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Technically, this doesn't seem to be a nose per se, but more creating a sensor to detect molecules for which the mammalian nose has evolved to detect. If we hav

Technically, this doesn't seem to be a nose per se, but more creating a sensor to detect molecules for which the mammalian nose has evolved to detect. If we have an excitatory pattern, then most AI techniques should be able to detect it easily. Instead of creating a single modality i.e. artificial noses or ears, medicine would benefit from a multimodal sensory system that uses vision, smell, auditory and perhaps even taste, _in conjunction_, as the human body is rich with signals through all these modalities.

benkoller 6y ago
> Instead of creating a single modality i.e. artificial noses or ears, medicine would benefit from a multimodal sensory system that uses vision, smell, auditory and perhaps even taste, _in conjunction_, as the human body is rich with signals through all these modalities. Thats a great thought right there. Adding an over-time perspective would make this even more powerful, as a lot of information is encapsulated in change, not just absolute observation. I wonder how much of the required sensing tech is already available, but most likely not rated for medical usage yet.
aaron695 6y ago
> _in conjunction_ Given the decades of research into an electronic sense of smell and the billions of $ it will be worth if we can get a electronic nose, why are we jumping the gun to the other things? > a sensor to detect molecules for which the mammalian nose has evolved to detect. This would be a modern marvel and so far impossible. It also wouldn't have to be mammalian, there's no reason to limit it. > If we have an excitatory pattern, then most AI techniques should be able to detect it easily. Exactly. I'm not sure why you'd need AI at all. It should just be a look up table. An electronic nose is a big deal. We are talking the ability to know what people or vehicles are carrying without a search, tracking people and animals over land, the ability to find every truffle in a field, it should help us create smells like 4D cinema, find pollution in water and air and land, track leaks, cooking, find animal and mineral resources, animal husbandry and medicine.
- durovo 6y ago
  How about using an animal's nose instead of an electronic nose? Detect the brain signals and let the "AI" figure out the patterns when the animal inhales something. No need to create a new nose from scratch, no need to train the animal as well.
- shawnz 6y ago
  > why are we jumping the gun to the other things? Perhaps all those kinds of sensors could be cleverly combined in ways that make them more feasible/reliable, not less. If we limit ourselves to designing it with the same specific conceptions of smell that we have, we might be unnecessarily making the job harder for ourselves, or missing easy optimizations that would make it more effective.
- Animats 6y ago
  An electronic nose is a big deal. Yes. The sensors are the problem. Processing the data probably isn't a huge job. There was a startup trying to do this in 1999.[1] Cyrano Sciences, Inc. They got some Small Business Innovation grants.[2] They were trying to build a chemical weapons detector badge, an oil/fuel leak detector, and related devices. They developed a handheld unit, the Cyranose 320.[3] They were acquired by Smiths Detection (UK). They sell various devices for detecting explosives, drugs, disease carriers, and such. "Currently trialing rapid detection airborne COVID-19."[4] [1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-close-are-artificial/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-close-are-art... [2] https://www.sbir.gov/sbc/cyrano-sciences-inc https://www.sbir.gov/sbc/cyrano-sciences-inc [3] https://spinoff.nasa.gov/spinoff2001/ps4.html https://spinoff.nasa.gov/spinoff2001/ps4.html [4] https://www.smithsdetection.com/canary-biological-detection-technology/ https://www.smithsdetection.com/canary-biological-detection-...

benkoller 6y ago

> Instead of creating a single modality i.e. artificial noses or ears, medicine would benefit from a multimodal sensory system that uses vision, smell, auditory and perhaps even taste, _in conjunction_, as the human body is rich with signals through all these modalities. Thats a great thought right there. Adding an over-time perspective would make this even more powerful, as a lot of information is encapsulated in change, not just absolute observation. I wonder how much of the required sensing tech is already available, but most likely not rated for medical usage yet.

aaron695 6y ago

> _in conjunction_ Given the decades of research into an electronic sense of smell and the billions of $ it will be worth if we can get a electronic nose, why are we jumping the gun to the other things? > a sensor to detect molecules for which the mammalian nose has evolved to detect. This would be a modern marvel and so far impossible. It also wouldn't have to be mammalian, there's no reason to limit it. > If we have an excitatory pattern, then most AI techniques should be able to detect it easily. Exactly. I'm not sure why you'd need AI at all. It should just be a look up table. An electronic nose is a big deal. We are talking the ability to know what people or vehicles are carrying without a search, tracking people and animals over land, the ability to find every truffle in a field, it should help us create smells like 4D cinema, find pollution in water and air and land, track leaks, cooking, find animal and mineral resources, animal husbandry and medicine.

durovo 6y ago
How about using an animal's nose instead of an electronic nose? Detect the brain signals and let the "AI" figure out the patterns when the animal inhales something. No need to create a new nose from scratch, no need to train the animal as well.
shawnz 6y ago
> why are we jumping the gun to the other things? Perhaps all those kinds of sensors could be cleverly combined in ways that make them more feasible/reliable, not less. If we limit ourselves to designing it with the same specific conceptions of smell that we have, we might be unnecessarily making the job harder for ourselves, or missing easy optimizations that would make it more effective.
Animats 6y ago
An electronic nose is a big deal. Yes. The sensors are the problem. Processing the data probably isn't a huge job. There was a startup trying to do this in 1999.[1] Cyrano Sciences, Inc. They got some Small Business Innovation grants.[2] They were trying to build a chemical weapons detector badge, an oil/fuel leak detector, and related devices. They developed a handheld unit, the Cyranose 320.[3] They were acquired by Smiths Detection (UK). They sell various devices for detecting explosives, drugs, disease carriers, and such. "Currently trialing rapid detection airborne COVID-19."[4] [1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-close-are-artificial/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-close-are-art... [2] https://www.sbir.gov/sbc/cyrano-sciences-inc https://www.sbir.gov/sbc/cyrano-sciences-inc [3] https://spinoff.nasa.gov/spinoff2001/ps4.html https://spinoff.nasa.gov/spinoff2001/ps4.html [4] https://www.smithsdetection.com/canary-biological-detection-technology/ https://www.smithsdetection.com/canary-biological-detection-...