and when such binding occurs,

the receptor undergoes a conformational change which ordinarily initiates a cellular response. However, some ligands merely block receptors without inducing any response (e.g.. Ligandinduced changes in receptors result in physiological changes which constitute the biological activity of the ligands.

1.4 What is recognition?

receptors in human nose act as binding sites for volatile organic compound these are

volatile organic compound then processed by brain and We recognise the smell.

1.5 What is volatile organic compound?

There is no clear and widely supported definition of a volatile organic compounds. From a chemistry viewpoint "Volatile Organic Compound" can mean any organic compound (all chemical compounds containing carbon with exceptions) that is volatile (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions). This is a very broad set of chemicals. Definitions vary depending on the particular context. There are many other widely used terms that are a subclass of volatile organic compounds. Laws or regulations are often responsible for creation of legal definitions of volatile organic compounds or definitions of subclasses of volatile organic compounds.Volatile organic compounds are organic chemical compounds that have high enough vapour pressures under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere.Volatile organic compounds are numerous and varied. Although ubiquitous in nature and modern industrial society, they may also be harmful or toxic. volatile organic compounds, or subsets of the , volatile organic compounds are often regulated.

CHAPTER 2
2. COMPONENTS 2.1 Main components of electronic nose
Sensing System Pattern Recognition System

2.1 Sub components of electronic nose

Sample Delivery System Detection System Computing System

2.3 Working principle of electronic nose

The signals generated by an array of odour sensors need to be processed in a sophisticated manner. The electronic nose research group has obtained considerable experience in the use of various parametric and non-parametric pattern analysis techniques. These include the use of linear and non-linear techniques, such as discriminant function analysis, cluster analysis, genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic, and adaptive models. An odor is composed of molecules, each of which has a specific size and shape. Each of these molecules has a correspondingly sized and shaped receptor in the human nose. When a specific receptor receives a molecule, it sends a signal to the brain and the brain identifies the smell associated with that particular molecule. Electronic noses based on the biological model work in a similar manner, albeit substituting sensors for the receptors, and transmitting the signal to a program for processing, rather than to the brain. Electronic noses are one example of a growing research area called biomimetics, or biomimicry, which involves human-made applications patterned on natural phenomena.

Figure 2.1 Block Diagram of Electronic Nose

In a typical e-nose, an air sample is pulled by a vacuum pump through a tube into a small

chamber housing the electronic sensor array.The tube may be of plastic or stainless steel.

A sample-handling unit exposes the sensors to the odorant, producing a transient response as the volatile organic compounds interact with the active material.

The sensor response is recorded and delivered to the Signal-processing unit. Then a washing gas such as alcohol is applied to the array for a few seconds or a

minute,so as to remove the odorant mixture from the active material.

The more commonly used sensors include metal oxide semiconductors, conducting

polymers, quartz crystal microbalance, surface acoustic wave, and field effect transistors. In recent years, other types of electronic noses have been developed that utilize mass spectrometry or ultra fast gas chromatography as a detection system.
The computing system works to combine the responses of all of the sensors, which

represents the input for the data treatment. This part of the instrument performs global fingerprint analysis and provides results and representations that can be easily interpreted. Moreover, the electronic nose results can be correlated to those obtained from other techniques.

Figure 2.2 Schematic Diagram Of Electronic Nose

An electronic nose system primarily consists of four functional blocks, viz., Odour Handling and Delivery System, Sensors and Interface Electronics, Signal Processing and Intelligent Pattern Analysis and Recognition. The array of sensors is exposed to volatile odour vapour through suitable odour handling and delivery system that ensures constant exposure rate to each of the sensors. The response signals of sensor array are conditioned and processed through suitable circuitry and fed to an intelligent pattern recognition engine for classification, analysis and declaration. The most complicated parts of electronic olfaction process are odour capture and associated sensor technology. Any sensor that responds reversibly to chemicals in gas or vapour phase, has the potential to be participate in an array of sensor in an electronic nose. For black manufactured tea, an array of Metal Oxide Semiconductor sensors have been used for assessment of volatiles.

Figure 2.3 specified block diagram of electronic nose

An electronic nose can be regarded as a modular system comprising a set of active materials which detect the odour, associated sensors which transduce the chemical quantity into electrical signals, followed by appropriate signal conditioning and processing to classify known odours or identify unknown odours, see Using variants of molecules found in biology it is possible to create 'senses' from electrical charges caused by the binding of the molecules to mimic the human nose. With this approach, the sensitivity of the device can be a thousand times better than the currently available electronic nose. The receptors, which will be housed within an artificial membrane, remain in a closed steady state until approached by smell molecules, when they will open and transmit an electrical signal which will indicate the nature ofthe odour.

Figure 2.4 Electronic Nose Scheme

Electronic Nose uses a collection of 16 different polymer films. These films are specially designed to conduct electricity. When a substance -- such as the stray molecules from a glass of soda -- is absorbed into these films, the films expand slightly, and that changes how much electricity they conduct. Because each film is made of a different polymer, each one reacts to each substance, or analyte, in a slightly different way. And, while the changes in conductivity in a single polymer film wouldn't be enough to identify an analyte, the varied changes in 16 films produce a distinctive, identifiable pattern.

CHAPTER 3 3. Analogy between the biological nose and electronic nose

Of all the five senses, olfaction uses the largest part of the brain and is an essential part of our daily lives. Indeed, the appeal of most flavors is more related to the odor arising from volatiles than to the reaction of the taste buds to dissolved substances. Our olfactory system has evolved not only to enhance taste but also to warn us of dangerous situations. We can easily detect just a few parts per billion of the toxic gas hydrogen sulfide in sewer gas, an ability that can save our life. Olfaction is closely related to the limbic or primitive brain, and odors can elicit basic emotions like love, sadness, or fear The term,"electronic nose" has come into common usage as a generic term for an array of chemical gas sensors incorporated into an artificial olfaction device, after its introduction in the title of a landmark conference on this subject in Iceland in 1991.There are striking analogies between the artificial noses of man and the "Biological-nose" constructed by illustrates a biological nose and points out the important features of this "instrument". electronic nose. Comparing the two is instructive.

Figure 3.1 Human Nose

The human nose uses the lungs to bring the odor to the epithelium layer; the electronic nose has a pump. The human nose has mucous, hairs, and membranes to act as filters and concentrators, while the E-nose has an inlet sampling system that provides sample filtration and conditioning to protect the sensors and enhance selectivity. The human epithelium contains the olfactory epithelium, which contains millions of sensing cells, selected from 100-200 different genotypes that interact with the odorous molecules in unique ways. The E-nose has a variety of sensors that interact differently with the sample. The human receptors convert the chemical responses to electronic nerve impulses. The unique patterns of nerve impulses are propagated by neurons through a complex network before reaching the higher brain for interpretation. Similarly, the chemical sensors in the E-nose react with the sample and produce electrical signals. A computer reads the unique pattern of signals, and interprets them with some form of intelligent pattern classification algorithm. From these similarities we can easily understand the nomenclature. However, there are still fundamental differences in both the instrumentation and software! The Bionose can perform tasks still out of reach for the electronic-nose, but the reverse is also true.

Figure 3.2 An Electronic Nose Mimicking The Human Nose

Onboard the space station, astronauts are surrounded by ammonia. It flows through pipes, carrying heat generated inside the station (by people and electronics) outside to space. Ammonia helps keep the station habitable. But it's also a poison. And if it leaks, the astronauts will need to know quickly. Ammonia becomes dangerous at a concentration of a few parts per million. Humans, though, can't sense it until it reaches about 50ppm and then there's fire. Before an electrical fire breaks out, increasing heat releases a variety of signature molecules. Humans can't sense them either until concentrations become high. Astronauts need better noses.That's why NASA is developing the Electronic Nose, for short. It's a device that can learn to recognize almost any compound or combination of compounds. It can even be trained to distinguish between Pepsi and Coke. Like a human nose, the ENose is amazingly versatile, yet it's much more sensitive .

Figure 1.1 EleINTRODUCTION TO SENSORS A sensor is a device which can respond to some properties of the environment and transform the response into an electric signal. The general working mechanism of a sensor is illustrated by the following scheme : In the field of sensors, the correct definition of parameters is of paramount importance because of these parameters: ~allow the diffusion of more reliable informationamong researchers or sensor operators, Figure 3.3 Comparison of human nose and electronic nose

CHAPTER 4
4. INTRODUCTION TO SENSORS 4.1 Definition
A sensor is a device which can respond to some properties of the environment and transform the response into an electric signal.

Figure 4.1 sensor array 4.2 working mechanism

The general working mechanism of a sensor is illustrated by the following scheme: In the field of sensors, the correct definition of parameters is of paramount importance because of these parameters: allow the diffusion of more reliable information among researchers or sensor operators, allow a better comprehension of the intrinsic behavior of the sensors help to propose

new standards, give fundamental criteria for a sound evaluation of different sensor performances. The output signal is the response of the sensor when the sensitive material undergoes modification

Figure 4.2 working mechanism of a sensor

The sensors in the electronic nose are polymer films which have been loaded with a conductive medium, in this case carbon black. A baseline resistance of each film is established; as the constituents in the air change, the films swell or contract in response to the new composition of the air, and the resistance changes. In the electronic nose, sensing films were deposited on co-fired ceramic substrates which were provided with eight Au-Pd electrode sets.

Figure 4.3 Sketch of the ceramic substrate chip containing eight sensors

4.3 Piezoelectric sensor

4.3.1 Definition
A piezoelectric sensor is a device that uses the piezoelectric effect to measure pressure, acceleration, strain or force by converting them to an electrical signal.

Figure 4.4 A piezoelectric disk generates a voltage when deformed

Piezoelectric sensors have proven to be versatile tools for the measurement of various processes. They are used for quality assurance, process control and for research and development in many different industries.From the Curies initial discovery in 1880, it took until the 1950s before the piezoelectric effect was used for industrial sensing applications. Since then, the utilization of this measuring principle has experienced a constant growth and can be regarded as a mature technology with an outstanding inherent reliability. It has been successfully used in various applications as for example in medical, aerospace, nuclear instrumentation and in mobile's touch key pad as pressure sensor.In the automotive industry piezoelectric elements are used as the standard devices for engine indicating in developing internal combustion engines. The combustion processes are measured with piezoelectric sensors. The sensors are either directly mounted into additional holes into the cylinder head or the spark/glow plug is equipped with a built in miniature piezoelectric sensor[1].The rise of piezoelectric technology is directly related to a set of inherent advantages. The high modulus of elasticity of many piezoelectric materials is comparable to that of many metals and goes up to 105 N/m. Even though

piezoelectric sensors are electromechanical systems that react on compression, the sensing elements show almost zero deflection. This is the reason why piezoelectric sensors are so rugged, have an extremely high natural frequency and an excellent linearity over a wide amplitude range. Additionally, piezoelectric technology is insensitive to electromagnetic fields and radiation, enabling measurements under harsh conditions. Some materials used (especially gallium phosphate [2] or tourmaline) have an extreme stability over temperature enabling sensors to have a working range of upto 1000C.Tourmaline shows pyroelectricity in addition to the piezoelectric effect; this is the ability to generate an electrical signal when the temperature of the crystal changes. This effect is also common to piezoceramic materials.

4.3.2 Principle of operation

Depending on how a piezoelectric material is cut, three main modes of operation can be distinguished: transverse, longitudinal, and shear.

Transverse effect
A force is applied along a neutral axis (y) and the charges are generated along the (x) direction, perpendicular to the line of force. The amount of charge depends on the geometrical dimensions of the respective piezoelectric element. When dimensions a, b, c apply, Cx = dxyFyb / a, where a is the dimension in line with the neutral axis, b is in line with the charge generating axis and d is the corresponding piezoelectric coefficient.

Longitudinal effect
The amount of charge produced is strictly proportional to the applied force and is independent of size and shape of the piezoelectric element. Using several elements that are mechanically in series and electrically in parallel is the only way to increase the charge output. The resulting charge is Cx = dxxFxn,

where dxx is the piezoelectric coefficient for a charge in x-direction released by forces applied along x-direction. FX is the applied Force in x-direction [N] and n corresponds to the number of stacked elements.

Shear effect
Again, the charges produced are strictly proportional to the applied forces and are independent of the elements size and shape. For n elements mechanically in series and electrically in parallel the charge is Cx = 2dxxFxn. In contrast to the longitudinal and shear effects, the transverse effect opens the possibility to fine-tune sensitivity on the force applied and the element dimension.

CHAPTER 5

5. Range of applications
5.1 Electronic nose for enviromental monitoring
Enormous amounts of hazardous waste (nuclear, chemical, and mixed wastes) were generated by more than 40 years of weapons production in the U.S. Department of Energies weapons complex. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is exploring the technologies required to perform environmental restoration and waste management in a cost effective manner. This effort includes the development of portable, inexpensive systems capable of real-time identification of contaminants in the field. Electronic noses fit this category. Environmental applications of electronic noses include analysis of fuel mixtures, detection of oil leaks, testing ground water for odors, and identification of household odors. Potential applications include identification of toxic wastes, air quality monitoring, and monitoring factory emissions. Sensors can detect toxic CO, which is odorless to humans.

5.2 Electronic nose used in detection of bombs

The tragic bombings in London on the 7 July 2005 have caused many to call for bag searching at the ticket barriers on the Underground. This would cause huge delays, apart from finding the manpower to do it. A possible alternative is using an electronic nose to sniff out possible explosives so that only selected bags need to be searched by staff. The concept has been around for a long time, and was initially ridiculed. The basic idea is a device that identifies the specific components of an odour and analyzes its chemical makeup to identify it. One mechanism would be an array of electronic sensors would sniff out the odours while a second mechanism would see if it could recognize the pattern.

5.3 World record for detecting explosive

Aside from identifying people from their skin vapours, another of the important applications of the newsystem is that it is able to detect tiny amounts of explosives. The system can "smell" levels below a few parts per trillion, and has been able to set a world sensitivity record at "2x10-14 atmospheres of partial pressure of trinitrotoluene. The "father" of ionisation using the mass spectrometry electrospray is Professor John B. Fenn, who is currently a researcher at the University of Virginia (United States), and in 2002 won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for using this technique in the analysis of proteins.

5.4 Electronic nose for multimedia Aaplication

Multimedia systems are widely used in consumer electronics environments today, where humans can work and communicate through multi-sensory interfaces. Unfortunately smell detection and generation systems are not part of today's multimedia systems. Hence we can use electronic nose in multimedia environment.

5.5 Electronic nose for medicine

Because the sense of smell is an important sense to the physician, an electronic nose has applicability as a diagnostic tool. An electronic nose can examine odors from the body (e.g., breath, wounds, body fluids, etc.) and identify possible problems. Odors in the breath can be indicative of gastrointestinal problems, sinus problems, infections, diabetes, and liver problems. Infected wounds and tissues emit distinctive odors that can be detected by an electronic nose. Odors coming from body fluids can indicate liver and bladder problems. A more futuristic application of electronic noses has been recently proposed for telesurgery.

5.6 Electronic nose for the food industry

An electronic nose has been found to be a useful tool in controlling the quality of food packaging board. The nose identifies paperboard from which off-flavor transfers into the packaged food. Usually, off-flavor is evaluated by a sensory panel, which consists of 8 - 10 people trained to make a sensory evaluation. Before the evaluation, the sample to be examined is

kept for 48 hours in the same container with a reference foodstuff, usually chocolate. The members of the panel then taste the chocolate and determine whether any off-flavor has been transferred to the chocolate from the paperboard being examined. Sensory evaluation of samples is very time-consuming and requires numerous trained people for the panel. For this reason, some other method to replace sensory evaluation has been sought. Currently, the biggest market for electronic noses is the food industry. Applications of electronic noses in the food industry include quality assessment in food production, inspection of food quality by odor, control of food cooking processes, inspection of fish, monitoring the fermentation process, verifying if orange juice is natural, monitoring food and beverage odors, grading whiskey, inspection of beverage containers, checking plastic wrap for containment of onion odor, and automated flavor control to name a few. In some instances electronic noses can be used to augment or replace panels of human experts. In other cases, electronic noses can be used to reduce the amount of analytical chemistry that is performed in food production especially when qualitative results will do.

5.7 Electronic nose created to detect skin vapours

A team of researchers from the Yale University (United States) and a Spanish company have developed a system to detect the vapours emitted by human skin in real time. The scientists think that these substances, essentially made up of fatty acids, are what attract mosquitoes and enable dogs to identify their owners.
"The spectrum of the vapours emitted by human skin is dominated by fatty acids. These

substances are not very volatile, but we have developed an electronic nose' able to detect them", Juan Fernández de la Mora, of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Yale University (United Status) and co-author of a study recently published in the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry, tells SINC. The system, created at the Boecillo Technology Park in Valladolid, works by ionising the vapours with an electrospray (a cloud of electrically-charged drops), and later analysing these using mass spectrometry. This technique can be used to identify many of the vapour compounds emitted by a hand, for example. "The great novelty of this study is that, despite the almost non-existent volatility of fatty acids, which have chains of up to 18 carbon atoms, the electronic nose is so sensitive that it can detect them

instantaneously", says Fernández de la Mora. The results show that the volatile compounds given off by the skin are primarily fatty acids, although there are also others such as lactic acid and pyretic acid. The researcher stresses that the great chemical wealth of fatty acids, made up of hundreds of different molecules, "is well known, and seems to prove the hypothesis that these are the key substances that enable dogs to identify people". The enormous range of vapours emitted by human skin and breath may not only enable dogs to recognise their owners, but also help mosquitoes to locate their hosts, according to several studies.

5.8 In resources and development laboratories

Formulation or reformulation of products Benchmarking with competitive products Shelf life and stability studies Selection of raw materials
Packaging interaction effects

Simplification of consumer preference test

Figure 5.1 Testing of Electronic Nose

5.9 In quality control laboratories

Batch to batch consistency Conformity of raw materials, intermediate and final products Detection of contamination, spoilage, adulteration Origin or vendor selection Monitoring of storage conditions.

Figure 5.2 Conformity of raw materials through electronic nose

CHAPTER 6

6. ADVANTAGE 6.1 Problems Where the E-Nose Can Help

The electronic nose is best suited for matching complex samples with subjective endpoints such as odor or flavor. For example, when has milk turned sour? Or, when is a batch of coffee beans optimally roasted? The electronic nose can match a set of sensor responses to a calibration set produced by the human taste panel or olfactory panel routinely used in food science. The electronic nose is especially useful where consistent product quality has to be maintained over long periods of time, or where repeated exposure to a sample poses a health risk to the human olfactory panel. Although the electronicose is also effective for pure chemicals, conventional methods are often more practical.

6.2 Problems That the E-Nose Does Best

Identification of spilled chemicals in commerce (for U.S. Coast Guard). Quality classification of stored grain. Water and wastewater analysis. Identification of source and quality of coffee. Monitoring of roasting process. Rancidity measurements of olive oil (due to accumulation of short-chain aldehydes). Detection and diagnosis of pulmonary infections. Diagnosis of ulcers by breath tests. Freshness of fish. Process control of cheese, sausage, beer, and bread manufacture. Bacterial growth on foods such as meat and fresh vegetables.

6.3 Advantage

Our human nose is elegant, sensitive, and self-repairing, but the E-nose sensors do not fatigue or get the "flu". Further, the E-nose can be sent to detect toxic and otherwise hazardous situations that humans may wish to avoid

6.4. Next generation products

Figure 6.1 Next Generation Products

CHAPTER 7

CONCLUSION
Humans are not well suited for repetitive or boring tasks that are better left to machines. No wonder the electronic nose is sometimes referred to as a "sniffer". The E-nose has the interesting ability to address analytical problems that have been refractory to traditional analytical approaches. GOSPEL is a European network of excellence in Artificial Olfaction. In my view the electronic nose is a very useful instrument now a days.

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